51st annual meeting and conference

NORDTEK 2023 – 51st annual meeting and conference

The theme of this year’s meeting and conference was SUSTAINABILITY- How do we educate engineers for a sustainable future?

In a world where resources are becoming scarce, we rely on engineers to come up with sustainable solutions. Therefore, the theme of the NORDTEK Conference 2023, with a focus on UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Through contributions from Nordic experts in education, research, industry and politics, the meeting and conference acquired and exchanged inspiration and specific methods for how to incorporate sustainability into engineering education and research in a way that is both relevant and forward-looking.

During the conference, we focused on questions such as “which sustainability-related challenges are we facing across different sectors of the industry and in society as a whole?” “How do we strategically support the development of relevant solutions to these challenges in our educational institutions?” “How do we keep producing engineers who are equipped to solve the problems of tomorrow?”

The conference included interactive presentations, debates, roundtables and panels. It wasbe held at Aarhus University, Denmark on Thursday, August 17th 2023

Thursday 17th of August - Program

Time	Title	Speaker
9.00 - 9.05	Welcome	Finn Borchenius, Vice-dean of education, TECH, Aarhus University
9.05 - 9.35	A more sustainable future – challenges and opportunities with the green transition	Mads Bendixen, Director of Outreach, The Novo Nordisk Foundation CO2 Research Center, Aarhus University
9.35 - 10.05	COMPETENCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE - Future skill and workforce requirements for engineers working with climate technologies in the Nordics	Laura Klitgaard, Chairperson of The Danish Society of Engineers
10.05 - 10.25	Engineering Education for Sustainability	Aldert Kamp, Aldert Kamp Advices
10.25 - 10.45	Coffee and networking	YOU
10.45 - 11.15	What would I liked to have learnt about sustainability in my engineering education?	Lasse Louis Svendsen, Engineer
11.15 - 11.45	Hurdles for sustainability in engineering education. Results of the discussion	Jens Bennedsen, Professor, Head of section, Dept of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Aarhus University
11.45 - 12.15	The energy storage systems as the element of the secure and sustainable future energy system	Saulius Gudžius Professor, Head of Department of Electrical Power Systems, Kaunas University of Technology and Joans Vaicys,
12.15 - 13.15	Lunch	YOU
13.15 - 13.45	Experiences with sustainable engineering and student-centered learning for 1 000+ students	Johan Berg Pettersen, Associate Professor, Department of Energy and Process Engineering, NTNU
13.45 - 14.15	Biomass – availability and alternatives for use	Anna Sundberg, Senior University Lecturer, Laboratory of Natural Materials Technology, Åbo Akademi University
14.15 - 14.45	Green skills: just another bubble in the education system or foundation for green transition?	Helen Sooväli-Seppin, Vice-Rector for Green Transition, Tallinn University of Technology
14.45 - 15.15	Coffee and networking	YOU
15.15 - 15.45	A viewpoint on the necessary skills and research to make buildings regenerative (slides not avaliable)	Frank Jensen, Owner and chairman Søren Jensen A/S
15.45 - 16.30	Panel: where do we go from here?	Frank Jensen, Maarja Kruusmaa, Finn Borchenius, Student (TBC)
16.30 - 17.00	Walk to the greenhouses and the botanical garden	YOU
17.00 - 17.45	Pre-dinner drinks and talk:"How to make a greenhouse sustainable?"	Frank Jensen, Owner and chairman Søren Jensen A/S
17.45 - 19.00	move to the dinner, time to stop by your hotel to change dress if needed	YOU
19.00 - ??	Conference dinner	Navitas