Empowering educators and fostering innovation: SmartWB training at NMBU in Norway

The training “Theme‐based Training of Teaching Staff for Acquiring New Practical Skills,” was held successfully in in Ås and Oslo, Norway from 29th August 2023 to 31st August 2023. This event brought together partners from Western Balkans: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. The primary objective of this intensive three-day training was to equip participants with essential practical skills geared towards enhancing the quality of higher education in the field of climate-smart urban development (CSUD).

Under the overarching theme of climate-smart urban development, the training program encompassed a diverse array of agenda items, categorized into three main sessions:

First session in Ås –Sustainable architecture, geomatics and internationalizations which included presentations on these topics presented by NMBU professors.

Second session in Oslo- Urban design in practice: water and building management. This was carried out through site visits to different places in Oslo to show practical examples of green and blue infrastructure.

Third session in Oslo- Innovations in education and water management where the participants were introduced to the innovative practices in water quality management by DOSCON as well as the innovative practices in education including using the ChatGPT and the digital tools.

 “The training session in Norway turned out to be training also for the host, NMBU, as well. It is the most multidisciplinary activity I was involved in and surprised how much I and my team learned from the sessions. The training gave a whole new understanding on how sustainable urban activities could be built around water. It was a daunting task to satisfy the expectations of such a heterogenous group, but we felt we managed not only to satisfy the expectations of the SmartWB team, but also to create lifelong memories. The event strengthened the social bonding among the participants which laid a solid foundation for an even stronger sustainability of the project. We wait impatiently for the next gathering. “Said Prof. Harsha, the organizer of the event from NMBU.

“The highly different professional backgrounds of the participants posed a difficult task in front of Prof. Harha’s team. However, they succeeded in making an agenda that would fulfil everyone’s expectations and professional curiosity. The participants were, in particular, delighted by the NMBU campus tour, guided by Agnie and Rasha, looking at students’ activities and the support they get from their teachers.

The organizers succeeded in comprehending all aspects needed to improve education in the climate-smart urban development field in this three-day event.

Above all, our NMBU colleagues strengthened our interpersonal relations and made the SmartWB team more coherent by creating a positive and pleasant atmosphere, encouraging everyone to actively participate and express their particularities and uniqueness.

I was personally moved by the warm hospitality of Prof. Harsha and his team, which exceeded all my expectations regarding this event. I am more than grateful for having such “hearts” in our consortium, and I sincerely appreciate everything they have done for the project so far.” Said Prof. Marija Jevrić, the coordinator of SmartWB from University of Montenegro.

In conclusion, great memories were made in these three days and valuable takeaways were added to enrich the education in the targeted countries.