DEF-SSCC
DEF-SSCC - Designing the Education of Future proof sustainability leaders: collaboration for innovative tools and courses on Smart Sustainable Cities and Communities
Category: Incubator Grant
University:
University of the Basque Country, Comenius University Bratislava, University of Groningen, Uppsala University
Period:
2024-2027
Joint Master’s Programmes are common in Europe, but there are very few Joint Bachelor Programmes, even less in the context of European University Alliances. This initiative aims to establish the foundation for designing the first Joint Bachelor’s Programme within the ENLIGHT Alliance, a Degree on Sustainable Cities and Communities, bringing together the academic teams, societal stakeholders and getting on board students to pilot some program components, whilst receiving their feedback. The project is coordinated by UPV/EHU in cooperation with Uppsala University, University of Groningen and Comenius University Bratislava, involving an interdisciplinary group of academics from these universities, with local administrative support.
The medium-term result would be a jointly envisioned interdisciplinary programme responding to the triple transition dynamics and addressing coherently the main climate, digital and social challenges of present and future cities and communities. Addressing sustainability challenges whilst ensuring equity, human well-being and exploiting the full potential of digitalization, requires students with future-proof interdisciplinary skills and global competences. The BA graduate is expected to act as a bridge between architects, urban planners, engineers, physicists, health professionals, sociologists, policy-makers, and public engagement professionals, in order to design and implement innovative solutions and projects in/for European cities and communities. Graduates could also continue their training path via the various postgraduate programmes available at ENLIGHT partner universities.
The future programme links to all six ENLIGHT flagship domains and adopts a challenge-based and future-oriented approach. For that, this initiative builds-upon the societal stakeholders of ENLIGHT involved partners and closely involves them in the identification of local challenges and design of innovative, creative and collaborative answers. This approach lies at the core of the programme’s teaching and learning model, which also takes into account the excellent knowledge and existing methodological approaches of ENLIGHT partner universities.
Personal highlight:
By working together, the partners in the project are developing a common understanding of how a Joint Enlight BA on European Sustainable Cities & Communities could be. The shared vision makes the most of our flagship domains and the knowledge and methodological approaches that we are building together as an alliance and shows promising possibilities for the future, even if administrative issues are still to be solved for implementing such a programme.
Participants and Stakeholders
- Coordinator: University of the Basque Country EHU
- Other Partner Institutions: Uppsala University, University of Groningen and Comenius University Bratislava
Team Composition:
University of the Basque Country
- Coordinator: Laura Vozmediano.
- Academics: Jose Miguel Rico, Juan Sádaba, Olatz Irulegi, Borja Calvo Molinos, Gabriel Alejandro Lopez, Begoña Blanco Jauregui, Bryan Leferman.
Uppsala University:
- Academics: Aleksandra Halaim, Narcis Bassols and Tom Mels
University of Groningen
- Academics: Christian Zuidema and Chris Diedericks
Comenius University Bratislava
- Academics: Juraj Buzalka and Andrea Figulová
Stakeholders/External Partners
- Basque Centre for Climate Change BC3, Council of Bilbao.
Objectives
The partners will follow a co-creation process in a series of preparatory workshops for increasing mutual understanding, finding common grounds in core definitions and interdisciplinary language, identifying local challenges, applying innovative teaching/ learning tools, and developing the contents of three new co-designed short courses (BIP format), whilst also addressing the administrative considerations necessary to launch a jointly designed programme (e.g. degree certification, accreditation and quality assurance, application and admission).
These activities will offer as outputs: 1) a catalogue of specific cities and communities’ challenges; 2) three jointly designed BIP courses, one of them implemented in 2026; and 3) the provision of the necessary conditions for the design of the future Joint BA.
Contact
Laura Vozmediano, University of the Basque Country EHU.
Additional information
- From the academic perspective, a robust partnership has been developed, necessary for designing a comprehensive joint bachelor's programme that effectively integrates the expertise and resources of all participating universities.
- The project has strengthened the collaboration between the four university teams and generated significant advances in the design of a joint BA on European Sustainable Cities & Communities: fostering a deeper mutual understanding of each institution's strengths and approaches and finding common ground and shared objectives across different disciplinary perspectives.
- The co-creation process has facilitated the development of specific outputs such as glossaries and design of BIP courses.
- Administrative advances and/or Department and Faculty level commitments are slower and more complex to achieve, with constant doubts and/or difficulties that appear with the progress of the project.
- This is a high risk- high reward project in its general ambition; the project will offer the planned outputs but whether it successes in paving the way for the first Joint Enlight BA is highly dependent on the commitment by partners at all levels of the university, from rectorate team to department level, including administrative and regulation efforts.
- Advances on European Degree Label and EC calls on the matter are excellent opportunities for continuing working in a future Joint Enlight BA.