Good Practices

[Dymphna Sniders Blok, Change Agents Team]

The U!REKA Change Agent Program is an interdisciplinary and intercultural initiative designed to equip students with the skills and tools to tackle sustainability challenges co-organized in Amsterdam and Helsinki in co-operation with partners from Frankfurt, Ghent and Odessa. This blended program combines online sessions with an intensive in-person experience in one of the cities. The program is an excellent example of international collaboration, showcasing how cross-border teamwork can address global challenges like sustainability while fostering transformative personal and professional growth. To this end U!REKA Change Agents works with the following key elements:

Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Students from diverse cultural and academic backgrounds work in cross-cultural teams to address challenges related to sustainability and societal transformation.

Focus on Sustainability: The program emphasizes solving systemic issues like sustainable water use, integrating socio-cultural, economic, and climate-related perspectives.

Blended Learning Approach: It includes online sessions focused on remote innovation, design thinking, and cross-cultural collaboration, culminating in a week-long field trip featuring workshops, city explorations, and stakeholder interactions.

Practical Outcomes: Participants design, prototype, and present innovative solutions, applying tools such as design thinking and storytelling. They also build professional networks and engage in peer-to-peer learning.

Certification and Impact: Upon successful completion, participants receive a certificate and bring their learnings and prototypes back to their local contexts for further development.

Video testimonials: https://youtu.be/
Video testimonials: https://youtu.be/