The New European Bauhaus (NEB) Festival opened yesterday in Brussels, Belgium, with the opening ceremony attended by Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. Durin her visit to the NEB Festival fair, she visited selected stands, including the NEB Academy Alliance project booth, where she meet with Dr. Andreja Kutnar, coordinator of the project. The President of the European Commission, together with António Costa, the President of the Council of the European Union, were the first visitors to the NEB Academy Alliance booth, marking a great start of the festival.

Together they discussed about the project’s progress, which is led by University of Primorska, and shared its vision for developing the skills needed to support the New European Bauhaus transition, particularly in relation to the future of the built environment.

The NEB Festival is bringing together a wide range of innovative initiatives that are helping to shape Europe’s sustainable and inclusive future. The festival highlights projects that combine design, sustainability, and new approaches to the built environment.

NEB Academy Alliance project has received notable high-level recognition for its role in advancing education and skills development for the green transition. The project is being presented as an important contribution to strengthening competencies aligned with the goals of the New European Bauhaus. It focuses on developing future-oriented knowledge and skills needed to support sustainable transformation in the built environment, combining innovation, design, and environmental responsibility.

The University of Primorska is represented also at the WoodStock project booth, which today had the honor of welcoming Ekaterina Zaharieva, European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation. During her visit, she also admired the WoodStock rulers, made from wood reclaimed from the historic Servite Monastery, which is currently undergoing renovation by the University of Primorska.

The NEB Festival offers a rich program and provides anunique forum for connecting, creating new partnerships and sharing best practices. The University of Primorska is present at the NEB Festival with several projects that are being showcased at the festival fair, besides the NEB Academy Alliance and WoodStock, also Life BE-Wooden, and BIOARCH, as well as several other projects, which is highlighting its commitment to advance sustainable solutions with research education and cooperation.