Final Activity Report Summary - STAR CITY (The green city of the future) Funded by the Marie Curie Programme, STAR CITY is a unique project which includes a series of events covering the four essential sectors of sustainable urban development: energy, transport, waste management and urban planning. The STAR vision and network is now a reality - vigorously selected PhDs and post-docs chosen from mixed-disciplines, mixed nationality backgrounds found innovative, cross-cutting sustainable solutions to real problems provided by local government, private industry and academic institutions under the STAR themes.The proposer/coordinator was Professor Ingo Romey of the University of Duisburg-Essen (DE) : partners were Instituto Superior Tecnico (PT), National University of Athens (GR), and Newcastle University (UK) each of which contributed to the STAR Programme. Local organisers included Politecnico Torino (IT), University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, Sofia (BG), Politechnika Wroclawska (PL), and the University of Venice (IT). (See www.star-international.info) The Programme was devised and managed by Kate Hornsby.This Series of events consisted of 8 Training Courses (TCs) and 2 Technical Feedback Meetings (TFMs) centred around the four main integrated themes of Energy, Transport, Waste Management and Urban Planning/Eco Buildings. The STAR CITY Organisers worked with local stake-holders (academic, government and industrial) to define current issues and problems within the frame of a sustainable community and to develop tasks for the young researchers to tackle. STAR CITY events were held all over Europe namely in Germany, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Channel Islands, Italy and Bulgaria. These 5 day courses provided an intensive and dynamic week of targeted lectures and visits.The success of the programme was outstanding and created much publicity locally and nationally, STaR events were featured on local and national television, newspapers, internet sites and for public display for the local public community. In fact, we were asked by the local partners that much of the results of the training courses (posters, presentations etc) could be left for further education and training within the local and wider community.The TCs brought together leading industrialists, top academics, young researchers. All events provided tasks, active networking opportunities, industrial exchanges, technical visits and interesting lectures. By taking part, the young researchers were given access to a wide international network within the academic and scientific community as well as giving them a high level training course.Some examples of the challenging tasks are:- Energy tasks included integration of RES in public building and cities, advanced PV systems, energy saving and energy management technologies for buildings, public acceptance of new technologies, solar desalination, sea water cooling systems for buildings and islands, integration of communities into an electric grid etc- Transport tasks included the integration of smart systems in the urban environment, electric cars and RES, congestion charging systems, advanced sensor systems/satellite control for traffic, advanced systems for transport, case studies for public transport systems, disabled drivers, park & ride schemes etc- Waste tasks included-design of low emission power station, LCA of given waste management system, waste management strategies for islands, waste minimisation strategies, recycling possibilities, public information campaign etc. - Urban planning tasks included sustainable eco buildings, fast answer shelters - disaster zones, Energy Saving for Eco Cities, sustainable designs for Eco Cities, green buildings, sustainable islands and communities using advanced building materials and practices etcSome actual examples of participant feedback from this programme:"Star courses have been performed in highly innovative way. This form of course resulted not only in deep involvement of participants, but also stimulated invited speakers - experts on a broad range of disciplines. The brainstorming ideas of students were welcomed by experts in a way that made participants more open and intellectually efficient. Individual tasks covering also the final presentation at general meeting yield the opportunity of practicing the techniques of presentation of the developed ideas. Addition positive element of the course was the possibility of visiting the real working installation of complex waste management plant, and last but not least, establishing good personal contact of experts from various EU and candidate countries. The outstanding point of the course was the role of Mrs Kate Hornsby, who skilfully motivated the participants, My final conclusion is that this highly innova6tive form of courses should be continued." Professor Halina Kruczek, Politechnika Wroclawska, Wroclaw"It was a perfect combination of different research fields. In my experience I've never had a so stimulating environment, international and high qualified" Marco Lotti.
