The CICADA4CE project—focused on the effectiveness of climate change adaptation management through the integration of ecosystem services and smart social approaches in Central European cities—is entering the final phase of a successful three-year collaboration supported by the INTERREG Central Europe program. Led by Prof. Anna Starzewska-Sikorska from the Institute for Ecology of Industrial Areas in Katowice, and involving the Faculty of Management at Comenius University alongside other partners, the project addressed one of today’s most critical challenges: climate change. The team from the SPECTRA Centre of Excellence at the Faculty of Management (Comenius University) coordinated a key strategic work package; its output was an innovative adaptation concept—leveraging synergies between ecosystem services and social participation (ECbA)—that serves as a foundation for effective solutions regarding the prevention, adaptation, mitigation, and compensation of climate change impacts. These solutions were tested in five “living labs,” including Dubnica nad Váhom in Slovakia, where a collaboration between the municipality and the Faculty of Management resulted in a unique project transforming a school campus into a multifunctional space that demonstrates the practical application of the ECbA concept. In addition to innovative adaptation measures, a new methodological tool for scientific work was also implemented within this living lab—namely Urban Living Lab Trials serving as environments for implementing co-creation and co-design processes—combining, co-decision-making and co-implementation—as key mechanisms for transforming local communities into self-learning communities. The final conference, held on October 6, 2026, in Katowice, was attended by representatives from the Interreg Joint Secretariat (European Commission), the Polish Ministry of Climate and Environment, and other stakeholders from practice, academia, and the policy sector; presentations delivered at the event showcased project outputs, innovative solutions, and experiences gained from testing them in living labs. Among the speakers were representatives from Comenius University: Prof. Maroš Finka, Assoc. Prof. Ľubomír Jamečný, Assoc. Prof. Dagmar Petríková, and Dr. Richard Vreštiak.
However, the activities initiated by the CICADA4CE project do not end with the final conference. Its results are being integrated into an educational module utilizing the innovative Lernium system (currently under development at the Faculty of Management, Comenius University) and into student theses at the Department of Environmental Management and Spatial Planning, as well as into new international project proposals submitted under Horizon Europe, Interreg, and APVV schemes.
For teaching and research activities, the Faculty of Management at Comenius University (FM UK) will be able to utilize a database integrating knowledge and experience regarding climate change adaptation in cities—a database in the creation and updating of which the faculty actively participates through the SPECTRA CE EU team.