Together it is more interesting! Schools of Mukachevo and Baia Mare learn energy management.

Exchange visit of teachers and students of Mukachevo schools NN 1 and 16 to their colleagues in Baia Mare, took place recently, aimed at exchange of experience and knowledge on issues of energy management and energy efficiency. Exchange visit became possible due to the project YES: Young energy specialists against energy waste in cross-border schools. The project is implemented by FORZA Agency together with AMEMM, Energy Management Agency of Maramures within the ENPI HUSKROUA program. During this project in two Ukrainian schools (Mukachevo city) and two Romanian (Baia Mare) energy efficiency activities are being implemented, among which professional energy audit, aimed at finding “energy” gaps in the schools and identify realistic possibilities for energy efficiency increase; purchase of energy measuring equipment for all School Energy Management Teams; purchase of energy saving devices for small scale energy efficiency measures in schools; special trainings for SEMTs, exchange visits and educational workshops for school students. Ukrainian SEMTs are students of 8-10 grades, interested in improvement of their knowledge on issues of energy and ready to conduct energy audit measures in their schools, meaning monitoring and management of energy consumption for improvement of energy saving habits and smart use of energy sources both among students and teachers of the schools. Participants of first (out of two planned) exchange visit were 8 teachers and 9 students of Mukachevo schools NN1 and 16 and 5 teachers and 12 students of Anghel Saligny College and Pentecostal High school of Baia Mare. Program of the visit composed of visit and excursion at two pilot schools of Baia Mare, excursion to the Mineralogy Museum in Baia Mare and training on issues of energy audit and energy efficiency with practical exercises and experiments. Training was delivered by the Cluj-Napoca Technical University Professor of alternative energy sources, Liviu Neamt and leader of Maramures inter-school advanced course of physics and energetic, Vasile Pop, who during the whole day conducted experiments on insulation, measuring of heat consumption, interactive discussion with participants of mixed Ukrainian-Romanian groups of children and their teachers. The most important and interesting, what was provided to students of this international event was communication and exchange, which, we hope, will be strengthened during the second exchange visit of Romanian students and teachers to Ukraine, planned for spring 2015.