On Friday, May 31, the international conference "The 11th IEEE Workshop on Advances in Information, Electronic and Electrical Engineering AIEEE'2024" will be held at Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences (ViA) (Tērbatas iela 10, Valmiera), organized by ViA together with Riga Technical University and Vilnius Gediminas Technical University.

The purpose of the conference is to bring together young scientists and researchers from the fields of information, electronics and electrical engineering science to promote mutual cooperation in the exchange of ideas and tools related to but not limited to computer technology, audio or image processing and recognition, automatic control, robotics, computer hardware and software , telecommunications, information technology, information systems, system security and control, modeling and performance, e-commerce and e-governance, cloud computing, human-computer interaction, cyber-physical systems, intelligent systems, high-performance and next-generation computing, sensor nodes, circuits, devices, wireless sensor networks, internet and web applications, mobile computing, semantic web and ontologies.

Scientific and Organizing Committee Chairs also include ViA associate professor Arnis Cīrulis. Also, some doctoral students of the Sociotechnical Systems Engineering study program of ViA will present their scientific articles at the conference.

More information about the event and the program is available here: https://ieee.lv/aieee/

As part of the "Accelerate Future HEI" project, the "Business laboratories 2024" training cycle has ended. During this project 26 young entrepreneurs from Limbažu and Smiltene regions, as well as Vidzeme University students, developed their business ideas and received valuable advice from already experienced entrepreneurs.

In a cycle of 6 lessons, the participants gained a deeper theoretical insight, as well as the improvement of practical competences and skills in the process of starting a business, creating ideas and design thinking, ways of innovation, creating a business plan, marketing knowledge, financial literacy and the art of presenting your ideas to potential investors. The theoretical lessons were led by university lecturers, while the mentors and inspirers of the young entrepreneurs were already experienced entrepreneurs-experts, as well as university graduates from very different fields. The development of entrepreneurial, social and various personal skills of the participants, the development of cooperation between the university and the local governments of the region, as well as the strengthening of the business environment in the regions can be noted as significant benefits of the Business Laboratory project.

At the beautiful and solemn closing event, the bravest members of the Business Laboratory presented ideas for the development of their robotics school, the production of an eco-grill, the creation of an application for people with autism, as well as the development of cleaning services for children's playrooms. A big gratitute goes to both Limbazi and Smiltene municipalities for the organizational and financial support for this project, as well as to all lecturers, experts, mentors, and, of course, also to the participants themselves - young entrepreneurs.

On May 17, the week-long intensive program "Innovative methods for future skills 2.0" ended. During that time, not only lectures and seminars, but also discussions and practical workshops took place at Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences (ViA).

The aim of the intensive program was to develop the pedagogical skills of university academic staff to work with innovative teaching methods, such as simulations, virtual reality, multimedia, escape room, etc. The acquired knowledge will help in future work with students and developing their skills.

ViA was visited by staff from partner universities in Slovakia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Austria, Romania, Cyprus, Germany and Finland.

During the week, an insight into Latvian culture, language and traditions was also provided.

Taking into account that Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences is part of the European university alliance E³UDRES², the participants discussed the vision of the future university and created a context map - what, in their opinion, the ideal university of the future looks like. Reflections included not only innovative teaching methods, but also technology, people skills, etc.

"Innovative methods for future skills 2.0" with the support of ERASMUS+ took place from 13 to 17 May.

It has been already a year since Yuliia Kovalenko, assistant professor at the Kharkiv State Academy of Culture, mostly lives in Latvia and works at ViA. She has been elected as researcher at ViA in July, 2023, and has accomplished her first year activities of the research project “CineGame Ukraine: a contemporary Ukrainian research-based digital art game for developing narrative skills and cinema literacy” No. 1233058 as a part of the European Commission’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions.

The project activities have been aimed at coupling cinematographic education with digital serious games, with the overarching goal of mastering modern film narratives.

The construction of narratives in the gaming prototype will be useful for training courses in filmmaking for cinematography students in Ukraine and abroad. In Ukrainian filmmaking education, techniques of storytelling are almost not included. Developing this project involving Ukrainian characters and plots will as well contribute to promoting knowledge of Ukrainian culture.

Yuliia has been actively using the possibilities of European mobility with the aim of networking, knowledge acquisition and integration in the European research communities. Participation in internships and training programs, as well as attending forums, helps to understand the specifics and trends of European science and gain experience in international scientific collaboration.

“All of this is not just personal development. Against the backdrop of communication processes that you observe, it becomes clear how to develop project and research work in Ukraine, how to make the Ukrainian scientific community an active participant in European scientific cooperation. I have great expectations for the most effective implementation of the acquired experience in my country.”

In the framework of ViA’s Open University, Yuliia has attended classes about cinema, Latvian culture, and obtained A1 certificate of Latvian language. Being passionate about filming, she actively documents everything she manages to visit, be it concerts and festivals like the National Song and Dance Festival, national holidays, city events or excursions to ethnographic and art museums.

“Latvia has enchanted me from the very first day of encountering this wonderful country and its inhabitants. I adore everything – Latvian songs and dances, language and nature, family and festive traditions, way of life and values. I feel happy to be a part of this country, community, and culture. Since my arrival here, a smile has not left my face, which was a stark contrast to the horrors of war I experienced in Kharkiv. I always return to Latvia with smile after internships and participation in scientific forums, visiting various countries in Europe. Latvia remains the most beautiful and wonderful place for me.”

Yuliia says that the Latvian language feels very familiar to her, as if she is not learning it but rather remembering it, as if she once knew it. The living conditions in Latvia inspire the researcher and provide opportunities for creative and scientific growth, giving hope for the best ahead.

Reports in scientific conferences

1. Kovalenko Y. B., Immersive Narratives: Blending Cinematic Storytelling with Serious Gaming and Interactive Filmmaking. International Scientific Conference of Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences “Society. Technologies. Solutions”, April 12^th, 2024.
2. Kovalenko Y. B., Updating and preservation of audiovisual collections in the digital space of Ukraine. The 9th Baltic Sea Region Film History Conference. Academy of Culture, Riga (Latvia), June 6th-8th, 2024, accepted.
3. Kovalenko Y. B., Loginova T. O. Interactive Media as a Means of Teaching Audiovisual Storytelling. Modern engineering innovation technologies. Issue 31. Part 4. Karlsruhe. 2024, 31-35.
4. Kovalenko, Y. B. Artificial Intelligence in Audiovisual Media Education. Professional Development: Methodological Basis and Innovative Technologies: Materials of the All-Ukrainian Scientific and Pedagogical Qualification Improvement, January 1 - February 11, 2024. Lviv - Toruń: Liha-Pres, 2024, 112-115.