Strengthening Polish-Lithuanian Cooperation by Geodesists from Gdańsk University of Technology | Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Gdańsk University of Technology

Nearly four months ago, we reported on the journey of three young researchers from the Department of Geodesy at Gdańsk University of Technology to Lithuania with the aim of establishing research cooperation with the academic staff of the Department of Geodesy and Cadastre at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University.

At that time, Ph.D. Eng. Paweł Burdziakowski, Ph.D. Eng. Paweł Tysiąc, and Ph.D. Eng. Marek Hubert Zienkiewicz traveled to the capital of the Republic of Lithuania, where, along with the Lithuanian research team under the leadership of Professor Jūratė Sužiedelytė-Visockienė, they conducted joint photogrammetric and remote sensing measurements of the Upper Castle and its mountain slope. The Polish-Lithuanian scientific team's primary goal in their research was to develop an innovative approach to determine the displacements and deformations of hard-to-reach engineering objects, using terrestrial laser scanners, GNSS receivers, and unmanned aerial vehicles to acquire measurement data. The fieldwork conducted at that time was just the beginning of the cooperation between geodesists from Gdańsk University of Technology and Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, with the repetitive nature of displacement measurements suggesting that the three scholars mentioned earlier would return to the walls of the Vilnius castle in the future.

In a relatively short period of time, the plans of the Tricity young scientists were realized. Members of the academic staff of the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering participated in the second measurement campaign at the castle complex in Vilnius from September 18 to 22, 2023. However, this time, the Polish research team traveled to Lithuania in a fuller and even more substantial composition in terms of expertise. In addition to the aforementioned researchers, the Polish team also included Vice-Dean for Research and Development, Ph.D. Eng. Jakub Szulwic, Vice-Dean for Education, Ph.D. Eng. Rafał Ossowski, and Ph.D. Eng. Paweł Szymon Dąbrowski, who has been a permanent member of the academic staff of the Department of Geodesy at Gdańsk University of Technology since October of this year.

Just as a few months ago, the Gdańsk geodesists were welcomed by the Dean of the Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Professor Ph.D. Donatas Čygas, who, during a brief seminar meeting on September 19, presented the didactic and research facilities of his Faculty. The Polish highlight during the seminar was the presentation by Ph.D. Zienkiewicz, who presented preliminary results of empirical analyses based on the May measurement data and outlined the schedule of research activities for the Polish-Lithuanian scientific team, both during the stay of Gdańsk University of Technology staff in Vilnius and in the later stages of joint research. It is worth noting that the September meeting between the delegation from Gdańsk University of Technology and the staff of Vilnius Gediminas Technical University went far beyond the scope of research cooperation. During their visit to Vilnius, Ph.D. Eng. Rafał Ossowski, Vice-Dean for Education of the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Ph.D. Eng. Paweł Tysiąc, Deputy Head of the Department of Geodesy, had a meeting with the Vice-Dean for International Students, Professor Ph.D. Vilūnė Lapinskienė, and the Vice-Dean for Erasmus Affairs, Rasa Vaiškūnaitė, to establish a joint direction for master's degree studies in geodesy as part of a double degree program, where graduates will receive a master's degree diploma from both Polish and Lithuanian universities. As a result of the September visit of Gdańsk University of Technology staff to Vilnius, the strengthening of cooperation between Lithuanian and Polish geodesists is taking place not only in the field of research but also in education.

During the subsequent days, the Polish-Lithuanian research team conducted comprehensive geodetic measurements of the Upper Castle and Cathedral Square in Vilnius using unmanned aerial vehicles, terrestrial laser scanners, and GNSS receivers. The observational material obtained will serve Polish and Lithuanian scholars in verifying research hypotheses and conducting numerous theoretical and empirical analyses in the field of geodetic displacement and deformation monitoring.

The foreign measurement campaign was made possible thanks to the financial support obtained by Ph.D. Eng. Paweł Burdziakowski through the NEPTUNIUM grant competition, which focused on "Establishing research cooperation and reconnaissance of Gediminas Castle and Castle Hill in Vilnius."

Author: dr inż. Marek Hubert Zienkiewicz