Sustainable Development since the late ‘80s has become a political priority at a global level. In order to face the challenge of combining economic development and social progress without damaging the environment, new capabilities need to be developed in order to evaluate and address the crucial questions related to policy choices and implementation.
Since 2003, the TEN Program for Sustainability of VIU has been involved in capacity-building programs that focus on emerging economies, and has developed extensive education and training programs aimed at enhancing the capacities of young academic generations as well as policy-makers and business representatives.
China, Mexico, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Ukraine, and different other countries in Central and Eastern Europe have been the target of 1- or 2-week training sessions, arranged in Venice (VIU premises) or locally, in the target country, thanks to the cooperation of local partners.
English is the working language and, when necessary, translation is provided (this is the case with China, Mexico, Russia), with a strong preference for consecutive translation.
Local sessions are usually conceived as Introductory, presenting an overview of the addressed topics, including cross-cutting issues such as environmental economy and policy, and address a larger number of participants (60>120).
"VIU sessions" are usually thematic ones and offer in-depth analysis of the addressed topics, with a smaller number of participants (15>30).
The methodology is a key feature of VIU Capacity Building programs, and is based on a learning-by-doing approach as it includes:
- in-class lectures
- site visits
- presentation of case-studies
- living lab sessions
- exchange of experiences
- discussion sessions
VIU network guarantees to provide experts on a variety of topics, designing ad-hoc course agendas that answer to the specific (environmental) needs and requests of each country.
Experts are selected from the academia, the public and the private sector, whereas site visits are arranged in companies and institutions located all over Italy.
Addressed topics range from broader, traditional aspects of Environmental Management, to more specific and complex ones, such as:
Waste management, Water quality, Air monitoring, Pollution prevention, Sustainable agriculture, Energy & energy efficiency, Mobility, Sustainable urban development, Food safety & security, Circular Economy, Climate change, Environmental security, Innovation, and many others.
