Baltic University Programme International Scientific Symposium

– We invited our guests to take inspiration from them, share experiences. At Bialystok University of Technology, we implement the Sustainable Development Strategy "My Green University" and therefore we ask our foreign partners about good practices applied at their universities and colleges, as well as about advice on what we can do locally to make BUT greener, more sustainable. We also take the opportunity to promote our own ideas for research and projects in the field of sustainable development, i.e. activities for environmental protection and adaptation to climate change. Our scientists will present the results of their research. We will also show the impressive laboratory facilities that we have at Bialystok University of Technology. All this to encourage scientific cooperation with our scientists. The book of abstracts, which will be created after our conference, will be a value in itself. It will also facilitate quick contact and exchange of ideas between universities from the Baltic University Programme – said Dorota Gawryluk, PhD, Eng, Arch. from the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, co-organiser of the Symposium.

Can the universities associated in the Baltic University Programme serve as a hub of good organisational practices and scientific research conducted in the area of achieving the sustainable development goals?

– We certainly aspire to such a place. The discussion on sustainable development that we are conducting as part of the BUP Scientific Symposium is a natural continuation, as well as a valuable complement to everything that we have been doing at Bialystok University of Technology for years. This is not only the “My Green University” strategy, but also previous projects, including the international summer schools for environmental engineering students organised by us, which focused on the topic of sustainable development. We have been consciously working to raise the environmental awareness of our employees and students for a long time. By organizing a Baltic University Programme seminar, we create a forum for discussion as well as new ideas. I am glad that among the participants of the seminar there is also an ambassador of the climate package from Lithuania. This is an opportunity for us to exchange insights and ideas – said Assoc. Prof. Dorota Anna Krawczyk, DSc, PhD, Eng , Vice-Rector for International Cooperation of BUT and the Ambassador of the European Climate Pact in Poland.

Bialystok University of Technology joined The Baltic University Programme (BUP) in 2019. It is currently one of the largest platforms for university cooperation in the world. It brings together more than 90 universities in the Baltic Sea region, including 25 Polish universities. Bialystok University of Technology is represented by Aniela Staszewska, MA, Rector’s Plenipotentiary for the Baltic University Programme.

– It is worth remembering that the Baltic University Programme network was created over 30 years ago, in 1991. Its main idea was to create a coalition of universities from the Baltic Sea Region countries to protect the unique natural environment of the Baltic Sea. Considering that more than half of the people living in the region of the Baltic Sea are Poles, I think that we have a lot of responsibility for the shape of this cooperation. Hence the initiative of a meeting of representatives of 14 universities associated in the network at Bialystok University of Technology and a joint debate on what solutions and research in the field of sustainability are proposed for their regions by universities from Poland, Sweden, Lithuania, Ukraine, Finland. Taking advantage of the presence of participants of the International Staff Week at Bialystok University of Technology, we also gave the floor to specialists from universities in Nigeria and Turkey – said Aniela Staszewska, MA, lecturer at the Foreign Language Centre of Bialystok University of Technology, Rector’s Plenipotentiary for the Baltic University Programme.

Scientific Symposium entitled “The role of universities and scientific research for sustainable regional development” on 22-23 April 2024 was under the honorary patronage of the Rector of Bialystok University of Technology, Assoc. Prof. Marta Kosior-Kazberuk, DSc, PhD, Eng and the Ambassador of the European Climate Pact in Poland, Assoc. Prof. Dorota Anna Krawczyk, DSc, PhD, Eng. The organisation of the event was supported by: prof. Michał Bołtryk, Dean of the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, Association of Polish Landscape Architects, Association of Polish Architects, Białystok Branch and Association of Polish Urban Planners, Białystok Branch. Media patronage: Radio Akadera.

by mr

Learn more about the BUP.
Contact the BUT Rector’s Plenipotentiary for Baltic University Programme
Detailed information about the symposium (in English)