From October 14 to 18, Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences (ViA) hosted event "International Engagement Circus" (IEC) for the first time in this format, bringing together more than 70 students from nine E³UDRES² partner countries: Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Portugal, Romania and Austria to learn about digital hygiene issues, which was the main focus this time.
During the week, foreign guests visited such companies as SIA "Tet", "Mira Motion", and also met with representatives of the Ministry of Defense, getting to know digital hygiene practices in depth. Seven youth teams, together with their mentors, developed and presented ideas for tasks prepared by entrepreneurs.
Various seminars were also held, for example, lecturer Fransje Immink from the Saxion University of Applied Sciences (Netherlands) provided knowledge on how to promote creativity, unlock the mind and combine ideas, creating new and extraordinary solutions. Lecturer João Ferreira from Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal (Portugal) taught students how to sell or pitch an idea, while Kristaps Felzenbergs, director of the ViA study program "Cybersecurity Engineering", gave an insight into the impact of artificial intelligence, as well as introduced those interested to the most common tactics of cyber attackers.
Event organizer Kristaps Felzenbergs reveals: "In the beginning, the students were quiet and shy, then at the end of the week, everyone proactively shared their experience, opinion and gladly talked about the developed vision for solving challenges. It was a real pleasure to see how the students were actively involved in the discussions from the first day, as well as “poured over” the entrepreneurs with countless questions. This truly proves students activity, interest and curiosity to develop their knowledge and communication skills, ultimately gaining invaluable experience."
The purpose of IEC is to create an opportunity for students, educational entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs not only to get to know each other, but also to solve current problems and develop innovative solutions together. Participants are taking part in interactive workshops and activities that promote collaboration and networking internationally.
The ViA team is happy to organize international events and attract cooperation partners from Latvia and abroad:
ViA says thank you:
Companies/organizations: Mira Motion Latvia, TET, Ministry of Defence
Educational Entrepreneurs: Agita Šmitiņa (ViA), Mihaela Crisan-Vida (UPT), Juuso Hassi (Jamk), João Ferreira (IPS). Zoltan Gillay (MATE), Patrícia Macedo (IPS), Patrick Kochberger (STUPAS), Fransje Immink (Saxion), Anna Skruode (ViA)
Stakeholder: Pia Groß (HFD), Senouci Allam (HFD), Andrea Visztenvelt (MATE), Roger Heijmans (UCLL), Linda Krūmiņa (ViA), Edmunds Plūmīte (SiA "Eddi"), Kristaps Purmalis (Mira Motion Latvia)
Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences is a part of the European Universities network - E³UDRES² - which opens up wider opportunities for students, employees, as well as others interested to participate in international events, offer their own challenges or otherwise be a part of E³UDRES².
