From October 15 to 17, the E³UDRES² Science Festival took place at Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences (ViA) in Valmiera, bringing together more than 200 participants – students, researchers, entrepreneurs, and experts from Latvia, the United Kingdom, Austria, Albania, Egypt, the Netherlands, Hungary, Ukraine, and other countries. The festival was dedicated to knowledge exchange, fostering collaboration, and developing new research ideas and partnerships. And also 5th Scientific Conference “Society. Technology. Solutions.” took place.
Parallel sessions explored topics such as the preservation of natural and cultural heritage, sustainable and circular economy, social resilience and inclusion, modeling and forecasting, media and communication, and the creative industries.
In the parallel session “Resilient and Circular Economy,” the project’s lead researcher, Ph.D. Oskars Java, delivered a report titled “Methodologies for Assessing Climate Neutrality: An Overview.” The aim of the overview was to identify methodologies that are relevant for assessing climate neutrality during the period from 2022 to 2025. Despite the hype surrounding artificial intelligence, it did not appear among the main methodologies, while modeling — the method used by the research team in the VPP-KEM project — remains the most commonly applied approach. The main conclusion drawn from this overview is that climate policies depend on climate neutrality assessments, and those assessments, in turn, depend on data. Therefore, robust data collection is the foundation for making well-informed decisions.
The conference keynote speakers were Professor Scott McCabe from the University of Birmingham (UK) and Sjors Groeneveld from Saxion University of Applied Sciences (Netherlands), whose presentations inspired participants toward further research and international cooperation.
"It was a very dynamic day, where the usual academic discussions were enriched by the opportunity for our young scientists to meet international leaders in their fields. We also held highly valuable and strategic workshops on best practices in knowledge management. The strong international network of E³UDRES² was truly felt in the selfless exchange of knowledge, aimed at strengthening the impact of science in regions, industries, and society," said Andris Klepers, Director of the Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences Scientific Institute and leading researcher.
