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INSPIRATION is built on very close interaction with relevant actors in the soil, land use and land management fields. They are involved in formulating the Strategic Research Agenda and its implementation models throughout by participating in the national “demand identification” workshops. The stakeholders involved in INSPIRATION workshops will be encouraged to act as ambassadors for Strategic Research Agenda dissemination and implementation – that after all reflects the needs and demands expressed by the stakeholders themselves.

On April 27^th,  016 presented prof. Maros Finka, director of the SPECTRA CE EU at the Slovak University in Bratislava in the United Nation Organization headquarter in New York his statement on report of the Policy Unit 9 Urban services and technologies. His presentation got very positive reaction in the frame of Open-ended consultative meetings to the preparation of the UNO World Conference HABITAT  III held in Quito, Equator.

Spectra, Centre of Excellence took part on the annual Spa-ce.net conference, which had been held from 13th till 15th September 2017 in Sofia. The headline of the conference was "The Role Of Public Sector In Local Economic And Territorial Development In Central, Eatern And South Eastern Europe. Members of Spectra, Centre of Excellence participated in programme, prof. M.Finka presented a keynote under the title "Changing role of public sector in spatial development strategies / Problems and challenges for local and regional development in Central and Eastern European Countries after 2020" and Assoc. Prof. M.Jaššo presented paper "Leadership in the current contexts of Central European Planning Culture". Overall, 19 presentations from 9 countries were presented and Spectra, Centre of Excellence is preparing a monography within Springer Book Series, consisting from contributions from this event in collaboration with European Alliance for Innovation (EAI).

The Austrian Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy in cooperation with the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe confered the Danubius Award 2017 to prof. Maroš Finka, PhD, Head of the Spectra, Centre of Excellence. This award was created in 2011 with the intention to honour persons with extraordinary achievements in their scientific activity and output in relation to the Danube Region. Within a rotation system in one year achievements in the fields of humanities, social and cultural studies are awarded, in the following year achievements in the fields of life sciences. The Danubius Award is a contribution towards implementing the EU Strategy for the Danube Region which has been endorsed by the European Council in 2011, with the aim of giving higher visibility to the Danube region also as an area for collaborative interdisciplinary research.

Professor Maroš Finka, an expert who worked with UN Habitat III, and Head of SPECTRA – Center of Excellence of the European Union and Director of Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, was the guest speaker in the Kandy City (Sri Lanka) development workshop under the auspieces of World Bank’s Sri Lanka Strategic Cities Development Project. Under the project, urban services and public urban spaces are to be improved in the city. This includes traffic improvements, such as the rehabilitation of selected by-pass roads, and establishment and improvements of selected public transport facilities and traffic management measures. The project involves the augmentation and rehabilitation of the municipal water supply system; rehabilitation of major drains; urban upgrading, including the improvement of selected streetscapes and public spaces. It also aims to restore and repurpose historic and landmark buildings. Professor Finka drew the attention of planners to the environment and the heritage. „Current trends in the management and planning processes show the growing importance of landscape planning, especially after 2000“ underlined prof. Finka.

Maroš Finka

president of Association of European Schools of Planning, professor of Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Slovakia and at Shanghai Jiao Tong Univerisity, China, Expert of UN Habitat III and Ministry for Investment, Regional Development and Innovations of SR, director of SPECTRA Centre of Excellence of th EU at STU in Bratislava.