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Thursday 20 August
Aaron Lad
Back in June, the biannual Hydrogen Academy General Assembly took place in Varna, Bulgaria (learn more about this exciting project here: The Hydrogen Academy), so Iris and I travelled to Varna to meet the other project partners and engage in some collaborative discussions.
Saturday 14 June
Saturday 14 June
With my little suitcase and laptop bag, I met Iris at 8am at Birmingham Coach Station to travel to Gatwick Airport, as there are no direct flights from Birmingham to Varna. After the long coach trip we went through security and then had a coffee at Pret a Manger, whilst planning out some objectives for the General Assembly on Tuesday. Key to our objectives were to plan the process of producing a hydrogen story book, to explore how our social media channels can be improved, and to map hydrogen careers to help us in the production of our interview series with hydrogen experts.
After a 3 hour flight, a lengthy solo wait in passport control and attempting to navigate the Varna bus network, Iris and I arrived in Varna city centre, where we grabbed some food for the evening and had a look around the town centre and its architecture. We then took a short taxi journey to our hotel in Golden Sands and had an early night, excited for some sightseeing the next day.
Sunday 15 June
Sunday 15 June
Eager to begin a day of sightseeing, we met at 8am for a walk around the resort, before having some breakfast and trying to learn some basic Bulgarian. We then got the bus back into Varna city centre, where we toured around the markets and tried plenty of the local cuisine, particularly baklava and banitsa. Also, top of our to-do list was to visit the archeological museum to learn more about the history of Bulgaria, and Varna specifically. The Museum's arguably most celebrated exhibit is the Gold of Varna, the oldest gold collection in the world which was excavated in 1972 and dates back to 4600-4200 BCE, and occupies three separate exhibition halls (learn more about the museum here).
Heading over to the beach, we saw the Black Sea and walked along the coast, before getting back on the bus to our hotel. We then had some food in the evening at a Georgian restaurant on the resort and planned what work we would like to accomplish the next day, before the first day of the General Assembly on Tuesday. Top of our agenda was to plan the expert interviews series, where we interview experts in the field of hydrogen and education about their experiences and hopes for the future. These interviews can then be used as part of lesson plans for schools to use.
Monday 16 June
Monday 16 June
On the previous day’s return bus journey to the hotel, Iris spotted a large monument, which we later discovered was the ‘Park-Monument of the Bulgarian-Soviet Friendship’, so we set out first thing in the morning to see this monument up close. After climbing over 300 steps, we saw the massive monument, which we found had graffiti painted on it too, before descending the 300 steps again to grab some lunch at the nearby shopping centre.
Upon our return to the hotel, we spent some time planning out the expert interviews series: who we want to interview, what careers and in what languages. After clocking off, we walked to the venue where the General Assembly was due to take place the next day to meet some of the other project partners for our evening meal. It was great to catch up with many of the partners that I had previously met in Zaragoza in December, and to meet some new partners that I have only met online so far.
Tuesday 17 June
Tuesday 17 June
The first day of the General Assembly commenced with a 9am start at the Hotel International Casino and Tower Suites in Golden Sands. Iris and I had breakfast at our hotel and then walked over to the venue, eager to learn more about the progress of other work packages in the project over the preceding 6 months. Tiziana Altiero and Chiara Puecher were again present from UNIMORE, as well as Markus Lermen from DVGW and Sile Brenan from Ulster University, to name just a few of our partners.
Most of the day consisted of updates from each work package, and it was particularly interesting to hear about the progress being made in developing the university network (of over 100 universities offering hydrogen education), as well as the development of interactive games on hydrogen-related content. As Bertz Associates are primarily involved with the creation of the school network with UNIMORE and the development of resources for school-aged children, it is incredibly interesting to learn what is happening in some of the other areas of the project, and it also allows us to understand how we can collaborate with other partners in ways we initially wouldn’t have thought of.
Updates consumed most of the day, after which we took a 2 hour break before a meal with all project partners. On the walk back to our hotel, Iris and I discussed some of the updates, but also planned what we would like to suggest for the following day’s workshops on the website and project’s social media strategy. These are key points that Andrea Cabrera from Rijksuniversiteit Groningen had asked us to think about, and which we were keen to provide ideas for to boost the number of followers we have.
The buffet dinner with partners was enlightening, as I got the chance to speak with some partners that I have not met before, including Anna Spoden who was representing EUREC (The Association of European Renewable Energy Research Centres), who are helping with the business side of the project. There was heavy discussion that evening about how we can improve our social media channels, including brainstorming ideas on the topics of posts and how we can engage different target audiences using each social media platform.
Wednesday 18 June
Wednesday 18 June
One of our objectives for the General Assembly was to begin work on a hydrogen story book aimed at primary school children, so Iris and I began the day by meeting with Tiziana, Chiara and Markus for an early morning meeting at 8am. Key to the conversation were discussions around how we should publish the book, as well as what content we should include to make the book engaging.
Following the meeting we began the second day of the General Assembly with workshops about the website and social media channels. The discussions in these meetings were incredibly productive, allowing us to make changes to the format of the website and to discuss some future social media campaigns to engage more audiences in the project. This concluded the entire General Assembly, and after which we had lunch with all of the project partners and discussed our actions over the preceding 2 days.
Iris and I returned to our hotel after lunch, where I did some admin following the workshops and Iris went to the beach with Tiziana, Chiara, Markus and Salvatore (one of our project partners from Polytechnic University of Turin). I met Iris, Tiziana, Chiara, Markus and Salvatore at the beach and we walked over to the Hotel International Casino and Tower Suites where everyone was meeting for the final evening meal of the assembly. At 8pm everyone met in the lobby and we walked to a local restaurant for our evening meal. Over our meal we discussed differences in educational systems between countries in Europe and brainstormed hydrogen jokes we could include in our resources. All of the time I spent with project partners was invaluable, as it helped us to develop new ideas for educational resources and we were able to speedily begin the production process of the hydrogen story book. It also helped us rectify issues on the website and on our social media channels instantly and discuss any changes we needed to make with all project partners at once.
Thursday 19 June
Thursday 19 June
On our final day in Varna, Iris and I met for breakfast in our hotel and discussed the whole of our time in Bulgaria, reminiscing on the amazing time we had, what we achieved and our next steps. Our flight was at midday so we packed our bags straight after breakfast and got on the bus to the airport. From Varna airport we travelled to Berlin Brandenburg Airport, and after a delay to Birmingham directly. I then parted ways with Iris after catching a train to New Street Station, both eager to continue progress on the Hydrogen Academy before the next General Assembly.
The Varna Blog
The Varna Blog
I have absolutely loved my time in Varna and I would love to visit again in the future! The culture and history of the city are incredible and the food is delicious, although my Bulgarian still needs some work.
Over the course of the General Assembly I have had the chance to get to know new partners and see some of those that I met in Zaragoza again. We have made incredible progress just over these 2 days and the whole experience reaffirmed the importance of the project, particularly the drive to provide informative, good quality education and hopefully help young people understand how they can help in tackling the climate crisis. I return to the UK with an updated understanding of our progress and a passion to continue developing the school network and school resources.
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