FENESTRAE Project

✨ FENESTRAE | Industry & Best Practice Tour

As part of the FENESTRAE Partner Visit & Innovation Exchange Programme, the partners visited PiKCELL Group in Skopje, exploring practical examples, innovative technologies and sustainable solutions. 🏭💡

The visit provided an opportunity to exchange experiences and connect FENESTRAE activities with real-world industry practices.

🇪🇺 FENESTRAE is co-funded by the European Union through the Interreg IPA ADRION Programme.

FENESTRAE Partner Visit & Innovation Exchange Programme | Skopje 🇲🇰

On 16 September 2026, the FENESTRAE partnership gathered in Skopje, North Macedonia, for the first day of the FENESTRAE Partner Visit & Innovation Exchange Programme, organised and hosted by the Центар за истражување и анализи НОВУС / NOVUSCentre for Research and Analysis NOVUS, FENESTRAE Project partner in North Macedonia.

Held at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies (FEIT), Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Day 1 focused on “Innovation, Research & Smart Technologies”, bringing together the entire FENESTRAE partnership, researchers, experts and relevant stakeholders for an exchange of knowledge, experiences and perspectives.

The event brought together representatives of all seven FENESTRAE project partners: Politecnico di Bari (Italy), as Lead Partner; Gal Molise (Italy); Πανεπιστήμιο Πατρών University of Patras (Greece); Univerza v Ljubljani / University of Ljubljana (Slovenia) BiznesAlbania (Albania); PZ "Smart Village" Knežica (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Центар за истражување и анализи НОВУС / NOVUS (North Macedonia).

The programme started with an official opening, presentation of the participating partners and an overview of the FENESTRAE – Fostering Energy Efficiency by means of smart technologies to retrofit apertures and building envelope project, its objectives, activities and shared vision for advancing innovative solutions for more energy-efficient and sustainable buildings across the Adriatic-Ionian region.

A highlight of the programme was the keynote session by Prof. Makedonka Dimitrova, PhD c., Senior Analyst at the Macedonian Centre for Energy Efficiency – MACEF, who presented “Building Envelope Retrofit: Current Status, Challenges and Opportunities for Smart Technologies.” The session provided valuable insights into current challenges in building renovation and the opportunities offered by smart technologies for improving energy performance.

The programme continued with Prof. Hristina Spasevska, PhD, Head of the Radiation Physics Laboratory RAD-LAB at FEIT, and her keynote presentation “Building Collaborative Environments for Research, Development and Innovation.” Her contribution highlighted the importance of connecting research institutions, businesses and other stakeholders to create stronger environments for innovation, knowledge exchange and future cooperation.

The event also welcomed experts and key stakeholders from relevant institutions and organisations, including representatives of the Министерство за енергетика рударство и минерални суровини Ministry of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources of North Macedonia, further enriching the discussions and exchange of perspectives on energy efficiency, innovation and smart technologies.

The first day in Skopje provided an excellent opportunity to strengthen connections between the FENESTRAE partners and the local research and innovation ecosystem, exchange ideas and explore new possibilities for collaboration in smart technologies, energy efficiency and sustainable building solutions.

FENESTRAE is co-funded by the European Union through the Interreg IPA ADRION Programme.

📍Strumica 🇲🇰 | 17 September 2026

Day 2 will focus on Smart Buildings in Practice, bringing together project partners and local stakeholders for pilot action discussions, knowledge exchange and local cooperation. 🌱🏢

📍 Skopje 🇲🇰| 16 September 2026

The FENESTRAE Partner Visit & Innovation Exchange Programme will bring together project partners, researchers and experts for a working meeting focused on smart technologies, energy efficiency, innovation and regional collaboration.

💡The programme includes keynote sessions, an Innovation Lab visit and an Industry & Best Practice Tour.

🚀 DEADLINE REMINDER!

Do you have an innovative solution that can accelerate the energy transition and support the decarbonization of buildings and agricultural environments?

The FENESTRAE Project invites SMEs, start-ups, university spin-offs, researchers, and professionals from the IPA ADRION Programme area to submit their innovative ideas and technologies.

💡 The Call for Ideas focuses on:
✅ ICT solutions for energy monitoring and management
✅ Smart buildings and innovative building envelopes
✅ Energy efficiency and decarbonisation
✅ Advanced materials and smart surfaces
✅ Innovative agriculture and greenhouse technologies

This is an excellent opportunity to transform your prototype into a market-ready solution while collaborating with partners across the IPA ADRION region.

📅 Application deadline: 30 September 2026
🔗 Learn more and apply through the official FENESTRAE https://fenestrae.interreg-ipa-adrion.eu/

🚀 The FENESTRAE Call for Ideas is now OPEN!

Do you have an innovative solution that can accelerate the energy transition and support the decarbonization of buildings and agricultural environments?

The FENESTRAE Project invites SMEs, start-ups, university spin-offs, researchers, and professionals from the IPA ADRION Programme area to submit their innovative ideas and technologies.

💡 The Call for Ideas focuses on:
✅ ICT solutions for energy monitoring and management
✅ Smart buildings and innovative building envelopes
✅ Energy efficiency and decarbonisation
✅ Advanced materials and smart surfaces
✅ Innovative agriculture and greenhouse technologies

This is an excellent opportunity to transform your prototype into a market-ready solution while collaborating with partners across the IPA ADRION region.

📅 Application deadline: 30 September 2026

🔗 Learn more and apply through the official FENESTRAE https://fenestrae.interreg-ipa-adrion.eu/

We are pleased to invite you to the event Building a regional energy system: how IPA ADRION fosters the energy transition in the Adriatic-Ionian region that will be held on 19 May 2026 from 16 to 17:30 in Skopje in the framework of the 11th EUSAIR Forum.

It will be a great opportunity to discuss about one of the most challenging topics we are facing nowadays: the transition to clean energy in the Adriatic-Ionian region. Together with our speakers, we will explore how the Programme is actively supporting the shift toward greener energy systems, highlighting successful projects and fostering dialogue on future cooperation within the Adriatic-Ionian area.

The EUSAIR Forum is one of the most relevant appointments for the Adriatic-Ionian community, gathering interested parties and stakeholders from different sectors with the aim to discuss on the current and future challenges of the area. With the support of the European Commission, the EUSAIR Strategy is helping countries and citizens to increase cohesion and growth.

Registration:
To join us, please register via the official EUSAIR Forum portal.
https://www.adriatic-ionian.eu/event/save-the-date-11th-forum-of-the-eu-strategy-for-the-adriatic-and-ionian-region-eusair-18-20-may-2026-skopje-north-macedonia-accelerating-eusair-from-commitment-to-impact/registrations/

We look forward to welcoming you in Skopje!

🔍Solar Energy Laboratory Research Wins Best Paper Award at International Conference in Greece!

🏆Our research team at the Solar Energy Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Patras is proud to have been honored with the Best Paper Award at the 1st International Conference on Engineering, Technology and Applied Science Innovations (ICETASI), held in Amaliada on October 1-3, 2025!

💡🏢The award recognizes our work "A comparative study of 'battery-like' and hybrid electrochromic devices for dynamic solar control," a key contribution to the next generation of smart windows. This research represents a core activity within the Interreg IPA-ADRION FENESTRAE Project, directly advancing our mission of developing innovative energy-efficient building technologies.

☀️❄️The awarded study provides crucial insights into novel materials and mechanisms that enable windows to intelligently regulate solar heat and light, paving the way for buildings to achieve optimal balance between occupant comfort and energy efficiency.

✨This achievement underscores our laboratory's commitment to research excellence and demonstrates the impactful work being carried out through the FENESTRAE initiative to create sustainable solutions for the built environment.

🔍We are truly honored by the invitation from the RESt4GREEN project to present the core findings of our research, supported by the Interreg IPA ADRION program, in the frame of the FENESTRAE Project.

💡🏢Our presentation in Patras, Greece focused on the critical importance of advancing building efficiency through smart façade systems. In our contemporary pursuit of a sustainable built environment, moving beyond conventional construction methods is not merely an option it is an imperative. Our work underscores that optimizing the building envelope is the cornerstone of achieving significant energy savings, enhancing at the same time occupants comfort, and reducing the overall carbon footprint.

🤝It was a rewarding experience to exchange knowledge with partners and stakeholders, and we are excited to see how these insights will contribute to the wider objectives of the FENESTRAE initiative.