The International Summer School for students and researchers from European universities was successfully held on July 3-7 in Methana within the framework of the European RAMONES project (https://ramones-project.eu). The summer school focused on Environmental Intelligence, aiming to:
- Activate new approaches for monitoring, analyzing, and managing critical resources in Europe.
- Monitor environmental radioactivity in marine environments with state-of-the-art detection technology.
- Ensure the availability of reliable data and models at multiple levels of detail for making environmental policy decisions.
- Reduce the environmental footprint of environmental ICT.
- Explore the role of artificial intelligence in risk forecasting.
- Increase local and individual/citizen awareness of environmental impacts.
The project coordinator, Associate Professor Theodoros Mertzimekis (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), welcomed all participants, speakers, and representatives of the municipality on the first day of the summer school, including the Mayor of Troizinia-Methana, Mr. Tasos Mougios, the Deputy Mayor of Methana, Mr. Vasilis Pantelis, and the members of the Municipal Council. Throughout the school, the municipality attended the lectures and the outdoor measurements, was informed about the purpose of the school and environmental intelligence, and also attended the official dinner.
During the summer school, participants had the opportunity to learn from leading European experts in various fields about a wide range of topics included in Environmental Intelligence, such as radioactivity, the properties of thermal springs, their connection to the geology of the area, the latest developments and contributions of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) in scanning and surveying marine radioactivity, as well as innovative sensors in the environment and science in general. Participants from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens included Assistant Professor Savvas Genitsaris (Department of Biology), Dr. Andreas Gontikas (Department of Geology & Geoenvironment & EU Horizon nexus monARC), and Professor Paraskevi Nomikou (Department of Geology & Geoenvironment).
From the second day onwards, the lectures by project partners and representatives from collaborating entities and research programs focused on environmental issues, emphasizing marine radioactivity, marine biology, and sea pollution from microplastics. The third day was dedicated to forecasting systems that can be used in environmental intelligence, AI for the detection and analysis of underwater environments, AUVs, geographic information systems, and the presentation of projects collaborating with RAMONES, such as EU H2020 WatchPLANT and SmartLagoon. Our partners Dr. Angelos Mallios and Dr. Makis Douskos (PLOATECH & NTUA) explained eagerly all the details of the aspects of the project and the equipment related to the project. The presentation on open access data relevant to science across society was also interesting. In the last two days, a field exercise was conducted with the participation of all trainees in the area of the hot spring of Agios Nikolaos. Based on field measurements, the teams worked competitively within the framework of a specialized Datathon, which concluded on the last day with presentations and the awarding of participants.
Furthermore, the prospects for expanding the summer school on a permanent basis in the future were discussed with the participants of the school and the local authorities, as well as the promotion of the area with the aim of creating a modern natural laboratory on the Methana Peninsula. The purpose of the summer school was achieved as participation exceeded expectations and the eagerness to learn among participants was intense both during the lectures and in the field measurements. The school promoted science, but additionally created prospects for its further dissemination among young scientists.
