Four students coming from the DRC's target region have been awarded with the DRC scholarship that enabled them to participate at the OeAD's Summer Universities: the Green Building Solution and the Alternative Economic and Monetary Systems. DRC asked them about their experience. Here you can find their impressions. 

Three following winners have participated at the OeAD's Green Building Solutions Summer University. 

Berina Brčaninović is a 24-year-old Bosnian student on the faculty of Architecture of the University of Sarajevo. 

1. How did the Summer University contribute to your already gained knowledge in the field?

The GBS Summer University helped me get further insight in the sustainable approach to the design. As an architecture student I have learned about the principles of sustainable design at home University. This experience enriched my knowledge through interactive lectures, inspiring excursion days and interesting examples of the design. The best part was the opportunity to learn about sustainability and then to go outside and to see the examples.

2. What exactly did you do during these three weeks?

The last week of the program was dedicated to a workshop. I am happy I had the chance to work in such an environment and to meet a lot of inspiring, like-minded people from different cultures and with different backgrounds. For me, as a student, it was a great experience to collaborate on a real-life case study. The location for our project was in the historically preserved area on the edge of the city of Vienna-The Otto Wagner Areal. Our mission was to present how the sustainability principles could be implemented to create the first energy plus campus in Austria.

3. What impact might this experience have on your future professional career?

This Summer University helped me to gain a set of skills needed for a young architect and I would try to implement the acquired knowledge to improve my projects.

Semina Hadžić is a 22-year-old university student, currently enrolled at the University of Sarajevo, where she is graduating in Architecture and Urbanism. 

1. How did the Summer University contribute to your already gained knowledge in the field?

First of all I would like to say that I was pleased to meet colleagues who have the same goal as me, reducing bad environmental consequences and climate changes to creating a better environmental. I learned how people from different professions can and must work together, only together we can build quality solutions.

2. What exactly did you do during these three weeks?

For the first 15 days we listened to lectures from various fields. From architecture, electrical engineering, bioclimatics, about light, sun, ecological influences, ecological conditions. Next 7 days we worked on a project directly related to architecture, urbanism and  and green bouilding solution.

3. What impact might this experience have on your future professional career?

The impact that this experience could have is that I continue to spread awareness of sustainable architecture and implement it in my projects.

Emina Hasanović is a 29-year-old Bosnian undergraduate enrolled on the faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of the University of Sarajevo.

1. How did the Summer University contribute to your already gained knowledge in the field?

This Summer University has given me a new direction in my future career and made me more concious about the decisions I will make in my projects. I have learned and seen that we can invent something that fulfills all human needs and yet does not harm our planet. I learned what steps we can take and what we can change in our design to not harm the planet, and in addition to that what are the future goals for Vienna and other cities, as well as how can we bring these ideas closer to our own hometowns and investors.

2. What exactly did you do during these three weeks?

During these three weeks we met many people from all over the world, we had a lot of fun connecting with each other, even though everything was online. Furthermore, we had the best lecturers from many different fields, so we could approach and solve a problem involving different industries. We also had group work, where we joined forces and applied what we learned in the past weeks on our project.

3. What impact might this experience have on your future professional career?

This experience came to me in a perfect time, just before my Master's and now I know that I want to apply for a Master's degree in sustainable architecture. From now on, I will think twice before taking projects and will also make all my projects environmentally friendly, at least as much as they can be. 

Fabio Ashtar Telarico is a 22-year-old Italian junior expert who is doing a Joint Master’s Programme in Southeast European Studies, at the University of Graz and University of Belgrade. He participated at the OeAD's 2021 Alternative Economic & Monetary Systems Summer University.

1. How did the Summer University contribute to your already gained knowledge in the field?

The AEMS greatly improved my knowledge of economics, especially as far as heterodox approaches go. In particular, most of the focus was on how climate change can be limited through changes in the economic system, an issue which is clearly relevant for both academia and the job market — not to forget mentioning personal development and civic consciousness. 

2. What exactly did you do during these three weeks?

The AEMS combined frontal teaching and informal education, including roleplays. Groupwork was also a fundamental part of our activities. 

3. What impact might this experience have on your future professional career?

The AEMS has provided me with a number of experiences and occasions to improve real-life and problem-solving skills. Namely, I have been incentivised in developing my aptitude to self criticism. I believe that the AEMS will not affect my ability to access the labour market directly. However, it has sure helped my intellectual growth. 

DRC along with the European and global academic community strongly ask European governments and EU institutions to protect and secure the lives of scholars, students, and civil society of Afghanistan. 

They urge the EU to:

• Keep the flights to the country in order to evacuate all the people who wish to leave the place;
• Increase resettlement quotas;
• Create legal pathways for those who demonstrate an existing host institution, job, or sponsor, including for families, that would facilitate their arrival and earliest adjustment;
• Avoid any intent-to-return and home residency requirements that may apply to visa applications for Afghan scholars and researchers for the foreseeable future;
• Create a dedicated EU fellowship scheme for researchers and scholars under threat from Afghanistan, especially women and ethnic minorities;
• Establish dedicated national fellowships for researchers and scholars at risk, including scholars, students, and civil society actors from Afghanistan.

The moral leadership of the European Union and its commitment to human rights are required now more than ever before, due to the sad and dangerous situation that is continuing in Afghanistan and that threatens to destroy its future.  If we move immediatly and act quickly enough, we can still mitigate the situation to achieve the best way out of it for the country, only by doing so we can demonstrate the true value of our commitment to the principles of democracy, rule-of-law and multilateralism.  

Both AEMS and GBS OEAD Summer schools were opened during an hybrid kick off event on Monday, July, 19th! 

As both summer schools were dealing with sustainability, in architecture for the "Green.Building.Solutions" (GBS) summer school and economics for the "Alternative Economic and Monetary Systems" (AEMS) one, it was natural to launch them with a Grand Opening Event entitled "Climate Change - is there a new dynamic?". This event featured climatologist Helga Kromp-Kolb, Fridays for Future-activist Anika Dafert and architect & urban planner Gabu Heindl! The hybrid event took place online and at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien). 

Around the globe, climate change drives crowds onto the streets to protest, calling for a change of mindset and more responsibility to be taken, politically and socially. The effects of climate change are becoming increasingly noticeable and awareness of the problem is rising. Does this point towards a new dynamic in the environment and climate change debate? Speakers tried to answer the question during this session. 

You have more information on the Grand Opening Event here!

The following weeks will be dedicated to both summer schools. The AEMS summer school will welcome 50 participants from 26 countries and 11 different time zones and the GBS summer university will be attended by 51 participants from 31 nations! Both groups of students and professionals involved in the programs will get to expand their knowledge on sustainability in their field of studies, during a unique experience enriched by different perspectives and cultures.

This year again, the DRC allowed four international students to participate to one of the two OEAD Summer School by financing their participation. We hope that all of them will learn about how to green our society and develop themselves in this international environment. 

To get more information and follow the latest news of AEMS, click here. You can find more about GBS here.  We also encourage you to check the Expert Talks regurlaly organised by OEAD on green building and sustainable economics here!

The European Commission‘s Joint Research Centre (JRC) gives leading researchers from across Europe and beyond access to its world-class facilities and laboratories, enabling state-of-the-art experimental research, collaboration and capacity building with a European dimension. It does so through the programme for open access to JRC research infrastructures.

The JRC is the science and knowledge service of the European Commission. The JRC employs scientists to carry out research providing independent scientific advice and support to EU policy, tackling the big challenges our societies are facing today.

EC DG Joint Research Centre  has issued  4 open access calls for their EUFRAT research infrastructures for outstanding researchers to apply to. Here are the 4 calls, to which you can apply until the 15th of September 2021. 

1. MONNET, Tandem accelerator based fast neutron source (EUFRAT)
2. RADMET, Radionuclide Metrology laboratories (EUFRAT)
3. GELINA, the JRC Neutron Time-of-Flight Facility (EUFRAT)
4. HADES, Underground laboratory for ultra-low level gamma-ray spectrometry (EUFRAT)

Scientists granted access calls see their scientific needs fulfilled. Inded, they have access to JRC research infrastructures through a competitive call even if they are not familiar with European initiatives. Moreover, such calls attract talent and stimulate innovation, development and competitiveness. Furthermore, it contributes to the dissemination of knowledge, improves related methods and skills, provides education and training and fosters collaboration at European level.

The call is open until the 15th of September 2021. To find more information on eligibility and the selection process, visit this page! 

We kindly invite you to our next Annual Meeting to be held at the Uzhhorod National University, Ukraine, on 11-12 November 2021.

This year's edition of the DRC Annual Meeting will have as a leading theme `The role of University and its Resilience in the Age of Global Challenges'. 

A detailed programme including the registration form as well as further information will be published on the DRC Website in the upcoming months closer to the date of the Annual Meeting.

We are looking forward to seeing you in Uzhhorod!