Visegrad Gen MiniGrant
|
|
The project is co-financed by the governments of Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia through Visegrad Grants from the International Visegrad Fund. The mission of the fund is to advance ideas for sustainable regional cooperation in Central Europe. |
The International Visegrad Fund is an international donor organization established by the governments of the Visegrad Group (V4) countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia). Its aim is to support closer understanding and cooperation among people in the V4 region, as well as between the V4 region and other countries and regions, particularly in the non-EU neighborhood of the Eastern Partnership countries and in the Western Balkans. The fund does fosters the development of civil society by financing joint grant projects and by awarding university scholarships and artist residencies. The fund’s annual budget of €10 million consists of equal contributions by the V4 governments.
Vinnytsia National Technical University organized and conducted an international academic mobility project in the form of a scientific school titled “TechEcoSphere: Sustainable Mechatronic Design Principles for Future Engineers,” which won the International Visegrad Fund’s V4 Generation Mobility Mini-Grant competition and took place at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen (Czech Republic) from October 5 to 10, 2025. The project united the efforts of three leading technical universities: Vinnytsia National Technical University (Ukraine), University of West Bohemia (Czech Republic), and Lublin University of Technology (Poland). This cooperation enabled students and researchers to exchange experience, knowledge, and innovative ideas in the field of sustainable mechatronic design, which is a highly relevant topic, especially in the context of developing technologies aimed at minimizing energy consumption and achieving environmentally balanced development.
VNTU was represented by a team consisting of: Oleksandr Petrov – Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs and Educational Process Organization (project leader), Serhii Sukhorukov – Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Transport (deputy project leader), FMT students – Vladyslav Hlyvyi, Vladyslav Poberezhets, Yaroslav Pastukh, Denys Trokhanov, Oleksandr Trokhanov, as well as FEEEM students – Viktoriia Lastivka and Oksana Povstianko. The project implementation would have been impossible without the support of foreign colleagues – Milan Belik (Ph.D., Engineer at the Department of Power Engineering, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of West Bohemia) and Andrzej Kocybinski (Associate Professor at the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Lublin University of Technology). Important support in project implementation was provided by Olena Rubanenko – Professor at the ESS Department (VNTU) and Karolina Czarnacka (Associate Professor at the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Lublin University of Technology). A total of 23 students from the Czech Republic, Poland, and Ukraine participated in the international scientific school, whose research interests lie in areas related to mechatronic systems design.
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Oleksandr Petrov, Ph.D., Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs and Educational Process Organization, Vinnytsia National Technical University | Serhii Sukhorukov, Ph.D., Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Transport, Vinnytsia National Technical University | Milan Belik, Ph.D., Engineer at the Department of Power Engineering, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of West Bohemia | Andrzej Kocybinski, Ph.D., Associate Professor at the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Lublin University of Technology |
First working day began with presentations from partner universities and introduction to the research directions of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the University of West Bohemia. Participants were offered tours of high voltage and electromagnetic compatibility laboratories, where they had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with modern equipment and research methods. Meetings were held with representatives from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the University of West Bohemia, which allowed discussion of directions for further cooperation and joint implementation of international projects.
 |
 |
 |
 |
Second and Third Days: were dedicated to intensive training. Lectures on “Designing Mechatronic Systems to Minimize Energy Consumption in the Visegrad Group Region” addressed current sustainable development issues. Excursions to the Research and Innovation Centre of Electrical Engineering (RICE) and Regional Technological Institute (RTI) provided practical knowledge about implementing advanced technologies in industry. Interesting program activities included excursions to Czech institutions, particularly to the Renewable Energy Laboratory, Renewable Energy Sources Park, and the historic Pilsner Urquell brewery, which demonstrated practical application of sustainable development principles in real conditions.
 |
 |
 |
 |
Fourth Day: was dedicated to reflection and consolidation of acquired knowledge. Participants completed intensive workshops conducted by representatives from Lublin University of Technology and University of West Bohemia, which allowed deeper understanding of mechatronic design features in different countries. At the end of the day, all project participants received participation certificates.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The experience of participating in the academic mobility project in the form of a scientific school titled “TechEcoSphere: Sustainable Mechatronic Design Principles for Future Engineers,” which received a grant from the International Visegrad Fund’s V4 Generation Mobility Mini-Grant, was presented on October 30, 2025, at an open seminar for students and faculty of Vinnytsia National Technical University. The project implementation was presented by its leader – Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs and Educational Process Organization Oleksandr Petrov.
 |
 |
 |
It was noted that participation in this project, which received funding from the International Visegrad Fund, allows implementation of innovative approaches to training mechatronics engineers with emphasis on sustainable development principles and ecological design. VNTU gained access to international expertise, modern teaching methodologies, and academic mobility opportunities for faculty and students. This contributes to increasing the competitiveness of university graduates in the European labor market and strengthening VNTU’s international reputation as an innovative technical higher education institution.
Project’s partners
| Vinnytsya National Technical University |  |
| University of West Bohemia |  |
| Lublin University of Technology |  |