From 11.10.23.-13.10.23. Linda Murāne went to Brussels, where with the organization "Free Riga" and other project partners, she had the opportunity to "step into the shoes of French students" and participate in a training session with the aim of getting to know the experience of creating Brussels communes in uninhabited buildings. During the meeting, it was discussed that the creation of communes in abandoned buildings often has a negative connotation due to its specific subculture, but in fact it is one of the ways that can solve the housing crisis and find temporary housing for people who need it.

During the experience visit, it was learned that each commune has its own administrative model, which solves the daily situations of the community and promotes the development of projects in cooperation with municipalities. Through the projects, it is possible to organize various events to help people who are in a crisis situation, and often a large number of artists are located in the communes and it is a great platform to promote business and get the necessary support. The French students attended the training session to obtain the certificate, but the BASICC project partners attended to familiarize themselves with the course and structure of the training, so that the knowledge gained could then be integrated into their own country context. 

The activities are implemented by the Erasmus+ project “Building Alternative Skills to Implement Creativities and Commons, No. 101111802” and are co-financed from the European Union budget. 

A contemporary Ukrainian research-based digital art game for developing narrative skills and cinema literacy

In collaboration with Kharkiv State Academy of Culture

The MSCA4Ukraine research program

Part of the European Commission’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Project No. 1233058

Implementation time: 01/04/2023-31/03/2025

Researchers: PhD Yuliia Kovalenko, scientific supervisor Ieva Gintere

Budget: 146 659,20 EUR

The two researchers are working on an educational virtual environment "CineGame Ukraine" to represent modern Ukrainian cinema, as well as, in cooperation with the Kharkiv State Academy of Culture, to support cinematography students in the process of creating cinema narrative and studying contemporary aesthetics.
The project envisages further development of modern cultural heritage and research on serious art games carried out at ViA since 2018.

Results

The CineGame prototype: https://cinegame.va.lv/

Q2 article: Gintere, I., Kovalenko, Y., Misjuns, A., Peters, J. (2025). The Weirdness – Openness Paradigm in Contemporary Aesthetics. Cogent Arts & Humanities (Q2). Taylor & Francis, doi: 10.1080/23311983.2025.2469438, available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2025.2469438

Article in the proceedings: Kovalenko, Y., Gintere, I., Misjuns, A. (2025). Using Serious Art Games to promote the Circulation of Ideas Embodied in Contemporary Aesthetics. Proceedings of the 17th International Conference of Computer Supported Education (CSEDU2025). Institute for Systems and Technologies of Information, Control and Communication, Prague, SciTePress library.

Presentations at international scientific conferences

Kovalenko, Y., Gintere, I., Misjuns, A. (2025). Using Serious Art Games to promote the Circulation of Ideas Embodied in Contemporary Aesthetics. 17th International Conference of Computer Supported Education (CSEDU). Porto, 1st-3rd April 2025.

Kovalenko, Y. (2024). Immersive Narratives: Blending Cinematic Storytelling with Serious Gaming and Interactive Filmmaking. International Scientific Conference of Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences “Society. Technologies. Solutions”, April 12^th, 2024.

Kovalenko, Y. (2024). Updating and preservation of audiovisual collections in the digital space of Ukraine. The 9th Baltic Sea Region Film History Conference. Latvian Academy of Culture, Riga, June 6th-8th, 2024 “Exploring the Past and Future of Audiovisual Media in the Baltic Sea Region: Archives, Digital Platforms, Researchers and Spectators”.

Seminars and networking events

On October 22nd 2024, the results have been presented at the Ted4Lat Doctorate school of Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, Paris, https://ted4lat.workshop.inrae.fr/program

Kauno Kolegija Higher Education Institution International Days (Lithuania, 14-16 May 2024)

Staff training/teaching visit to the University of Donja Gorica (Montenegro, 22-26 April 2024), approved by MSCA as Erasmus+ funding

International Week “Connecting Europe!” (St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences, Austria, 25-28 November 2024)

Staff Training Week “Local and Global Education” (University of Akureyri, Iceland, 6-10 May 2024)

European Research & Innovation Days 2024 (Brussels, 20-21 March 2024)

2024 Philipp Schwartz and Inspireurope Stakeholder Forum (Berlin, 18-19 April 2024)

Steminist - Women in Science Week, organized by MSCA, February 2024

Professional development: language and cultural education

Latvian Language Course (B1 level) at the Educational Center “BUTS” in Valmiera (4 October – 29 November 2024)

English for Tourism and Latvian Language & Culture courses at Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences

In this interdisciplinary project, we will study the determining factors of nationalism and patriotism as forms of national attachments and their influence on the formation of a democratic civil society. By studying in detail the expression of patriotism and nationalism in cognition and attitudes, as well as the relation of these forms of national attachment to the individual\'s political beliefs and behavior, it is possible to understand how to build and strengthen national identity in a way that strengthens a democratic civil society. In the project, we will develop a patriotism/nationalism orientation scale and test its psychometric properties, we will conduct a series of experiments to test the relationship between patriotism and nationalism with cognition. With the help of qualitative methods we will find out how patriotism/nationalism orientations are represented in the content of citizenship education and how they are related to the political views and behaviour of young people. We will disseminate the results at scientific conferences and publish scientific articles at political science and psychology conferences. We will inform policymakers, teachers, NGOs about the results, thus demonstrating the importance of social sciences in strengthening national security and state defence.

Implementation period: 01.01.2023. - 31.12.2025.

Project No. LZP-2022/1-0456

Funding/ programme: Fundamental and Applied Research Programme

HESPI role: Project implementer

Cooperation partners: N/A

Project funding: 299916.00 EUR

Project scientific manager (e-mail): Ieva Bērziņa (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Involved staff: HESPI research staff Vineta Silkāne, Anna Broka, guest researcher Ivars Austers, master's students - guest research assistants Liene Zīvere, Kristīne Jaunzeme

APPLICATION TO THE EXCHANGE RESEARCH PROGRAMME

FOR PHD STUDENTS AND POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS

EMPLOYED AT THE VIDZEME UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES

Application is prolonged until December 31st, 2024

PhD students or candidates: to qualify for this research exchange program, the candidate must have a Master degree in physics, computer science and engineering, environmental engineering or other relevant fields by the start date of the position.

Post-docs or junior researchers with PhD: to qualify for this research exchange program, the candidate must have PhD or equivalent in physics, computer science and engineering, environmental engineering or other relevant discipline by the start date of the position, or awarded no more than seven years (according to European standards) prior to the application deadline.

This is an internal competition at the Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences.

The exchange research program requires documented expertise in software like MATLAB, PYTHON and  sound verbal and written communication skills in English.

Salary or grant will be provided according to university policy and agreement with junior researcher based on achieved results (accepted publications).

Research topics

Goal of the grant

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

Applicants should send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. including:

• CV (European format)
• Context of the research within the Latvian University (topic, team, project, supervisor etc.)
• Short description of the research plan
• Motivation for application (a few lines)

Please specify “TED4LAT research scheme application” as the title of your application email.

Interviews of applicants shall take place in the period of one month after submission of the application. The interview will start with a presentation from the candidate about their research topic, the context and their motivation. Final decision will be communicated after one month.

Relevant research articles

See the call in the Ted4Lat homepage

General information

TED4LAT is a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) proposal targeting the overarching objective of the call HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-03-01: Twinning to reach high international standards in research and innovation in Latvia (widening country). Project No. 101079206

Project objectives: 

- Encourage institutional reforms and transformation processes of the R&I system at national and regional level in Latvia in line with ERA principles

- Mobilise national investments in R&I capacity in widening countries

- Increase participation and success rates of Latvian actors in research and innovation projects in other parts of Horizon Europe programme

- Promote the creation of new innovation ecosystems and scale up existing ones by a set of measures, which include, among other, place based and international collaboration between academia and business in widening countries

- Implement a detailed programme of research Staff-Exchange, Short-Visits, Workshops and PhD schools to foster brain circulation, including inter-sectoral mobility for researchers and innovators and turn it into brain gain for widening countries

- Develop a common strategic research agenda in the multidisciplinary area of Data Science and Dynamical System Modelling

Work packages

WP1 - Project management

WP2 - Networking and communication

WP3 - Training and up-skilling

WP4 - Common research agenda and shared laboratory set-up

WP5 - Dissemination and exploitation

Implementation period: 01.10.2022-30.09.2025

Partners

Riga Technical University, Liepāja University, Baltic Open Solution Centre (Latvia)
Politecnico di Torino (ITALY)
INSTITUT NATIONAL DE RECHERCHE POUR L'AGRICULTURE, L'ALIMENTATION ET L'ENVIRONNEMENT (FRANCE)

Scientific leader of the team from Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences: Ph.D. Oskars Java

Researchers: Sarma Cakula, Mairita Zaķe, Andris Lapāns, Ivars Majors, Andris Fjodorovs

PhD students: Krišjānis Zaķis, Roberts Volkovičs, Viesturs Bambāns

Administrative coordinator: Ieva Gintere, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

More about the project: https://www.ted4lat.eu/