During the first two weeks of September, Mykolas Romeris University (MRU) has received students from Georgia and Ukraine under the Erasmus+ Capacity Building in Higher Education Project “Synergy of educational, scientific, management and industrial components for climate management and climate change prevention” (CLIMAN) (619119-EPP-1-2020-1-NL-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP).

The project’s objective is to “help the universities of Georgia and Ukraine to become centres for the development of research of climate management to accelerate integration into the global climate market and to meet global climate regulation requirements” following best examples from European Partners.

In total, 11 students have attended the study visit. Lectures from Lithuania and abroad (Portugal) conveyed their expertise by developing high-quality and tailored lectures to cover multiple topics related to climate change, ecosystem services and environmental governance.

The study programme was designed to be intensive and cover various topics (e.g., climate change adaptation, tourism, land use changes, sustainability) and ecosystems (e.g., coastal and marine environments, forests, urban areas). Besides the theoretical component, the study programme had a practical aspect (e.g., fieldwork, essays, presentations, stakeholder exercises, discussions) which provided the students with valuable knowledge and tools to apply during their studies at home universities. The highlights of the study programme were the visits to Dzukija National Park and several urban parks around Vilnius.

Overall, two very fruitful weeks, where the students had the opportunity to learn more about climate change management and apply the acquired knowledge throughout the study course. MRU and the Environmental Management Laboratory, led by Prof. Paulo Pereira, are happy to have contributed to the CLIMAN Project and its importance in developing climate management programmes and centres at host Universities in Ukraine and Georgia.