Urban Heat Under the Microscope in Schools: Monitoring, Solutions, and Climate Literacy for New Generations

Project leader: Dr. Milica Pecelj
Project duration: January 10, 2026, to December 20, 2026
Sponsors: Center for the Promotion of Science (CPN)
Executive contractors: Jovan Cvijić” Geographical Institute of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SASA) and as Project Partners: ten selected primary schools in Belgrade, local government representatives, the scientific community, and the civil sector.
List of participants: Dr. Milica Pecelj, Dr. Slavica Malinović-Milićević, Dr. Uroš Durlević

The Geographical Institute “Jovan Cvijić” of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SASA) is the leading institution for the science popularization project “Urban Heat Under the Microscope in Schools: Monitoring, Solutions, and Climate Literacy for New Generations”. The project is funded by the Center for the Promotion of Science (CPN) under its support program for science-promotion and popularisation projects aimed at developing scientific culture and citizens’ science literacy.

The project focuses on primary school students and aims to introduce them to extreme urban heat, thermal comfort, and the urban heat island effect through a series of interactive, practical activities. The project includes hands-on fieldwork in which students, supported by the expert team from our Institute, use portable “Kestrel” devices to measure micrometeorological parameters (air temperature, humidity, wind speed, and radiant temperature) at selected locations in their schoolyards.

The project is expected to raise climate awareness among children, develop research and analytical skills, and encourage creativity in designing Nature-Based Solutions, such as greening and creating shaded zones. Additionally, the project will strengthen dialogue among schools, local governments, and the wider public to create healthier and more resilient school spaces in the future.

In line with its science-promotion objectives, the project includes 20 workshops and 10 field measurements, as well as GIS maps and educational posters to share results with the wider school community and the public.

Brochure Project

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STAY OR LEAVE – spotlight on migration intentions in the rural areas (RurSITU)

Project leader: Marija Drobnjaković, PhD
Project duration: December 25, 2023, to December 25, 2025
Executive contractors: Geographical Institute “Jovan Cvijić” Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
List of participants: Marija Drobnjaković (PI), Milena Panić, Vlasta Kokotović Kanazir, Milan Radovanović, Željko Bjeljac

Geographical Institute “Jovan Cvijić” SASA is coordinator of the two-year project STAY OR LEAVE – spotlight on migration intentions in the rural areas (RurSITU). The RurSITU project is the one of the winners of the Public Call for funding citizen science research projects in 2023, which was announced by the Center for the Promotion of Science (CPN) and the Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation, Serbia.

The RurSITU project is focused on the population’s motivation and intentions to stay or leave rural areas in Serbia. The stayers as ‘rural keepers’ are in the spotlight, as well as ‘catching‘ the causality between individuals’ perception of rural areas and local characteristics. The research will encompass seven municipalities (Šumadija and West Serbia Region) with similar natural and societal features.

Benefits of the RurSITUwill be: rural communities strengthening, targeting challenges in order to support the rural areas development, promoting of the rural areas and local communities, and mitigation of the existing negative processes that characterize rural areas in Serbia. Also, the project will contribute to enriching the scientific knowledge in the field of rural studies and migration studies in Serbia.

The RurSITU project, in accordance with the Public Call GNI 2023, implies the active participation of citizens in all phases of the research, striving to highlight the positive aspects of life in rural areas in Serbia.

https://rursitu.rs/index.html
https://www.cpn.edu.rs/javnipoziv-gni-2023/
https://nitra.gov.rs/cir/ministarstvo/vesti/urucena-priznana-projektima-gradanskih-naucnih-istrazivana

Date: 04.06.2024.
Source: Marija Drobnjaković (PI)