ALBCOLD and EPOKA University welcomed engineering professionals and researchers today for an International Workshop on "Monitoring of Dams and Deep Foundations".

The morning session kicked off with welcome remarks at 09:30, followed by ALBCOLD Chairman Arjan Jovani's presentation on dam monitoring importance in Albania. Jovani detailed the country's major dam infrastructure, including the Fierza, Koman, Moglica, Banja, and Ulez facilities, while presenting new ALBCOLD guidelines for dam operation, maintenance, and monitoring.

"These new guidelines will help standardize our safety practices," Jovani told attendees.

Daniel Naterop from Huggenberger AG and SISGEO Srl then delivered an extensive presentation on embankment dam safety, introducing Swiss risk management concepts to the Albanian engineering community. His systematic approach to monitoring planning drew particular interest from local professionals attending the workshop.

Before the coffee break, Stefano Priano of SISGEO Srl explored new monitoring technologies for earth dams, using "The Earth Dam Iceberg" concept to illustrate hidden complexities in dam structures. Workshop participants engaged actively with his technical explanations about instrumentation challenges.

After refreshments, Priano returned to discuss geotechnical safety monitoring instruments, providing hands-on demonstrations of equipment capabilities.

The morning concluded with Skënder Allkja, Director of ALTEA & GEOSTUDIO 2000, who presented on monitoring applications for deep foundations. Drawing from ALTEA Geostudio's extensive experience in Albanian geological projects, Allkja emphasized the critical importance of understanding local geological conditions when implementing foundation monitoring systems.

"Albania's complex geology requires specialized monitoring approaches," Allkja explained, highlighting cases where traditional monitoring methods needed adaptation for local conditions.

Extended discussions wrapped up the workshop at 13:30, with participants exchanging contacts and exploring potential collaborations. The event successfully brought together industry partners including Huggenberger AG, SISGEO Srl, ALTEA, and GEOSTUDIO 2000 with Albanian engineering professionals.

"This workshop showed how international expertise can help solve local challenges," noted one participant during the closing discussions."

Looking ahead, the Faculty of Geology and Mining announced their upcoming GENRE 2025 conference (1st International Conference on Geosciences, Energy, Natural Resources, Environment) scheduled for November 21-22, 2025, in Tirana. The faculty has extended an invitation to everyone to participate in this significant event, further strengthening academic collaboration in geosciences and engineering fields.