RES4CITY Horizon Europe Launch

Thursday, October 6, 2022 - 17:30 to 19:00
Iontas Theatre

The RES4CITY project is a 36-month project funded by the European Commission aimed at upskilling students and member of the workforce to prepare for the green transition and to support a low carbon economy. Led by Dr Fabiano Pallonetto and Dr Emmanuel Kypraios at the Maynooth University School of Business, this project focuses on the use of advanced technologies to create an inclusive upskilling program on the green transition for people cannot afford traditional educational pathways. It also tackles circularity, sustainability, and educational aspects of Renewable Energies Systems for cities (RES) and Fuel Technologies (FT).
 
Fabiano and Emmanuel would like to extend this invitation to others across the University who may like to attend.  Please RSVP to this event by securing your ticket via Eventbrite .  

Students, faculty, research students, and industry partners are among those joining us in celebrating the launching event. Professor Brian Donnellan, Vice President for Engagement and Innovation & Interim Vice President for Research at Maynooth University and Prof McNamara, Head of the School of Business and incoming Dean of Social Sciences, will participate in the event. The event will feature 17 different project partners from across Europe, including the United Nation Training and Research Centre (UNITAR) based in Switzerland. We are also pleased that Mr Alex Mejia, Director of UNITAR’s Division for People and Social Inclusion, will attend and participate in the event. 

A rapid shift toward renewable energy, sustainable fuels, and sustainable development is imperative for the European Union to meet the Green Deal target to become climate-neutral by 2050. To reach this ambitious objective, a concerted action involving a large variety of actors (e.g., industries, public institutions, citizens, etc.) with different needs and priorities is necessary.

RES4CITY's overarching goal is to enhance the development of sustainable renewables and fuel technologies in cities by promoting sustainability and circularity and by deploying an innovative educational programme co-designed with stakeholders to develop highly skilled human capital.

RES4CITY will work on
1) How technology is going to affect the education ecosystem, focussing on digitalisation, gamification, AI and web platforms;
2) Reduce inequalities and provide inclusive opportunities for women and working classes that are not able to follow traditional education pathways;
3) Create a microcredentials basket centred on the open-education principle targeting the knowledge integration of young STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and non-STEM graduates (i.e., Bachelor, Master, and PhD) and the re-skilling of professionals from a wide variety of industries and career paths,

The introduction of innovative energy paradigms is pivotal to guarantee a sustainable development that bolsters decarbonisation, improves environmental conditions (i.e., reduction of air pollution and improvement of waste management), and promotes circularity in Renewable Energy Sources (RES) to make them a zero-waste resource. RES4CITY tackles circularity, sustainability and educational aspects of RES and Fuel Technologies (FT). The project focuses on urban contexts since most of the EU population is concentrated in cities where the consumption of resources (i.e., energy, water, land, etc.) has been steadily increasing.

Agenda
17:30-17:40    Welcome note and Introduction by coordinating team, Maynooth University
17:40-17:55    Prof. Brian Donnellan, Vice President for Research and Innovation , Maynooth University
17:55-18:10    Mr. Alex Mejia, Director, Division for People and Social Inclusion United Nation Training Institute, UNITAR
18:10-18:45    Expert Panel with moderator, Professor Peter McNamara, Head of School of Business and incoming Dean of Social Sciences, Maynooth University

Panels:
Prof Honor Fagan – Maynooth University – Dept. of Sociology
Prof Lisa Ryan
Joan Mulvihill, Digitalisation & Sustainability Lead at Siemens