Completing the study of the discipline "Economic analysis of investment projects", students of the educational and professional program "Economics of the Environment and Natural Resources,", as well as the educational and scientific program of the same specialty, met in virtual space with Dr. S. Michalakopoulos, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Valladolid, Spain. S. Michalakopoulos is an information technology researcher who received a PhD degree from King's College London in 2010. He has over twenty-five years of experience as a researcher and software developer, particularly in the fields of artificial intelligence, big data, and bioinformatics. Currently works in the forestry sector. Another of his passions is teaching. However, Dr. S. Michalakopoulos has not yet worked with Ukrainian scientists and students, so this meeting was interesting for both sides.
The topic of Dr. S. Michalakopoulos' presentation is "Artificial Intelligence and Ecosystem Services." The concept of ecosystem services is one of the most basic ones in modern ecological and economic discourse. Therefore, in the framework of the discipline "Economic analysis of investment projects", as well as other disciplines of the above-mentioned educational and scientific program, students were told a lot about modern theoretical approaches and methods of determining and taking into account the value and cost of ecosystem services, the role of which is fundamental to human life and well-being.
This lecture introduced students to the modern global practice of using artificial intelligence technologies—a powerful tool for identification and fairly accurate quantitative and qualitative assessment of the structure and composition of ecosystems—for the performance of relevant practical tasks, in particular: preventing the collision of vehicles with animals; sorting wood; identifying plant diseases; determining forest productivity with assessment of site productivity index; classification and monitoring of urban trees; application of LiDAR-3D software for tree description; mapping of sapling placement, etc. It should be noted that the University of Valladolid recently held the conference "Artificial Intelligence in Ecosystem Management", the materials of which can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/@yuteratvpalencia3661/videos">YouTube.
The second half of the meeting was no less interesting, dynamic, and professional when students asked the speaker questions about artificial intelligence technologies and their application in natural resource management. It is worth noting that Dr. S. Michalakopoulos noted the high level of English and knowledge of information technologies among the students, which contributed to the emergence of an interesting professional discussion.
This meeting broadened the understanding of the practical application of the acquired theoretical knowledge and skills, in particular the tools of artificial intelligence, specifically in the field of nature management, based on the experience and practice of different countries. Perhaps it will influence the topic of students' research or their future professional activities.
