The ENPOWER Capacity Building Workshops held in Banja Luka from 6th to 9th of April 2026 concluded successfully, bringing together consortium partners, researchers, students and stakeholders for a packed programme of field visits, specialised courses and expert lectures. Hosted by the University of Banja Luka across the Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy and the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, the training week focused on the project’s core case studies, combining practical learning with exchange on research methods, policy pathways and implementation challenges.
The agenda included field visits to UNIBL public buildings linked to the project’s case studies, followed by specialised sessions from Alessia Articoni (KUL), Darija Gajić, Petar Gvero and Bojan Knežević (UNIBL) on energy efficiency retrofitting of public buildings, renewable energy integration in rural communities, energy poverty and socio-economic aspects, and the role of digitalisation and AI in energy management by Maarten Evens (KUL) and Milovan Kotur (UNIBL). Additional lectures from Asel Doranova (TiU) and Dalibor Savić (UNIBL) addressed energy poverty, energy justice and democracy, advanced controls and digital twins, as well as floods and energy poverty by Davide Di Marcoberardino (UNIMC), and research management and funding pathways by Irina Vitchinka (SITES). The event proved highly successful, with a strong number of interesting presentations and productive discussions that directly supported ENPOWER’s ongoing activities and strengthened collaboration across the consortium.
The training also highlighted the value of ENPOWER’s interdisciplinary approach, showing how technical, social and strategic perspectives can be brought together to address energy poverty in a more integrated way. Participants exchanged ideas on real project challenges and shared expertise that will feed into the next steps of the consortium’s work, reinforcing the project’s capacity-building mission and its long-term contribution to sustainable and inclusive energy solutions.
