Project

The project "Advanced Training in Integrated Sustainable Waste Management for Siberian Companies and Authorities" – TIWaSiC received the financial support from the European Commission within the program TEMPUS – IV (Project 543962-TEMPUS-1-2013-1-DE-TEMPUS-JPHES).

The mission of the project – promoting the development of an incentive system for operational waste management and resource conservation in Russian companies and supporting of environmentally friendly industrial companies by offering possibilities of continuous training to employees in order to qualify them on a higher level.

The aim of the project is to strengthen the role of Russian universities by developing training courses for "Integrated Sustainable Waste Management" for employees of companies and authorities of the Siberian regions, using the European experience and best available techniques (BAT).

The project includes the development and implementation of a modular training program for "Integrated Sustainable Waste Management" for five industry sectors in the model region at four Siberian universities – National Research Irkutsk State Technical University (ISTU), East Siberia State University of Technology and Management (ESSUTM), Transbaikal State University (STU), Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) – under participation of the European partner universities: Technische Universität Dresden (TUD), University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Technical University of Denmark, Copenhagen (DTU), Technical University of Crete (TUC) and representatives of the executive authorities of the Russian Federation, the responsible ministries, national and regional unions and international centre. The project aims at establishing a sustainable collaboration between universities, industrial companies, companies concerned with waste management and the legislative and executive authorities at the regional and federal level.

Model region of the project:
- Region Baikal (Baikal, Transbaikalia)
- Far East (Primorsky Krai)

The relevance of the choice of the model region is determined by the following features:
- region, where Lake Baikal, a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located and which is the most valuable sources of fresh water of the XXI century
- strategically important region of reserves and production of mineral resources
- region where oil and gas pipelines are built on
- region where a wide range of leading industries is situated in
- region with unsolved environmental problems and contaminated sites
- region with high touristic potential

Specific objectives of the project:
- Development and implementation of a training course "Integrated Sustainable Waste Management for Russian Companies" for five determined industrial sectors
- Establishment of an incentive system for Russian companies for integrating a sustainable waste management and resource conservation
- Strengthening the Baikal Wasma Centre in Irkutsk as an information-, exchange- and contact point for companies and universities
- Establishment of a sustainable collaboration between Russian universities and companies to ensure administrative, organisational and economic-political implementation of the training course on a long-term basis
- Improving the professional competencies of scientific staff and employees of industrial companies

During the project, the European partner universities will assist in the preparation of the content for the training courses, as well as in the development of teaching materials and, finally, they will conduct test courses in Russian universities. This involves intensive advanced courses for university teachers from four Russian universities to be taken at the European partner universities in order to improve the professional competence of teaching staff.

The participation of members of Russian executive authorities, as well as members of the responsible ministries and partners unions in training and field trips to Austria and Germany is an important element of the project. Different project-related meetings with representatives of local authorities and trips to European industrial and waste-disposal companies are supposed to provide information on the best techniques in the field of waste management available in Europe. These excursions shall help the Russian experts understand the integration of waste management laws in EU countries and get to know the environmental management in European companies as well as finding ways of adapting this to industrial companies in the Siberian regions.

Training courses will be developed within the project for the following industry sectors: :

- Mining with production of raw materials and enrichment of minerals
- Chemical and petrochemical industry
- Metallurgical industry
- Wood processing, as well as pulp and paper industry
- Housing and communal economy with municipal waste management, as well as water supply and sanitation


Training courses including specific waste management and environmental management system shall be developed for each industrial sector. At the end of the project, two training courses will be held simultaneously at four Russian universities with the support of media (video conference). The necessary technical equipment of the Siberian partner universities' lecture rooms with modern devices will be provided by a Tempus grant.

The target group for the training courses are employees who are decision makers at the management level of industrial companies and waste-disposal companies or employees being directly responsible for the prevention and management of waste.

The participants of the first training course will have internship opportunities within the European partner organisations. The trip will be funded by the project. In the future, this is supposed to serve as a basis for building of long-term contacts between regional Russian and European companies, which ultimately shall contribute to new environmental reforms in the Russian industry and establish a waste recycling industry.

Provision of information for participants:
- Training manuals „Integrated Sustainable Waste Management“ for each of the industrial sectors in paper form and on CD.
- Project Website „TIWaSiC“, including a forum for support of for environmentally friendly companies
- Organisation of conferences and seminars

The long-term objective of the project is the development and reinforcement of partnerships between universities, local authorities, industrial and professional associations, and at the same time strengthening the role of Russian universities in the field of waste management. The mutual exchange of the latest know how in the field of waste management should be encouraged at the state level as well.

The project will contribute to the establishment of a long-term dialogue and sustainable integration "State-education-industry" by the joint development of a training program, the development of an incentive system to promote environmentally friendly industrial companies, realisation of internships and excursions in the EC countries for bilateral international exchange of practical experience.

The partnership will take place on mutually beneficial terms. Siberian universities will have the opportunity to gain an insight into the real handling of industrial waste through the participation in the program and exchange with regional authorities, ministries and industry. This will provide an opportunity to respond to specific needs of the industrial sector in waste management and to accordingly develop the retraining process.

With the help of this program, regional authorities, ministries and industrial companies in the Siberian regions will gain necessary access to international experience in waste management and shall be able to qualify staff to conduct a professional dialogue for the implementation of programs and activities.

Professional associations can offer their members a new training course to expand and deepen their waste management knowledge using the experience of universities in this field.

The establishment of a sustainable and long-term cooperation between universities, industry and executive on a regional and national level is one of the objectives of the international educational project "TIWaSiC".

Term of project implementation: December 2013 - November 2016