In order to promote cooperation among European higher education institutions and other international alliances, to promote the practice of open science and education, the E³UDRES² Ent-r-e-innovators international seminar "Open science and open education" was held at the beginning of June.

During the event, several relevant themes were addressed, emphasizing the importance of Open Science, Open Innovation, Open Education and Open Resources. Discussions involved topics such as the benefits of the European Open Science Cloud, the role of digital tools in facilitating open science, challenges and experiences in implementing open science practices, open license management, open pedagogies, the impact of emerging technologies on education, and innovative projects aimed at promoting open science and collaboration between European higher education institutions, thus providing a reflection on future collaborations and strategies to strengthen open science and education in Europe.

The event brought together a diverse range of experts, enriching the exchange of knowledge and reinforcing the importance of collaboration between academic institutions, thus reaffirming the importance of cooperation and the promotion of open science and education practices, consolidating the position of the E³UDRES² platform in European higher education.

Evita Lantrāte, the director of Vidzeme University's library, admits: "I was very impressed by the topics and stories of experiences in the seminar program, which would also be useful in promoting Open Science processes at ViA".

The discussions also discussed topics such as the advantages and challenges of the European open science cloud, experience in the implementation of open science practices and ethical issues, digital tools and the impact of new technologies in open education and science, innovative projects aimed at promoting open science and cooperation - INCITIES, EXPER and BI4E.

The conference was attended by leading figures in the field of open science and open education, such as Luís Coelho, professor at IPS and coordinator of the Ent-r-e-novators project, Karel Luyben, president of the European Open Science Cloud Association, Silviu Vert, Radu Vasiu and Diana Andone from the Polytechnic University of Timisoara (Romania), Tassilo Pellegrini from St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences (Austria), Sarah de Coninck from University Colleges Leuven Limburg (Belgium), Sílvia Roda Couvaneiro from Polytechnic University of Setúbal (Portugal), Antónia Correia, from the University of Minho (Portugal), Joana Boavida-Portugal from MARE (Portugal), and Pedro Manuel Antão from INCITIES project, Michelle Perello from EXPER project and Irina Lungu from BI4E project.

The project is funded by the European Commission under the Horizon Europe program (Project No. 101071317). For more information on the E³UDRES² Ent-r-e-novators project, visit https://www.entrenovators.eu/.

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.