On April 18th 2023, the International Workshop of the eponymous project was held at the Bratislava University of Economics and Management (BUEM), focusing on the pilot application of innovations in youth education in the field of Circular Society in the Economy 4.0. The project was supported by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism under BIN SGS02_2021_011/82/22.
The workshop was divided into two parts. In the morning session we had the honor to welcome at the BUEM in the opening part, besides students from our own ranks, students from 3 other EU countries - Poland, Croatia, and Slovenia, as well as university teachers and youth workers from Slovakia, Poland, Armenia, Germany, Croatia, and Slovenia. The keynote speaker in this session was Dr. Rhys Evans from the partner university - University for Green Development, from the Kingdom of Norway. Also present were all members of the CSCHE40 Project Expert and Management Team. The Rector of the BUEM and the Vice-Rector for Foreign Affairs of the BUEM gave the keynote speeches. Dr. Evans' lecture presented not only an interesting perspective on the issues of the project's focus for the students. Specifically, the lecture was set in the issues of economic aspects related to the current challenges in the field of the circular society. A colleague from the Kingdom of Norway presented not only the latest theoretical background, but above all the results of many years of practice in the application of practical aspects in the youth education. The lecture was followed by a fruitful discussion, in which, in addition to students and guests, teachers also participated. The afternoon session of the workshop was focused on explaining the role of project management in youth communities. The purpose of this combination was to motivate young learners to take an interest in their own involvement in projects aimed at innovation in the field of the circular society or economy, also by highlighting selected examples of good practice. The workshop applied some of the sub-results of innovation in youth learning at university level on the challenges of a circular society in Economy 4.0. In both sections of the workshop, considerable attention was paid to practical aspects and current methods for working with young people.
As a result of the workshop, student multinational-working groups made proposals for the application of the challenges of the circular society in local communities. These were, for example, proposals for:
- "Art and Recycling" - a proposal to organize an art competition with an emphasis on the exclusive use of recycled materials available in every household.
- "Used from others, new to you" - a proposal for a clothing swap project with a workshop on sewing - fun and sustainable way to refresh your wardrobe while helping the environment. Bring your regular used clothes and swap them, all while reducing textile waste.
- "Green Paradise" - designing an activity to raise awareness about food waste management, including helping those in need and connecting students with the community
- "Less Food Waste, Better Tasting Food" - a project proposal focusing on reducing food waste and educating students about better food utilization
- “Green Roof” - a project proposal to create a green area on the roof of a univcersity to educate students and provide examples of good practice
The resulting project proposals provide a suitable guide for the application of innovations in specific subjects taught at universities, with special practical implementation applied directly by students under the guidance of teachers. This pilot of the educational module applied for student education has demonstrated the suitability of the project's sub-results and motivates the project team members to complete the proposed innovations in youth education, so that these can be used to meet the needs of university students, to improve their theoretical and practical skills, applied during study as well as after graduation.
