2021

Secondary School Students are Encouraged to Take Part in the "LVM Bio-economy School” Scholarship Contest

To raise awareness of the growing role of forest resources in addressing environmental problems, JSC “Latvia's State Forests” (LVM) in cooperation with the association “Zaļās mājas”, LLC “Rīgas meži” and the National Centre for Education invites secondary school students to take part in the scholarship contest “LVM Bio-economy School”. In the three rounds of the competition, students get to know, explore nature and solve issues related to the innovative field of bioeconomy. Secondary school students are invited to submit their vision for a poster on this year's theme – biorifining of wood – for the first round of the competition by 31 January 2021.

Register your poster for the first round in the electronic questionnaire here by 31 January 2021.

The authors of the best posters will have an opportunity to acquire new knowledge in the second round of the competition, where they will work remotely together with industry experts to gain understanding and new knowledge that will help them create video messages for the UN International Day of Forests.

Scholarships are awarded to the authors of the three best video messages, whose works win the highest vote of the jury and among Facebook viewers. LVM awards a 700-euro scholarship to the winner of the first place for the best message for the UN International Day of Forests, 500 euros to the winner of the second place, and 300 euros to the winner of the third place. LLC “Rīgas meži” awards scholarships in the amount of 500 euros for the most creative works made by students of Riga City schools; JSC “Latvijas finieris” awards scholarships in the amount of 250 euros for innovative presentation of wood products.

The topic of wood biorefining combines disciplines of chemistry and physics, as well as technologies and economics, and will be introduced as a cross-curricular theme in the new curriculum to implement the competency approach in education. Specialists of JSC “Latvia’s State Forests” (LVM), the Interdisciplinary Education Innovation Centre of the University of Latvia and the Institute of Wood Chemistry have already created new teaching and methodological materials on wood biorefining for grade 11 students within the project “School 2030” (Skola 2030). “It is planned to introduce this topic in other Latvian schools already in the school year 2020/2021,” says Kārlis Greitāns, expert in the development of competence-based curricula at the Interdisciplinary Education Innovation Centre of the University of Latvia.