On 25–26 January 2024, Kauno kolegija Higher Education Institution (HEI) hosted the first international partners’ meeting of the Erasmus+ project “Personal Green Skills in Higher Education” (PeGSinHE) (No. 2023-1-LT01-KA220-HED-000160132). The project involves representatives of five higher education institutions from different countries: Lithuania (Kauno kolegija HEI is the project coordinator), Finland, Germany, Austria and Spain. The international meeting allowed not only to discuss and design the guidelines for the implementation of the project activities, but also provided the partners with the opportunity to get to know each other physically and to establish a stronger cooperative relationship.

Kauno kolegija HEI was represented by the Head of the International Relations Department (Project Coordinator) Povilas Beseckas, the Senior Specialist of the Project Management Unit (Project Administrator) Vytautė Giedraitienė, the project researchers: the Head of the Department of Legal and Document Management Neringa Lisina, the Lecturer of the Faculty of Technology Dr Ina Bikuvienė, the Associate Professor of the Faculty of Medicine Dr Rasa Tamulienė, the Lecturer of the Faculty of Medicine Alina Liepinaitienė. Representatives of other international partner universities came from Finland (Tampere University of Applied Sciences), Austria (University College for Agricultural and Environmental Education), Germany (Technical University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt), Spain (University of Malaga).

Green skills are one of the key factors in fighting against climate change. There is no doubt that the higher education sector has a bigger role to play in tackling the climate crisis. In the transition towards a green economy and sustainable development, higher education institutions should promote a new paradigm in which value orientations are complemented by the development of green skills. Personal values and attitudes, which are reflected in each individual’s green mindset, are the fundamental basis for green skills development. Thus, the main goal of the project is to develop students’ green skills and to promote personal behavioural change in order to achieve sustainable development goals. In order to achieve the project’s goal, it is necessary to provide higher education teachers with innovative tools that enable them to become active players in the transfer of green skills to the students. The project therefore aims to strengthen the capabilities of digital and green tools in the higher education sector, to promote the integration of innovative teaching and learning methods in higher education, and to foster the personal skills of learners to protect nature and ensure its sustainability.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the National Agency. Neither the European Union nor National Agency can be held responsible for them.