“We worked on helping the city of Enschede to transition to the circular economy, our role was to advise the policy writers and the municipality. I had interviews with experts and met a lot of great people. I learned a lot about sustainability in general, and I also gained some practical knowledge. That is actually how I even got a current job offer – skills and knowledge acquired while solving the challenge were the positive triggers in my application”
“This challenge gave me a fantastic opportunity to work with students from a diverse range of backgrounds. We had the opportunity to examine Stavanger’s architecture and spaces from a different perspective and experience it differently, so that we could understand specific local challenges. Following a city tour and CBL based planning sessions our team came up with an idea of a vertical community garden. Our idea was that this could be located in an empty grain silo and incorporate different services so the unused space becomes a real asset to the community of Stavanger”.
“I consider challenge-based learning as an “out-of-box” thinking and the great way to develop the entrepreneurial mind-set that strongly deviates from traditional learning. I had an opportunity to connect with local businesses, to know their needs. Our team had weekly meetings with challenge providers and building owners to guide us towards the result”.
“What I liked is that challenges are about real life, real issues, not something made-up. It gave me a unique experience to acquire both soft and hard skills, not only learn about the problems you are solving but also to practice public speaking, idea mapping, negotiation, project management and teamwork skills. We also had very interesting speakers, providing their experience and great ideas”.
“I mastered new skills and I learned new things both through online classes and group-work exercises. What I got the most out of it? To learn to work in a group. We must divide tasks, present as a fully-fledged group to other individuals, meet the deadline on time, and try to find a collective solution to our challenge.”
“It was a good learning opportunity. You work hands-on and learn in practice. We have worked in an existing environment with experts. That is a big difference compared with fictitious cases. This was much more awesome. In these few weeks, I have got to know many people, worldwide, developed new skills, and met the real work field.”
Micro-modules are short learning experience that supports learners to fill their knowledge gaps and boost their capabilities to successfully engage in ECIU University challenges.
How does it work?
While working on the challenge, the participants may find out that they lack certain knowledge or skills to solve the challenge. They will be given an opportunity to participate in micro-modules related to the challenge they are working on.
In addition to this, learners from ECIU member universities can take any micro-module, even if they are not participating in the challenge.
Micro-modules can be of different types: • Micro-modules that widen the knowledge related to a specific field, for example, for example, Communication and transport systems, Energy and sustainability, Circular economy. • Micro-modules that help to develop transversal skills, for example, intercultural communication or project management. • Foreign language micro-modules.
