Water Rennovation in Ukraine (# 22320101)
SUMMARY
Climate change poses challenges to the economy in the Visegrad countries and Ukraine. Water is one of our most valuable and at the same time most vulnerable natural resources. Our project entitled Water Rennovation in Ukraine focused on the most diverse areas of sustainable water management.
Our 1-week courses were attended by university students studying water management, environmental engineering and agricultural engineering. The participants could visit a well-known university with a long history in each Visegrád country.
Each university represents a different field of expertise, such as plant cultivation based on precision technologies, the protection of the water balance of our forests, efficient urban water management and the hydrology of our river waters have come into focus.
We held lectures and organized demonstration exercises, where the students could get to know and try out the most modern measuring, data collection, data analysis and modeling tools, as well as gain insight into the latest developments and innovative technological solutions. We also tried to present the specific natural features of each region.
MESSAGE
We hope that we managed to direct the attention of young people to the diversity of challenges and opportunities related to water management, and to the diversity of their chosen careers.
The project is co-financed by the Governments of the Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia through Visegrad Grants from International Visegrad Fund. The mission of the fund is to advance ideas for sustainable regional cooperation in Central Europe.
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AUTUMN SCHOOL IN SLOVAKIA 21—27 October, 2024 has been successfully completed at |
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Guest students from Rivne, Ukraine and Krakow, Poland, and Slovak students got an insight to water in the town – water retention, wastewater recycling and reuse by the most experienced Slovakian professors and gained practical experiences at the Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Engineering, Slovak Agricultural University in Nitra.
Lectures and practical training on water balance in the town and agricultural landscape, measurement and modeling of the parameters of the precipitation-runoff process and the water balance of urban micro-basins; rain water harvesting; objects to retain water in the town and urban areas – functionality, and design of basic parameters; and biological nutrient recycling from the urban wastewaters and the wastewater from food production were given.
Lectures
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Presentations
Modern methods of rainwater and wastewater management in cities
Water erosion, erosion factors, and erosion control measures
In practice…
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… and a curious guest participant…
Dr. Ievgenii Gerasimov, senior academic staff from Ukraine:
„I want to say many thanks for practical education to the organisers - Agricultural university in Nitra. During this week students had a possibility to receive new practical skills in best modern european practices in hydraulics, measurement of different water parameters, modern software for calculating and modelling different water phenomena. Also students investigated one of the biggest hydroelectric power stations on the Danube river and a lot of different water structures around the Nitra. It shows how new practical skills can be realized in the water structures. So, at least, students created relations with the Polish and Slovakian students that also take part in the Practical school. Moreover all participants had a chance to see the beautiful landscapes, custles, churches of the historical city Nitra and nature of Slovakia.”
PARTICIPANTS ARE GRATEFUL FOR THE PROGRAM, MANY THANKS TO THE SLOVAKIAN COLLEAGUES!
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SUMMER SCHOOL IN CZECHIA has been successfully completed at |
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Guest students from Rivne, Ukraine, and Czech students got an insight to hydrology and water retention in the landscape by the most experienced Czech professors and gained practical experiences at the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno.
Lectures and practical training on the determination (measurement and modeling) of the parameters of the precipitation-runoff process and the water balance of forest micro-basins; hydraulic modeling of hydrological processes in the hydrological and hydraulic laboratory; and the objects to retain water in forests in relation to functionality, and measurement of basic parameters were given.
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| Laboratory demonstration | Lecture with practical assignments |
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| A physical model for complex hydrological scenario analyses | |
Field Trips
Forest Training Enterprise Masaryk Forest Křtiny
Ponávka – connecting Svratka and Svitava
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| Excursion to the Doubravka Facility | Excursion to the Ricmainice Arboretum |
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| Excursion to the Doubravka Facility | University tour - FFWT |
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| Water-oriented Living Lab of the Department of Landscape Management (training forests of MENDELU) observing retention pots | |
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| … and a professional, a real expert in the forest… | |
Presentations
Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology Mendel University in Brno
T. G. Masaryk Water Research Institute
Hydrology of small forested microwatersheds I
Hydrology of small forested microwatersheds II
Forest hydric function and water balance
Practical seminar - forest hydrology
Practical seminar - hydraulics
Some impressions
Iryna Huntik, student
„The summer school in Brno was a great opportunity to deepen knowledge and share experiences. The classes were extremely informative, and the atmosphere was conducive to learning and communication. The large laboratories were especially impressive, where you could familiarize yourself with the operation of modern equipment. I am sincerely grateful for the opportunity to participate in this project.”
Sofia Strelchuk, student
„The summer school in Brno impressed me with its friendly atmosphere. Thank you very much for the rich and interesting program. And the charming architecture of the city and its cultural richness added a special vibe to this experience. We returned home with new knowledge and unforgettable impressions.”
Nataliia Zhukovska, Associate professor
„From August 24 to September 2, 2024, I had the opportunity for the first time to complete a certified international internship as part of the third Summer School at the Mendel University and Technical University (Brno, Czech Republic) together with colleagues and students.
Positive impressions were made by the hospitality of the Czech colleagues, the rich program of our study and stay in the city of Brno, clearly organized by them. Extremely intensive days of lectures, training in laboratories with field experiments were combined with no less interesting excursions to local attractions (to the local river Ponavka, Forest Education Center Dubravka, etc.) All training took place under the general theme of water management, protection of water resources. Among the advantages of the program, it is worth noting that we gained new professional experience, met colleagues from other universities, had the opportunity to improve and deepen the level of English language proficiency, a must have! all teaching was in English), learn a few words in the Czech language and understand that there are many common words in the Ukrainian and Czech languages; got acquainted with a new culture and visited the famous places of the cities of Brno and Prague. For me, it was like a breath of fresh air in such a troubled and difficult time.”
MANY THANKS FOR THE CZECH COLLEAGUES FOR THE PROGRAM!
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SUMMER SCHOOL IN HUNGARY, 24 - 30 June, 2024 has been succesfully completed at
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Guest students, PhD students, and academic staff from Ukraine, Slovakia, and Hungary got an insight to precision agriculture, and sustainable water use, by the most experienced Hungarian professors.
Lectures on hydrological modeling, water management of a city with water shortage, precision irrigation planning and technologies, mapping crop health and growth under different water regimes, and data-driven insights for crop-soil-water systems were given.
Practical skills were improved by demonstration and interactive field measurements, and in class, too. As part of the practical programs, water management practice was shown in Debrecen by visiting the most considerable locations, irrigation technologies were shown in Látókép, UAV data acquisition was demonstrated, water stress and crop response were shown with trying different tools and equipment in the field, while soil moisture conservation with different tillage technologies, and evaluation of water balance in soil, and assessment methodologies were demonstrated at Karcag and Nyíregyháza Research Institutes.
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Water stress and response of crops, field measurement techniques |
Field measurements for the evaluation of water balance in soil, assessment of secondary salinization |
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| UAV data acquisition in crop field | Demonstration of different irrigation technologies |
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Water management of a city with water shortage |
Soil moisture conservation with proper tillage, water saving crop rotation – field experiments |
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SPRING SCHOOL IN POLAND, 22 - 28 April, 2024 has been successfully completed at |
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Guest students from Ukraine, and Polish students got an insight to water policy in the EU, and gained practical experiences in hydrometry, measurements and data processing; data processing in GIS; and modelling of water flow in rivers, by the most experienced Polish professors.
You can find more photos and the presentations of the lectures here.
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„The trip to the Summer School in Krakow left many positive memories and emotions. For me personally, this is a huge experience, because the study was interesting and intensive with the use of new educational programs (technologies), excursions, lectures and communication with new friends. Especially useful was the practical part and the opportunity to try to do the work in detail, step by step. I plan to apply the acquired knowledge in my further studies. And I sincerely thank our colleagues from Poland for the warm welcome at the Summer School in Krakow. Your hospitality and openness helped to create an unforgettable atmosphere of communication and learning.”
Sofia Strelchuk
„Summer school in Krakow is an incredible opportunity to study, discover new cultural horizons and meet interesting people. The professional approach of the teachers, the productive and interesting program in the Krakow environment made this school an unforgettable experience filled with positive impressions.”
Sofia Kashtalian
„Impressions from the practical school are only positive. The teachers always helped and answered all the questions that arose. I liked collecting raw data for calculations in practice with various devices. And it was also interesting to process them in programs, thanks to which I learned about new methods of data processing. Thank you for the opportunity to get such an interesting and useful experience.”
Anastasiia Sorochynska
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MANY THANKS TO THE POLISH ORGANIZERS!
SUCCESSFUL APPLICATION TO THE VISEGRAD+ GRANT
The grant application submitted under the ID no. 22320101 with the project title Water Rennovation in Ukraine submitted by the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, Department of Land Use was accepted on the 22nd of August, 2023.
Partner universities
- National University of Water and Environmental Engineering, Rivne, Ukraine (nuwm.edu.ua)
- Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Engineering (http://www.fzki.uniag.sk)
- University of Agriculture in Krakow, Department of Water Engineering and Geotechnics, Poland (https://kiwig.urk.edu.pl/en)
- Mendel University in Brno, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Czech Republic (https://mendelu.cz/)
Long-term cooperation
The first project under the V4 grant #21650010, entitled "Sustainable Water Management and Hydrological Security in V4 group and Ukraine" and the second one under the V4 grant #21920227 "Visegrad-Water-Security" were completed successfully, where knowledge of students on the latest challenges and solutions in water management and engineering were broadened. Our cooperation continues with the organization of four practical schools organized at each partner university for receiving additional skills in the best European practices.
Aim of the project
Transferring the V4 universities' experience gives the students the best knowledge within the V4 countries and provides useful skills for the Ukrainian participants for rebuilding Ukraine's water sector. Additionally, the project supports a strong professional network among both the graduates and the lecturers, and scientists. And last but not least, students will have more information about the culture of each country of V4 group and Ukraine, and the common European values.
The implementation period is 25th September, 2023 – 15th March, 2025. The budget is 50,715 EUR.
The project is co-financed by the Governments of the Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia through Visegrad Grants from International Visegrad Fund. The mission of the fund is to advance ideas for sustainable regional cooperation in Central Europe.
PROGRAMS
Spring school in Poland
22—28 April, 2024
Water policy, hydrometry and flow modelling
Topics:
- Hydrometry, measurements and data processing (Leszek Książek)
- Water policy in the EU (Mateusz Strutyński)
- Modelling of water flow in rivers (Maciej Wyrębek)
- Data Processing in GIS (Andrzej Strużyński)
Location: University of Agriculture in Kraków, Rudawa River
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Summer school in Hungary
24—30 June, 2024
Precision agriculture, sustainable water use
Topics:
- Remote sensing with UAV and mapping crop health and growth under different water regime (Ragán Péter, Tamás András)
- Precision irrigation planning and demonstration of dripping irrigation technology (Illés Árpád, Bojtor Csaba)
- Field measurements for the evaluation of water balance in soil, assessment of secondary salinization (Kovács Elza)
- Soil moisture conservation with proper tillage, water saving crop rotation – field experiments (Juhász Csaba)
Location: field experimental sites of the University of Debrecen Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, and Environmental Management
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Summer school in Czech Republic
26 August – 1 September, 2024
Hydrology and water retention in the landscape
Topics:
- Determination (measurement and modeling) of the parameters of the precipitation-runoff process and the water balance of forest micro-basins
- Hydrological and hydraulic laboratory - hydraulic modeling of hydrological processes
- Objects to retain water in forests - functionality, and measurement of basic parameters
Location: Mendel University in Brno, Living Laboratory, MENDELU Hydrological and Hydraulic Laboratory/Technical University
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Autumn school in Slovak Republic
21—27 October, 2024
Water in the town – water retention wastewater recycling and reuse
Topics:
- Water balance in the town and agricultural landscape (measurement and modeling) of the parameters of the precipitation-runoff process and the water balance of urban micro-basins
- Rain water harvesting,
- Objects to retain water in the town and urban areas – functionality, and design of basic parameters.
- Biological nutrient recycling from the urban wastewaters and the wastewater from food production
Location: Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Engineering, Environmental Center Climate-Landscape-Information
The Envirocenter building is under construction be completed by the end of 2023. It will have a rainwater management system and green roof.
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The International Visegrad Fund
The organization supports regional cooperation between civil society organizations to advance their relations, exchange and share ideas and promote mutual understanding. Further information can be found at the website https://www.visegradfund.org