We are excited to share an update on the significant communication and dissemination efforts undertaken by the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra (SUA) to promote the NENUPHAR project and its vital objectives. Our team has been actively engaged in a range of events, reaching diverse audiences from scientific communities to the general public and future generations of researchers. These activities have not only raised awareness but also fostered valuable discussions and connections around sustainable nutrient recovery.
Shedding Light on Nutrient Recovery at a Scientific Forum:
SUA was a prominent participant in the 31st Poster Day and Open Day held at the Institute of Hydrology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences on November 13th, 2024, as part of the Science and Technology Week. This international conference provided an excellent platform to showcase NENUPHAR’s innovative solutions.
Assoc. Prof. Elena Aydin delivered a compelling invited lecture, drawing on 10 years of experience with biochar application and demonstrating its potential to enhance crop yields. Besides, her presentation seamlessly introduced the NENUPHAR project, outlining its core aims: recovering nitrogen and phosphorus from waste streams, improving nutrient management, and contributing to cleaner environmental systems. The focus on the Danube demo site within NENUPHAR was further reinforced by the subsequent presentation by Dr. Marine Arabidze who presented a contribution: “Surface water pollution and its impact on ecosystems in Georgia” which was dedicated to surface water pollution, highlighting the project’s relevance to critical environmental challenges.
Beyond the presentations, NENUPHAR maintained a strong presence in the poster section, utilizing a dedicated banner and informative leaflets to engage attendees and facilitate valuable networking opportunities.
Nurturing Future Researchers and Recognizing Excellence
SUA actively encourages the involvement of young scientists in cutting-edge research, and NENUPHAR has been a fantastic avenue for this. On November 14th, 2024, during the Science and Technology Week, the Scientific Conference of PhD. Students at SUA provided a platform for emerging researchers to present their work.
We are incredibly proud to announce that MSc. Marta Lenartowicz, a valued NENUPHAR team member at SUA and a PhD. student under the supervision of Prof. Jurík, was awarded for the best presentation in the section on Multifunctional Agriculture, Environment, Landscape Architecture and Rural Development. Her winning contribution, “Growth medium effect on Scenedesmus obliquus biomass production,” directly aligns with NENUPHAR’s focus on utilizing microalgae for nutrient recovery.
Marta’s dedication and promising research were further recognized on April 10th, 2025, at the Scientific Student FZKI 2025 conference. Here, her presentation “Optimizing biomass growth and nutrient removal by Scenedesmus obliquus in dairy wastewater at different wastewater-to-algae ratios” in the Landscape Engineering section was again chosen as the best among the participating PhD. Students.
The abstract was published in the conference proceedings, already uploaded to Zenodo and shared publicly on the faculty website https://www.fzki.uniag.sk/sk/svc.
These awards are a testament to the quality of research being conducted within the NENUPHAR framework at SUA and highlight the project’s role in developing the next generation of experts in sustainable resource management.
Bridging Science and Society: Connecting with the Community
To broaden the reach of NENUPHAR and other international projects, SUA organized the successful “Science Connects” event on November 18th and 19th, 2024. This initiative aimed to popularize research and its outputs for both professional and general audiences.
The first day, integrated into the Erasmus Village programme, saw over 60 international and domestic students presenting their countries alongside university faculties and institutes showcasing their international research projects. Professor Ľuboš Jurík, Assoc. Prof. Elena Aydin, Assoc. Prof. Tatiana Kaletová, and MSc. Marta Lenartowicz were on spot to actively inform the audience about the NENUPHAR project and its innovative demo sites. The visual aids, including a banner, leaflets (in both Slovak and English), and particularly engaging examples of wastewater and algae highlighting their crucial role in the technology being developed at SUA, effectively captured the audience’s interest.
The second day of “Science Connects” moved to the Faculty of Economics and Management, coinciding with their traditional Partnership Day job fair. This provided an excellent opportunity to engage with university and high school students, emphasizing the practical applications and career prospects related to sustainable technologies like those developed in NENUPHAR. A banner and leaflets in Slovak and English were again used to effectively communicate the project’s message.
DAY 2 of the event
These activities demonstrate SUA’s commitment to sharing the progress and potential of NENUPHAR with a wide range of stakeholders, fostering understanding and encouraging future engagement with the project’s goals.
SUA remains dedicated to actively promoting the NENUPHAR project and its crucial contributions to a more sustainable future. We look forward to continuing our dissemination efforts and sharing further updates with our valued partners.
