Drought, high temperatures, low water levels in rivers and forest fires. Climate change is visible to the naked eye. The transformation of the climate system must go hand in hand with systemic change. Public sector entities, local governments, companies, NGOs and universities are all taking action on this issue.

Climate change is such a universal challenge that it forces almost all actors to work together. For example, urban design requires environmental and climate education and the ability to coordinate the activities of various institutions, companies and organisations. In response, among other things, to such challenges, the Fahrenheit Universities' Postgraduate Studies in Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change were established as a joint initiative of the Fahrenheit Universities, namely the University of Gdańsk, the Technical University of Gdańsk, and the Medical University of Gdańsk:

- 'The Fahrenheit Universities clearly see the challenges facing our region. We take a responsible approach to climate change issues. We are constantly developing and strengthening our cooperation, which has resulted, among other things, in the joint preparation of postgraduate studies Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change,' - says prof. dr hab. Adriana Zaleska-Medyńska, Director of the Daniel Fahrenheit Association of Universities in Gdańsk.

The Postgraduate Studies in Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change last two semesters. The postgraduate programme includes 196 hours of face-to-face teaching. It is a great opportunity for staff working in business and public and local government to increase their competence in dealing with climate change.

Responding to local and regional needs

One of the key elements of the m is the building of local and regional partnerships and the networking of academic units, local government, businesses and NGOs. The postgraduate course Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change provides the opportunity to acquire competencies that open the way to cooperation in the search for practical solutions used in the implementation of the European Green Deal.

The idea for the Postgraduate Studies was a response to local and regional needs expressed during many conferences, seminars and also in letters of intent from business organisations. As emphasised by entrepreneur Wojciech Falkowski, President of Ecol-Unicon Sp. z o.o., the strength of the course is, above all, its comprehensiveness: - 'We have the opportunity to combine humanistic, technological and engineering knowledge with medical knowledge. I am very pleased that it has been possible to draw on the experience of the largest universities in Tricity to prepare organic education for employees in such an important area for our region. Equipped with the knowledge of mitigation and adaptation, they will be able to implement it effectively in their work both in companies and offices. The fact that we can combine different disciplines and do interdisciplinary studies is crucial for employees who want to continuously develop in their fields,' - notes Wojciech Falkowski.

The combination of different disciplines would not have been possible without the aforementioned cooperation between the three universities. The study programme consists of six modules. Each of them is coordinated by one of the three universities: University of Gdańsk, Technical University of Gdańsk or Medical University of Gdańsk. This ensures that the content of the interdisciplinary studies is supervised by specialists.

Interdisciplinary postgraduate studies

Dr inż. Rafał Ossowski, Professor at the Gdańsk University of Technology, is the coordinator of postgraduate studies on behalf of PG. As he says, Module 3 Engineering for Climate provides an introduction to, among other things, how to implement the European Green Deal at the local level:

- 'The module shows examples of the introduction of a closed loop economy, sustainable industrial production and the creation of closed loops of technological processes. It also provides an introduction to modern energy strategies and technologies, energy management and the creation of local, distributed energy systems. Issues related to municipal/city/business water management and safeguarding against phenomena resulting from climate change (droughts, floods) are also discussed. An important element of the course is urban aspects: sustainable urban development from a social, economic and environmental perspective, principles for creating resilient cities, implementing effective and efficient climate change adaptation and mitigation initiatives, blue-green infrastructure in cities, as well as modern low-carbon transport,' - says dr inż. Rafał Ossowski, prof. PG.

According to prof. dr hab. n. chem. Lidia Wolska from the Medical University of Gdańsk, who is the coordinator of the studies on behalf of GUMed, it is extremely important to understand such categories as health, well-being and quality of life, and to know the legal guarantees of occupational health and safety:

- 'Human beings, being part of the environment, are affected by environmental factors such as physical (e.g. noise, dust), chemical (e.g. odour compounds or antibiotics), biological (e.g. bacteria, fungi, viruses), but also psychological or food-related factors. Extreme environmental phenomena, including weather (storms, downpours, hail, heat, etc.), resulting from climate change, rapidly alter the environment, disrupting the state of homeostasis in the human body. The consequences are health problems. As part of the study, students will acquire the skills to analyse and forecast health problems arising in modern societies as a result of climate change. These competencies are increasingly sought after in the labour market,' - emphasises prof. Lidia Wolska.

Dr Mirosława Malinowska, Head of Postgraduate Studies, draws attention to the interdisciplinary nature of the programme: 'Together we can achieve better results than alone. Each university has its own specifics, deals with other fields and scientific disciplines has separate research objects and methodologies. Adapting to climate change requires different solutions, which can only be developed in an interdisciplinary way, involving experts from different fields. And let us not forget the external specialists who will be teaching our students. Their knowledge cannot be underestimated,' - points out dr Mirosława Malinowska.

The studies will be administered by the Centre for Sustainable Development at the University of Gdańsk:

- 'At the Centre, we run the Education for Sustainable Development programme, under which we initiate, prepare and implement postgraduate studies and other forms of education. The subject matter of the studies is perfectly in line with the mission of our unit,' - says dr hab. Sylwia Mrozowska, prof. UG, Director of CZR UG.

Recruitment

Recruitment for the studies will last until September 21, 2022. Registration can be done here. There are 40 places available for candidates. You can read more about the Fahrenheit University Postgraduate Programme Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change here.

Szymon Gronowski/CZRUG