On 05.07.2024, the grand final of the summer school “Shaping urban environments for tomorrow” took place. We would like to remind you that this week-long event was organized as part of the UniCities project, which is being implemented with the financial support of Erasmus+. 

The summer school brought together more than 40 students, a dozen experts, and practitioners from Ukraine and Europe. The comprehensive format of lectures and practical classes allowed project participants to develop their innovative solutions. The training took place online and in person in Kyiv at the premises of the National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute” and in Chernihiv at the premises of the National University “Chernihiv Polytechnic”. 

During the summer school, the participants worked on a case study of the restoration of the campus of the National University “Chernihiv Polytechnic” and developed solutions in the field of sustainable, adaptive, and resilient restoration: buildings, social relations, public spaces, ecosystems, environment, and interaction between the city and the university.

Among the renowned experts who joined the summer school were Olga Kordas, Associate Professor in Sustainable Urban Development at the Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering (SEED), KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Stockholm, Sweden); Oleksii Pasichnyi, PhD, Researcher at the Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering (SEED), KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Stockholm, Sweden); Jaime Moreno Serna, PhD, Assistant Professor at the Department of Organizational Engineering, Business Management and Statistics Industrial Engineering School, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Expert Advisor at itdUPM and Viable Cities, Oksana Udovyk, PhD, Assistant Professor at the Department of Organizational Engineering, Business Management and Statistics Industrial Engineering School, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Expert Advisor at itdUPM and Viable Cities (Madrid, Spain).

In addition to international experts, the summer school also featured Ukrainian experts, such as Vira Balabukh, PHD in geography (Meteorology, Climatology, Agrometeorology). Head of the Department of Applied Meteorology and Climatology in Ukrainian Research Hydrometeorological Institute under the Ministry for Emergencies and NAS; Alexander Kucheravy, architect, active house verifier, President of Active House Ukraine, member of the board of directors of the international Active House Alliance, head of Active House Academy; Kostyantyn Mezentsev, Head of the Department of Economic and Social Geography, doctor of geographical sciences, professor, Kyiv National University named after Taras Shevchenko; Kostyantyn Kuchabsky, architect, co-founder of the Scientific and Artistic Platform “Ostriv”, Roman Sakh, architect, co-founder of the Scientific and Artistic Platform “Ostriv” and Volodymyr Kazymyr, doctor of Technical Sciences, professor of the Department of Information and Computer Systems of the Chernihiv Polytechnic National University.

During the summer school, the participants managed to identify the problems faced by Chernihiv residents and the academic community. This helped them to formulate ideas and actively work on them, creating unique concepts and justifying why their solutions should be implemented. 

A total of six teams were formed. The BarHaus and Seventeen teams worked from the premises of the National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute”, “Green Future” and “A1” – from the premises of the National University of Chernihiv Polytechnic. There were also online teams “M&H” and “Ecovance”. 

The projects touched on many topical issues. The projects were devoted to the development of vertical hydroponic greenhouses on the wall of the dormitory, the arrangement of underground shelters, the redevelopment of the dormitory, the creation of a passive semi-autonomous dormitory, and the landscaping and cultivation of the surrounding campus area. 

Experts noted that all projects were extremely well constructed and presented. The participants took into account all the comments of the lecturers and mentors, which allowed them to optimize the processes and leave only the best social and technical solutions. 

The winners of the friendly competition were the following teams: “M&H”, which developed a dormitory shelter project and took 1st place; “Ecovance”, which also developed a dormitory shelter project and took 2nd place; and “Green Future”, which created an eco-space project near the university dormitory and took 3rd place.

The summer school “Shaping urban environments for tomorrow” demonstrated that by joining forces we can create environmentally friendly and innovative solutions for the development of cities of future generations. 

UniCities project is already transforming our communities, science, and education, forcing us to think more broadly and form a network of people who are ready to make our cities sustainable, smart, and green.

It is worth reminding that the project is being implemented by partner institutions: Royal Institute of Technology KTH (Sweden), Universidad Politechnica de Madrid, UPM (Spain), National Technical University of Ukraine Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, NTUU KPI (Ukraine), Chernihiv National University of Technology, CNUT (Ukraine), Academician Yuriy Bugay International Scientific and Technical University, ISTU (Ukraine), Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University, NLUU (Ukraine), Charitable Fund CANactions, All-Ukrainian Association of Local Government Authorities “Association of Ukrainian Cities”, Public union «Association of the engineers of stable energy technologies of Ukraine», Ukrainian Research Hydrometeorological Institute, UHMI.