UMKA project workshop Stavanger, Norway

18-21 October 2023

The workshop in Stavanger, Norway, was linked to support the formation of joint research teams of supervisors and PhD students between the two universities. In particular, collaborations between the academic sector and practice are inspiring for the Slovak context: UiS and the City of Stavanger) and the regional administration (Rogaland), focusing on approaches and solutions to climate change. It was also particularly important to understand the role of the business sector, specifically the (local) social economy, which plays a key role as an agent of change in the “green” trajectory. The transformation of urban neighbourhoods is also taking place using European funding under the New European Bauhaus scheme (Nebstar project), which effectively combines measures of building interventions with active involvement and building of local communities. These activities also reflect research by teams of trainers and PhD students from FAD STU, responding to issues of healthy and climate resilient urban planning, from the scale of stratagem to the scale of urban placemaking, architecture and material selection. Separately, discussions and planning for further research collaboration between the two universities, as well as collaborations with other local partners – municipalities and regional authorities – were also addressed, increasing the effective impact of the projects main objectives: to improve and develop cooperation between institutions in Norway and Slovakia on the issue of "green" and sustainable solutions.