As part of its outreach and knowledge-transfer activities, the ASCCENT project team participated in three public-engagement events in 2025, bringing science, sustainable construction and environmental awareness closer to diverse audiences.
Znanost u prolazu – Bringing Science into Everyday Life
On 8 March 2025, leader of ASCCENT project Prof Marijana Serdar participated in Znanost u prolazu, a public-engagement initiative that brings researchers into public spaces to share scientific knowledge through direct conversations with the public. The event offered an opportunity to present research beyond traditional academic settings and encourage dialogue about the role of science in addressing everyday challenges. Through this initiative, scientific topics related to sustainability and the built environment could reach people who might not typically engage with research activities, highlighting the relevance of scientific knowledge to everyday life.
MUZZA Science Week Festival – Building of the Future
From 10 to 13 April 2025, Matea Flegar Pregernik, Ivana Carević and Vanja Gilja represented the ASCCENT team at the MUZZA Science Week Festival with the activity Building of the Future. The festival provided a platform for engaging the public with science through interactive activities and accessible explanations of research and innovation. The activity focused on introducing audiences to the importance of sustainable construction and encouraging them to think about how buildings and construction materials influence environmental performance. It offered an opportunity to explore how scientific research can contribute to developing more sustainable solutions for the built environment and to highlight the importance of considering environmental impacts when choosing materials and designing buildings. By presenting these topics in an engaging and accessible format, the ASCCENT team helped connect scientific concepts with everyday experiences and demonstrate how research can support the transition towards more sustainable construction practices.
World Environment Day 2025 – Connecting Construction and Environmental Awareness
PhD student Viktor Kolčić participated in activities associated with World Environment Day 2025 (WED2025) at Sveučilište sjever in Varaždin, contributing to wider efforts to promote environmental awareness and sustainability. World Environment Day provides an international platform for highlighting environmental challenges and encouraging individuals, institutions and communities to take action. Participation in these activities created another opportunity to connect the ASCCENT project’s research objectives with broader environmental priorities. Construction materials, buildings and infrastructure are closely linked to resource consumption, energy use and environmental impacts, making sustainable construction an important part of wider sustainability discussions.
Strengthening Public Engagement and Knowledge Transfer
Together, these three events demonstrate the ASCCENT team’s commitment to communicating research beyond academia and fostering a stronger connection between science and society. Public-engagement activities provide valuable opportunities to make complex scientific topics more understandable, encourage curiosity and stimulate conversations about the environmental consequences of everyday choices. By engaging with different audiences through public science events and environmental initiatives, the team helps raise awareness of sustainable construction, life cycle thinking and the importance of assessing the environmental impacts of materials and buildings. These activities also support the broader exchange of knowledge between researchers and the public, helping ensure that scientific insights can inform discussions and decisions about the future of the built environment. Through continued outreach and engagement, ASCCENT aims to contribute not only to advances in sustainable construction research but also to a more informed public understanding of the role that science and innovation can play in building a more sustainable future.
