Report on the activities of the “Future cities- smart and sustainable solutions” project
“Future cities- smart and sustainable solutions”
Project number – 2020-1-BG01-KA229-079066
The “Future cities- smart and sustainable solutions” project under the Erasmus + program started in 2020. An Erasmus+ project is coming to a successful end. The last visit was made in Burgas, Bulgaria. The implementation of the tasks took place in the conditions of Covid 19, which necessitated the postponement of some activities and mobilities. In the end, everything fell into place and the planned tasks were carried out successfully. During the first year there was realized one visit to Bratislava, Slovakia. In the second year of the project, three mobilities were carried out, although more often, in Poland, Romania and Bulgaria. In each of the schools visited, successful programs were accomplished that led to the realization of the project’s goals.
The objectives were aligned with the selected priorities, enabling partners to create smart and sustainable solutions for the urban environment. The project work was organized into four (4) stages: research, analysis, work and creation and finally a full set of solutions in an e-book. It is mandatory to use the possibilities of the Internet (taking into account the situation with Covid-19), whenever it was necessary to replace part of the work during a visit with online activities.
The goal of the first year of the project is to research, analyze and summarize data about the urban environment using Internet tools. Through these activities, the creation and use of soft skills is achieved: critical thinking, analysis and synthesis, creativity, teamwork, etc.
The goal of the second year of the project is sustainability in practice. Students continued their work on their websites and included implementing measures and methods to provide smart and sustainable solutions. Students developed smart conclusions to improve the urban environment through the use of IoT. These activities created skills for working with Internet tools, creativity, independence, but also teamwork in the created presentations. Using English as a working language is an opportunity to improve its acquisition as well as develop communication skills.
The project included four stages within two years. During the first (1) stage, students go through Cisco’s Internet of Things (IoT) networking academy online courses. This gave students online experience in finding and applying smart technology. Students learn how to make excellent “Pecha Kucha” presentations. This type of presentation teaches students to speak and explain the events they are presenting within 6-10 minutes. Project activities are intended for secondary school students. During the work on the project, a website was created, in which all the activities are published together with text and photo material for the distribution of the completed activities.
At this stage, all four mobilities have been carried out in Slovakia, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria. At the final stage, an e-book was created that contained solutions for the urban environment to be at the service of the relevant authorities to improve the urban environment.