Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona Children’s Hospital, a leading pediatric care facility and teaching hospital, partnered with Schneider Electric, a global leader in energy technologies, to modernize its electrical infrastructure using automation solutions that provide enhanced energy efficiency and convenient control in patient rooms. Using the Schneider SpaceLogic KNX portfolio of energy management and automation solutions, the maternity ward achieved an average of 40% energy savings.
Since its founding in 1867 as Spain’s first children’s hospital, Sant Joan de Déu has been a pioneer in comprehensive care for women, children, and adolescents. The hospital is known as one of Europe’s most important specialized and technologically advanced pediatric centers. Since 2009, it has sought to create adaptive healthcare models focused on the patient and comfort, using the most modern technological solutions.
In 2022, Sant Joan’s electricity bills tripled—from €400,000 to €1.2 million—and prices have remained volatile since then, prompting the hospital to implement an energy management system to optimize consumption and reduce its carbon footprint. As a leading adopter of “smart hospital” technologies, Sant Joan also uses its own unique Cortex management system to monitor patient status, building occupancy, and energy consumption. This means that any energy management solution must seamlessly integrate with Cortex’s advanced automation capabilities without compromising high standards of comfort and patient care.
Thanks to the SpaceLogic KNX solution, patients in the maternity ward have gained more control over lighting, blinds, and temperature in their rooms, maximizing comfort without complicating care through a simple interface. This was made possible by the SpaceLogic KNX Pushbutton with Dynamic Labeling, which provides an intuitive interface for controlling lighting, blinds, and climate directly from the bed. Additionally, the SpaceLogic system provides Sant Joan’s building management team with reliable recommendations for further optimizing energy consumption through seamless integration with Cortex.
“After just one week, we were able to prepare a proposal for Sant Joan regarding the implementation of SpaceLogic KNX. After an hour of installation work, we integrated SpaceLogic KNX with Cortex,” said Ignacio de Ros, EcoXpert, Home and Small Building Automation, Schneider Electric, and co-founder of Albo de Ros Canto Engineering. “Smooth installations demonstrate to our customers how easy it is to achieve measurable results without compromise. We look forward to a long-term and fruitful partnership with Sant Joan de Déu Hospital.”
Thanks to the SpaceLogic KNX system, the maternity ward has achieved 35% energy savings during the day and 50% at night for lighting and air conditioning, averaging 40% overall savings compared to the floor below, which has not yet been automated.
“Patients come from all over the world to receive treatment at Sant Joan de Déu, and we are constantly investing in improving their care. SpaceLogic KNX gives our patients more control over their room and personal comfort,” noted Juan Antonio Rivas, Head of Facilities Operations at Sant Joan de Déu. “In the future, we plan to collaborate with Schneider Electric to implement SpaceLogic KNX throughout the hospital.”
In addition to automating energy management throughout the hospital, Sant Joan plans to use the flexibility of the SpaceLogic KNX system to create animated light installations in some common areas for the youngest patients.
To learn more about the collaboration between Sant Joan de Déu and Schneider Electric, watch the video here. The SpaceLogic KNX range is available worldwide; learn more on the website.
About Schneider Electric
Schneider Electric is a global leader in energy technologies, driving efficiency and promoting sustainable development through the electrification, automation, and digitalization of industry, business, and residential spaces.
The company’s technologies enable buildings, data centers, factories, infrastructure, and power grids to function as open, interconnected ecosystems, enhancing productivity, resilience, and sustainability.
The company’s portfolio includes smart devices, software-defined architectures, AI-based systems, digital services, and professional consulting services. With 160,000 employees and 1 million partners in over 100 countries, Schneider Electric consistently ranks among the world’s most sustainable companies.
Learn more at https://www.se.com/ua/uk/
ENERGY, maternity ward, Sant Joan de Déu, Schneider Electric
According to Serbian Economist, Serbia’s real estate market continued to grow through the end of 2025: in the fourth quarter, the total volume of transactions reached €2.4 billion, marking the highest quarterly level since the Real Estate Price Register was established. This was reported by the Republic Geodetic Institute of Serbia (RGZ).
According to RGZ, in October–December 2025, the market value rose by 9% year-over-year, and the number of purchase and sale agreements increased by 6.9%, to 37,386. Apartments accounted for €1.4 billion, or 61% of the total value of all transactions.
Regionally, the number of transactions in the fourth quarter rose by 10.9% in Belgrade and by 5.8% in Kragujevac, while a decline of 6.5% was recorded in Niš and 8.7% in Novi Sad. A total of €768.5 million was spent on apartment purchases in Belgrade alone during this period.
The most expensive apartment of the quarter was sold in the municipality of Savski Venac for €1.4 million, with an area of 90 square meters, while the maximum price per square meter in the same municipality reached €15,298. The most expensive house was also sold in Savski Venac for €1 million, and a parking space for €60,000.
Earlier, RGZ reported that as early as the first quarter of 2025, the market showed a 9.3% increase in value alongside a 2.4% decline in the number of transactions, indicating further appreciation of assets. By the end of the year, this trend persisted, but the market simultaneously returned to growth in the number of transactions.
Vera Yegorova-Tolsta, owner of the real estate agency VIDOVSTAN, also noted the market’s growth in her review. Overall, RGZ data show that even with local fluctuations in individual cities, Serbia’s real estate market remained one of the most stable segments of the country’s economy through the end of 2025.
https://t.me/relocationrs/2490
Agroprodservice (Ternopil region) is implementing a project to build a new feed mill and a 3 MW biogas plant to strengthen energy independence and expand the agricultural holding’s export potential, said the company’s commercial director, Taras Baran.
“Environmental requirements are driving us to improve: we are obtaining EU-compliant certification for our farms and are also preparing to implement a 3-megawatt biogas plant project. This will also help us become more resilient to power outages,” he said at the Soybean Market: Growing. Processing. Trade. conference.
The new feed mill will be equipped with its own soybean processing line. Its launch will allow the holding company to separate production flows: the new plant will fully meet the company’s internal needs for pig and cattle feed, while the capacity of the existing soybean processing facility (approximately 2,500 tons per month) will be dedicated exclusively to export and external sales.
As Baran emphasized, the company’s strategy is based on vertical integration and creating added value at every stage. Currently, “Agroprodservice” processes about 30,000 tons of soybeans per year and produces oil and meal from them. The company already holds non-GMO certification, which allows it to receive a price premium when selling products in the German and Czech markets.
PJSC “Agroprodservice” was established in 1999 and is a diversified agricultural holding operating in the Ternopil and Ivano-Frankivsk regions. It cultivates approximately 45,000–50,000 hectares of land and owns grain storage facilities with a capacity of 200,000 tons, as well as seed and feed mills. The holding is among the top five largest pork producers in Ukraine (60,000 head) and also maintains 16,000 head of cattle and 600,000 head of poultry.
In 2025, the agricultural holding invested UAH 45 million in the launch of the “Babusia Marusia” food products plant at the “Western Ukrainian Industrial Hub” industrial park. The facility specializes in the production of canned vegetables, pickles, and semi-finished products, with a projected capacity of 650 tons of products per year. Additionally, the “Nasha Ptitsya” (chicken processing) and “Ternopil Meat Processing Plant” divisions operate within the hub.
According to data from the Opendatabot service, the ultimate beneficiaries of the private joint-stock company “Agroprodservice” are Tetiana Chaikivska (70%) and Andriy Baran (30%). Until 2020, the business was owned by the company’s founder, Ivan Chaikivsky, who is currently the secretary of the Verkhovna Rada’s Agrarian Committee.
PJSC “Maidan-Vilsky Refractory Plant” (MVKO, village of Mykhailiuchka, Khmelnytskyi Oblast) reported a net loss for 2025, the exact amount of which was not specified.
According to the company’s announcement in the disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC) regarding the holding of a remote general meeting of shareholders on April 27, there are six items on the agenda.
In particular, the meeting is scheduled to review the company’s supervisory board report for 2025, approve the results of financial and operational activities for the past year, and approve a resolution regarding the coverage of losses.
Shareholders will also terminate the powers of the supervisory board members and elect new ones. Additionally, the meeting is scheduled to preliminarily approve significant transactions within one year from the date of such a decision.
Draft resolutions, copies of which are available to the Interfax-Ukraine agency, propose covering the loss incurred as a result of financial and operational activities in 2025 using retained earnings from previous periods. No dividends will be paid to shareholders for 2025 due to the absence of profit.
PJSC “Maidan-Vilsky Refractory Plant” was registered on June 19, 2006. It specializes in the production of refractory ceramic products.
According to the State Registration Service data for the fourth quarter of 2025, PJSC “Company ”Association Ukraine” (Kyiv) owns 96.0601% of the company’s shares.
The Moldovan government will propose to parliament that a state of emergency be declared in the energy sector for a period of 60 days, starting March 25, 2026, following the disconnection of the main Vulcănești–Isaccea power line as a result of Russian strikes on Ukraine’s civilian energy infrastructure. This was reported on the Moldovan government’s official website.
The Vulcănești–Isaccea line is the main artery for electricity imports and supplies 60–70% of the consumption on the right bank of Moldova. Authorities estimate a potential power deficit during peak hours at up to 350–400 MW starting March 25.
The Moldovan government stated that the state of emergency will allow for the rapid procurement of energy resources and emergency equipment, faster distribution of necessary resources, and, if necessary, the implementation of measures to restrict consumption and special operating rules for economic operators to protect critical infrastructure and social institutions.
At the same time, officials in Chisinau emphasize that consumers are currently being supplied with electricity from domestic sources and imports via alternative routes, including four 110 kV interconnection lines with Romania. These schemes have been used before, notably during the blackouts on January 31, 2026.
According to the Moldovan state agency Moldpres, citing the National Crisis Management Center, downed drones were discovered near the Isaccea-Vulcănești line, limiting access for technical crews and requiring demining before repair work can begin. Inspections are being conducted in coordination with transmission system operators from Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine.
According to Interfax-Ukraine, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine has published the admission procedure for higher education in 2026, which sets out the rules for the admissions campaign to higher education institutions for bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs.
According to the ministry, key changes in the 2026 admissions campaign include the following: applicants may submit up to 10 applications in total, of which no more than five may be for state-funded spots; the priority system now applies not only to bachelor’s programs but also to master’s programs, including contract-based programs; for most creative majors, the creative competition coefficient has been increased to 0.7; interviews and creative competitions are conducted in person, with exceptions provided for certain categories of applicants, particularly those residing in temporarily occupied territories, serving in the military, or representing Ukraine in international competitions; the results of national final exams from European countries may be accepted in lieu of the National Multidisciplinary Test (NMT) for Ukrainian citizens; motivation letters are no longer a mandatory component of the application.
It is noted that for admission to bachelor’s programs, NMT results remain the primary selection criterion, and applicants may also use test results from previous years (2023, 2024, and 2025).
“The competitive score is calculated using a formula in which each subject has its own weight depending on the major. This means that the same applicant may have a different competitive score depending on the chosen major. This approach allows for consideration of which knowledge is key for a specific field of study. At the same time, applicants and parents are advised to pay attention to the weighting of subjects (subject coefficients) for a specific major before submitting applications,” the Ministry of Education stated.
Also this year, applicants for bachelor’s and master’s programs will rank their applications—that is, indicate which educational institution is their top choice (this rule also applies to contract-based programs).
“It is important to decide on a major and institution in advance, as the priority cannot be changed later,” the ministry noted.
For Ukrainians who graduated from high school in Europe in 2025 or 2026, the results of national graduation exams (such as the Polish matura) will be accepted for admission to Ukrainian universities instead of the NMT results.
Additionally, the following groups will undergo only an internal university interview instead of the NMT: war veterans (including individuals with war-related disabilities and combatants); individuals who have been imprisoned as a result of armed aggression against Ukraine; and applicants who were denied registration for the NMT due to the inability to provide special accommodations.
Certain categories of applicants are eligible for benefits but must take the NMT: orphans and children deprived of parental care; other categories admitted under Quota 1.
Among other things, separate state-funded spots under Quota 2 are provided for applicants from temporarily occupied territories and active combat zones.
“At the same time, admission requirements depend on the date of relocation. For example, if an applicant left after October 1, 2025 (or will be there during the admission campaign), they are eligible for an interview instead of the NMT and to compete for a state-funded spot. If an applicant left before October 1, 2025, they will be admitted based on their NMT results but are still eligible for quota 2.
In addition, the Ministry of Education has prepared a guide for applicants that explains the key stages and new changes in simple language: https://mon.gov.ua/news/hid-vstupnyka-2026-pokrokova-instruktsiia-do-zdobuttia-vyshchoi-osvity
