From 9 to 13 November, the Latvian Academy of Culture in Riga is hosting the ACE²-EU Alliance Applied Blended Challenge (ABC) “Pathways to Climate Neutral Campuses: Co-Creating Action Plans for Sustainable Universities”. Lietuvos inžinerijos kolegija students Domantas Grybauskas, Edvinas Andriuškevičius, Vygintas Valiūnas and Ignas Godvadas, together with lecturers Vilda Grybauskienė and Gitana Vyčienė, are taking part in the programme.
The programme is jointly organised by the Latvian Academy of Culture and Lietuvos inžinerijos kolegija HEI. It aims to develop practical solutions that can help higher education institutions reduce their environmental impact and work towards climate neutrality. Participants are exploring challenges related to energy consumption, transport, waste management, infrastructure and resource use at universities.
During the on-site week, students are working in international interdisciplinary teams to assess the environmental impact of university operations and identify ways to reduce it. Practical workshops involve carbon footprint assessment, resource flow analysis, stakeholder engagement and design thinking methods. The programme also includes study visits to sustainability-related organisations and initiatives in Riga.
Based on their findings, students are developing climate neutrality guidelines or specific university climate action plans, outlining proposed solutions, implementation stages, responsible stakeholders and indicators for measuring progress.
