After the successful Conference on Engineering and Architecture Design Education (EADE-2023) in Wrocław, Poland, a decision was made to continue this series of conferences in 2024, with the venue being the Faculty of Architecture and Design at Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava (FAD-STU), Bratislava, Slovakia, in collaboration with other partner institution of the WIETE; namely, the Faculty of Architecture at Cracow University of Technology (FA-CUT), Kraków, Poland; the Faculty of Architecture at Gdańsk University of Technology (FA-GUT), Gdańsk, Poland; the Faculty of Architecture at Wrocław University of Science and Engineering (FA-WUST), Wrocław, Poland; as well as the World Institute for Engineering and Technology Education (WIETE), Melbourne, Australia.

The Conference proceedings commenced with the Opening Ceremony held on Monday, 10 June 2024, at which the WIETE Director, Professor Zenon J. Pudlowski, also a Visiting Professor of the FAD-STU, presented a brief introduction, indicating some reasons for the Conference, as well as the Conference objectives. He also introduced the Conference Patron, His Magnificence Dr hc, Prof. hc, Professor Dr Ing Oliver Moravčík, Rector of Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, who warmly welcomed the participants to the Conference, and officially opened this congregation of international academics.

After Professor Moravčík’s address, Professor Pudlowski introduced the representatives of the collaborating institutions that was followed by a series of welcoming addresses delivered in turn by:

Professor Ľubica Vitková, Vice-Rector for International Relations of the STU; Professor Lucyna Nyka, Dean of the FA-GUT; Professor Maria Jolanta Żychowska of the FA-CUT, and President of the WIETE International Academic Advisory Committee (WIETE-IAAC); with the concluding address presented by Associate Professor Branislav Puškár, Dean of the Host Faculty who warmly welcomed the participants to the Faculty, and showcased the highlights and benefits from the 25 years of co-operation between the Faculty and the WIETE.

There were seven opening addresses in two consecutive sessions followed by discussions. Over twenty regular papers were presented with excellent engagement from the audience. The majority of the papers addressed aspects of the Conference topics with a strong focus on architectural education as a specific branch of engineering, and the Conference provided the participants with ample opportunity to interact with the speakers and other participants on many aspects of engineering and architecture design education.

Most of the presentations will be available as journal articles published in either the Global Journal of Engineering Education (GJEE) or the World Transactions on Engineering and Technology Education (WTE&TE).

As at other WIETE co-organised conferences, there was a special open session devoted to publishing issues and delivered by Mrs Dorota I. Pudlowski and Professor Zenon J. Pudlowski of the WIETE. The title of the session - WIETE journals and the changing publishing landscape - was supposed to highlight two broad issues. Firstly, the idea was to present the publishing offer of the WIETE which tends to be of particular interest to aspiring academics. Secondly, it was to highlight the fact that scholarly, well-established publishers operate in a volatile, ever-changing environment. They are currently flooded by AI-generated or enhanced article submissions, plagiarism, and other forms of academic article-related misdemeanour that raise ethical issues and call for recommendations and standards, such as the wide-ranging guidelines by the Committee on Publication Ethics or in a broader sense - the recent EU legislation on AI.

The presenters also emphasised that the sky-rocketing number of new publishers and new journal titles extends the publishing offer for the potential author, but the offer may come with a threat of predatory publishing and no editorial value. In this environment, authors have to decide on the best publishing option that matches their potential and ambition, and complies with their institution’s requirements.

The Conference Organising Committee prepared an excellent social programme, including a visit to the newly created renovated Slovak National Gallery where Pavol Paňák - one of the main architects of this project guided the participants; and to modern residential/commercial buildings constructed on an old industrial site that housed a spinning mill (the first renovated building with BREEAM Outstanding Certificate in Slovakia) and other nearby sites (new construction of Sky Park project by Zaha Hadid Architects).

At the Closing Ceremony, the WIETE Director presented Associate Professor Branislav Puškár, Dean of the Host Faculty with a WIETE gift in recognition of his achievement in the organisation of the EADE-2024 Conference.

The Conference was an excellent opportunity to exchange views, discuss issues on architecture and technology education, expand contacts, and for some participants to negotiate future co-operative agreements.