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Looking Back at 2025
A Year of excellent teamwork of the DeTeA Research Group
Another successful year for the DeTeA research group has come to an end, and I, Iveta Novakova, the DeTeA research group leader, would like to take a moment to summarize our achievements and express my gratitude to all members and collaboration partners. The dedication of our team to expanding and applying their knowledge has been evident through scientific publications, the development of new project proposals, and active participation in both national and international events.
| Work conducted under the Circ-Boost project was presented by Sofia Kekez-Baran at the 1st International Conference on Concrete and Circular Economy (CCE2025) in Tunisia. | .jpg "CCE2025 (1).jpg") |
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Results from the Ar2CorD project were shared at the XXVth Nordic Concrete Federation Symposium 2025, where Iveta Novakova, Rekik D. Derso, and Boy-Arne Persson-Buyle represented UiT in two sessions and hosted a "Concrete Café" workshop. |
| Harpal Singh and Boy-Arne Persson-Buyle actively participated in international events, including the India-Norway Higher Education Summit in Agder, Norway, the CIC Betongklyngen trip to Milan, Italy, and Erasmus collaboration visits to Krakow University of Technology (Poland) and UGent (Belgium). |  |
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Eiri Gjerløw conducted fieldwork on the Snæfellsnes pensinsula, mapping and studying the little known volcanism of the Helgrindur volcano in co-operation with the University of Iceland. |
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DeTeA research group hosted researchers Adriana Eštoková from Technical University of Košice or Alexandre Pierre from CY Cergy Paris. |
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Collaboration visits proved crucial for new project applications, resulting in more than eight submitted proposals to various funding bodies, including EU funding programs, Interreg Aurora, NPA, Norwegian Research Council calls, and COST actions. Successful project proposals, such as HOOVER, a project focused on monitoring the Skattørsundet Bridge and co-funded by Tromsø Fylkeskommune, the EU-MAT project addressing effective urban material mining in cities funded by Interreg Aurora, and the Catalys and RECON projects set to launch in 2026, demonstrate the strong capabilities and teamwork of the DeTeA research group.
Furthermore, establishing a long-term monitoring station in Narvik Harbour was a great success. This station represents the primary UiT contribution to the Ar2CorD project and the PhD research of Rekik D. Derso.
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Ashaque Ahmed Jhatial successfully defended his PhD thesis, titled “Utilisation of Northern Norwegian Concrete Sludge Wastes for Low-Carbon Cement Mortars”, which explored the valorisation of concrete sludge—a by-product of concrete production—as a sustainable supplementary cementitious material (SCM). |
| Master’s students made significant contributions to the GEOSUMAT and Ar2CorD projects. The hard work of students Cobe Pollentier and Jasper Devriendt was recognized with the Sackesyn Prize for the most remarkable master’s thesis of the 2024/2025 academic year. |  |
Finally, none of the achievements mentioned above would have been possible without the invaluable research and industrial collaborations at both national and international levels. Key contributors include Izabela Hager from Krakow University of Technology, Poland, for her research inspiration; Einar Einarson, a concrete expert and artist from BM-Valla, Iceland; Beate Skretting, the mayor of Grimstad municipality; and Kristine Røiri, a passionate city architect with a focus on sustainability from Sortland municipality.
With these words, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone involved for their hard work and dedication throughout 2025. I wish you all a positive, productive, and joyful 2026!
Warm regards,
Iveta Novakova
DeTeA Research Group Leader
Published: 05.01.2026
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