Kyiv Polytechnic researcher completes course at summer academy in Bavaria
Dina Koltysheva, Assistant Professor at the Department of Bioenergy, Bioinformatics and Environmental Biotechnology of the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, participated in the Summer Academy of the Bavarian Environmental Administration from 20 to 31 July 2026. The course, or rather the internship, unfolded in the German city of Hof.
The intensive two-week educational programme covered a wide range of topical issues, placing particular emphasis on environmental law and the practical aspects of environmental protection. Participants explored in detail the basic principles of legislation on water and environmental protection, together with the rules regulating emission control, waste management and soil protection. Special attention was paid to European Union requirements and mechanisms for their implementation in national legislation, community engagement, financial contributions and fees, and the distinctive features of management within municipal services.
The course harmoniously combined lectures, lively professional discussions and visits to relevant industrial sites. It is worth mentioning too that the course included a large number of intensive excursions to leading public utilities and private companies, whereby participants were able to gain the first-hand experience of technologies for the sustainable supply of drinking water and wastewater treatment. In particular, they dissected the advantages and disadvantages of methods vital to biotechnology, such as the ANAMMOX process (anaerobic ammonium oxidation – a unique biochemical reaction where specific bacteria convert ammonium and nitrite ions directly into dinitrogen gas under oxygen-free conditions), the use of macrophytes for remediation of wastewater, as well as differentiated approaches based on the volume of wastewater inflow.
The organisers devoted a significant part of the programme to the issues of waste recycling, particularly innovative technologies for recycling glass (cullet) into new container glass. In addition, German experts introduced their colleagues to the modern methods of climate assessment, weather and precipitation forecasting, laser focusing on flood prevention measures. Participants studied comprehensive approaches to the biomonitoring of organisms and the condition of rivers, and analysed the current legislative framework in this area.
Beyond a heavy academic schedule, the programme included an interesting and informative cultural component. The participants toured the historic German cities of Nuremberg, Bamberg, Rothenburg and Ansbach. All were deeply moved by a tour of Mödlareuth, known as Little Berlin for its historical Cold War division, and by the German-German Museum (Deutsch-Deutsches Museum Mödlareuth), which promoted deeper understanding of European history.
Sincere thanks are due to the organisers, Matthias Worst and Svitlana Kozmenko, as well as to all specialists involved in the course, for the invaluable theoretical and applied knowledge they have provided, which will serve as a solid foundation for future research and professional activities at Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.
