**Background**

Kaunas Region Waste Management Center (Kaunas RWMC) directly deals with waste that comes from households across the region. The large dimension waste collecting sites (LDWCS) accumulate more waste than planned. Kaunas RWMC widened the network of “Giveaway” spots in LDWCS to encourage the exchange of unnecessary items that are in good shape. Giving them a second life by bringing them to reuse is considered a better way to discard things than recycling. Still, many don’t know about this publicly available free option. Kaunas mechanical-biological waste treatment plant (MBT) sorts mixed household waste and extracts more recyclable materials from it each year so they wouldn’t end up in landfills. That means people still do not sort waste correctly.  
The efficiency of waste management depends on multiple factors but the most obvious one is the quality of primary waste sorting at home. The national environment protection exam held for the first time in 2022 confirmed the fact that the public’s knowledge of waste and circular economy is mediocre. Exam organizers stress the importance of environmental education at schools but adults should know more too – both groups answered exam questions incorrectly. We believe that we can shape sorting habits starting from the school bench and creatively encourage children to understand the importance of household sorting which is: less non-recyclable products end up in landfills; cleaner environment; encouraging creativity through reusing materials; energy consumption reduction.

**Challenge**

The goal of the challenge is to find innovative ways to educate children about problems related to waste, its management, and circular economy. While some initiatives are teaching about sustainability, waste management and prevention are not fully addressed. Kaunas Region Waste Management Center seeks to become a constant provider of educational information on the issue and hopes to become an inspiration for others. Student teams are encouraged to come up with an interesting, informative, and continuous education at schools about waste management.

This is a document from a Institution or University that proves that the Learner has specific knowledge and/or has taken University grade courses.

Transcript of Records

Motivation Letter

Kaunas University of Technology

School education on conscious consumption and waste disposal

How can environmental education at schools change people’s minds about consumption and waste disposal?

The effects of human consumption on communities and the environment have become increasingly apparent over the last several decades. Sustainability is not confined to a single industry, community, or geographical region. Consequently, countries, cities and separate regions are slowly beginning to prioritise the idea of implementing sustainable practices in their development plans.

Circular economy

**Our challenge**  
Students, senior citizens and other interested citizens will work together to design and produce 3D printed solutions using sustainable filament from a local company. The aim is to address the challenges associated with ageing, such as mobility impairments, hearing loss, balance problems and visual impairments. During this challenge, senior citizens from a facility in the Hamburg district of Harburg will give feedback on their needs in direct conversations. For the project, in addition to product development, the focus is on the social aspect of intergenerational neighbourly help and on working in interdisciplinary and intercultural teams.

**Expected impact**  
One of the social responsibilities of engineers is to consider the safety of people and the protection of the environment in their designs and manufacturing processes. Unfortunately, such responsibilities sometimes collide with companies whose primary (or only) motivation is profit rather than social impact. Therefore, this challenge, which provides socially conscious engineering practices by fostering intergenerational collaboration between engineering students, citizens and seniors in nursing homes to find engineering solutions to the challenges of ageing, is of the greatest importance.  
  
**Target groups**  
Students (i.e. engineering, nursing school, social sector), social care employees (i.e. nurses, social sector), seniors.

**Supported by**  
“Landesinnovationsförderung Hamburg" (State Innovation Promotion Hamburg).

Hamburg University of Technology

Engineering solutions for a more inclusive society

3D-printed solutions for the needs of elderly people

Social capital is important to make communities resilient. European urban areas can learn lessons from this. It is clear that rural and rurban areas face demographic challenges. It has been recognised that although a high-quality digital infrastructure and capacity is a must for achieving resilience in rural areas, equally important is that such an infrastructure carries vital services. There is still no clear understanding of which services are useful and needed, and specifically those that lead to resilient rurban communities. Yet there are great opportunities to improve community resilience through self-sustained digitalisation. These include services for alternative forms of transportation and mobility, services that expand the delivery ranges of local shops, specialised e- health services, and advanced privacy-aware social-media services. Likewise, the digital government facilitated by online services strongly supports the resiliency of rural communities, improves quality-of-life and reduces road traffic. In the wider context, the role of digitalisation in resilience planning in rurban communities to mitigate the impact of climate change is becoming of increasing importance. In general, all services for the other pillars can help improve resilience if they exploit locality.

Resilient communities

# **Background**

Communication skills are not always something that Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths (STEM) students feel comfortable with - they often feel more comfortable with the technical aspect of things. However, communication skills are key skills that all students need to have - including technical students. These skills are particularly important when they have to interact with non-technical stakeholders. They have to be able to  explain themselves in a way that does not overwhelm people with jargon. There are many aspects of day-to-day life that can be improved with the use of ICT, but there is often a gap between what non-technical people know about ICT and what STEM students understand is possible and feasible. In this challenge, students will be asked to propose solutions, indicating how ICT can improve current systems across a wide range of fields.

# **The Micro-module**

This micro-module will look at the use of technology to address one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - Sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11). It will give the students a chance to explore a wide variety of real-world challenges - How can IT be used to make Dublin smarter?  How can IT be used to make older buildings smarter? How can IT be used to combat inadequate infrastructure? How can IT be used to tackle lack of affordable housing? How can technology be applied to overcome the energy crisis? How can IT be used for aiding low-cost and effective transport? How can IT be used to support inclusivity on university campuses?

This micro-module will equip the students with tools for presentation and teach them effective communication particularly that directed towards a lay audience. The micro-module aims to help develop transversal skills which will prove to be advantageous for the students in future ECIU challenges, academics, and their future careers.

Dublin City University

Technical Communication Skills

Inter-personal skills

This course is suited for anyone interested in improving their professional communication with people from other cultures as well as other countries where English is the language of communication. There are two course modules. The first module - Perspectives on International Communication, 2.5hp - focuses on intercultural communication in general, and takes as its point of departure some central theories, notions and practices from anthropology and sociology, in order to provide a framework for a critical analysis and understanding of obstacles and pitfalls in intercultural communication. The aim of the course module is to provide the students with tools to be able to identify and remedy communication breakdowns in favour of creating less friction in professional intercultural contexts. The second module - Intercultural Communication with English as a Lingua Franca, 5hp - builds on the theories and notions studied in the first module, but here, the focus is on communicative situations where English is the language of communication. Here, linguistic features will also be analysed and discussed as possible obstacles and/or resources to successful communication. Both courses are examined via active seminar participation and oral group presentations.

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Other

Linköping University

701G23 Intercultural Communication in an English-speaking World

Intercultural understanding

Global citizenship

The challenges provided in the micro-module come from the territory and may be of different nature. UAB collects the challenges from different sources, including the ECIU Challenge Platform.

During the micro-module, participants address the topics with the following agenda of 5 online sessions:

- **Session 1:** Building blocks of Citizen Science . Public engagement in Science. A challenge-based research perspective
- **Session 2:** Approaches, typology and modern trends. Multidisciplinarity of citizen science projects. Citizen social science
- **Session 3:** Designing a citizen science project: lifecycle  Crowdsourcing for citizen science. Data management, regulation and ethical dimension
- **Session 4:** Volunteer engagement, motivation, rewards, management and care. Evaluation and impact assessment of citizen science projects
- **Session 5:**Presentations of the Assignments from the Students

**LEARNING OUTCOMES**

In terms of specific competences, at a first level the participants will develop the following skills:

- Capacity to identify the components of a citizen science project.
- Capacity for analysing the diferent steps of a citizen science project
- Capacity to design  a process of citizen science.
- Capacity to have a first approach to the assessment the social impact of innovation.
- Capacity to ignite a cocreation process.
- Capacity to link the citizen science projcets with citizen-centric innovation initiatives such as living labs.

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Citizen Science, a practical approach for methods and tools

Open Innovation and Citizen Science (Online)

Critical and innovative thinking

The UAB Language Service offers online courses in Spanish language organized in different levels to develop students’ linguistic and intercultural skills. 

The number of hours working on the platform vary by level (A1 and A2: 80-100 hours per level; B1and B2: 120-150 hours per level).

There is no final assessment. 

**LEARNING OUTCOMES**

- Communicative approach
- Works on all communicative skills
- Specially aimed at university level students
- Stepping-stone to other Romance languages

Language Studies - Spanish

Online course

Language learning, together with other transversal skills and competences are not specifically related to a particular discipline or area of knowledge, but are relevant to a broad range of occupations and sectors. They can be addressed as skills that contribute to the development of a person.

Language learning

Challenge Provider: The Italian winery Schenk Italia, [www.schenkitalia.it](http://www.schenkitalia.it) 

Final Prize: Winner: 2.000 euros. Runner ups (second and third): 500 euros

**Background**

Schenk Italia, **one of the major wineries in Italy**, producer of wines and sparkling wines since 1952, has experienced many evolutions and changes over the years. After the foundation in Reggio Emilia, in 1960 the winery moved to Ora (Alto Adige) and the associated wineries became two in 2011 with the acquisition of Bacio della Luna, the **Valdobbiadene**winery dedicated to the production of sparkling wines with a focus on **Prosecco**. The third winery was included in 2016 with a small estate in **Montepulciano (Tuscany**), Azienda Agricola Lunadoro, with 12 hectares of entirely organic vineyards.

For some time now Schenk has been focusing on the **sustainability of processes and products**. After a complete analysis of the processes - including production and energy costs-, effective action was taken, and a number of products very much in line with this sustainable approach were developed.

The challenge and focus of the company is now to ensure that all the efforts and commitment to sustainability are **communicated**in a complete and exhaustive way, by conveying a very clear message about where the company is going to: A concrete message - rather than mere “poetry”- that gives the consumer the certainty that we are working on something real.  We know that “organic”, “eco-sustainable”, and “green” are often used just as shining labels: how can we **avoid the “Green-washing trap”** and communicate that our **commitment to sustainability** is serious and reliable?

**The challenge**

The Sustainable Wine Race

Can Schenk’s sustainability be communicated in a strong and **reliable** way - and not just as a common slogan? Can we avoid the “Green-washing trap”? What is making “our” sustainability different from competitors?

**Expected impact**

Ideal outcome of the Challenge is for Schenk:

- Getting original views, opinions and analyses from fresh minds outside our working context where, very often, we take too many things for granted and we do not notice some details that are important and could make the difference.

Innovative Ideas that are, however, concrete and applicable in an industrial reality that has to deal (unfortunately) with costs, last minute requests from each country, with increasingly tight deadlines.

Concrete communication projects that will allow us to develop a communication package to be conveyed through the appropriate channels, with the aim to distinguish ourselves and the company from the competitors - who talk about the same topics over and over but take no real action.

University of Trento

The Sustainable Wine Race

The Italian winery challenge

Education in ECIU University drives European values and strengthens European culture and citizenship. We support the development of creative and resilient European citizens with an entrepreneurial mindset, critical thinking and agility. Essential skills such as project management, social innovation, entrepreneurial skills and the ability to adapt and work with technology are key in order to achieve keeping up with the needs of today’s labour market.

Entrepreneurship, technology and innovation

We are living in a time of energy innovation: growing need for energy supply, energy (in)security, changing markets, climate change and other driving forces increase the need for new technological solutions. The resulting advances affect patterns of wealth, trade, power, and politics worldwide. These processes have an important international dimension and cannot be understood without taking international affairs into consideration. In this course, we study energy innovation from this international point of view. State involvement in energy innovation is an important starting point in that regard. Industrialised as well as upcoming countries are currently in a race for yielding the benefits of developing new energy technologies. Other countries struggle for their place in the future world of energy. By studying the race for energy innovation, the course aims at shedding a new light at the global energy transition. This includes the potential of international agreements such as Paris and organisations such as IRENA to distribute the benefits of energy innovation in a more just way. The module includes guest lectures from leading experts across Europe. 

**Learning outcomes**

*In terms of knowledge, students will have insights into the following areas:*

- energy innovation at different levels

- the significance of energy innovation for international affairs

- the fragmented system of global energy governance

- the impact of new energy technologies on geopolitics

*In terms of skills, students should be able to achieve the following:*

- description of cases relevant to energy innovation

- description of the relationship between innovationand politics

- discuss the politico-economic implications of energy innovation

- critically assess the challenges involved with the global energy transition

*In terms of general competencies, students should be capable of:*

- formulating and communicating social and environmental challenges associated with energy

- processing qualitative and quantitative data on energy and innovation

- making effective written presentationsshowing a good capacity for independent learning

**The challenge**

The topics of energy, innovation, and geopolitics are highly prominent in the academic literature. The concept of energy transition is central in that regard: it captures changes in the overall energy system, from one particular fuel source or technology to another. Numerous papers are dealing with these issues, many new papers are being published almost daily. Furthermore, the topic is becoming more and more prominent on the curricula of universities across Europe and worldwide.  

Energy innovation is an important aspect of today’s energy sector. Almost daily, we hear about the introduction of new processes, methods or devices that somehow improve how energy is being generated, transmitted or used. Classic economic theory assumes that these novelties are produced by the dynamics inherent to the capitalist, private economy. In that view, state intervention to change the overall energy system works against the progress (that is innovation). 

However, the energy sector is unique in a sense that state involvement – one way or the other – is very strong. The reasons for this can be found at the international level. The energy sector is of fundamental importance for the functioning of the economy; the state therefore has a high interest to ensure energy supply. Moreover, the state has an interest in keeping its national economy competetive. The energy sector is an important economic sector in many countries. State involvement is therefore very high.  

In short: energy innovation needs to be understood in relation to state policy, not least policy in response to pressures coming from the international level. The motives behind the promotion of energy innovation by the state (for example through science parks, university research projects, subsidies, or public private partnerships etc.) are, however, not mecessarily directly apparent. With this challenge, we want to shed light on the connection between energy innovation, state policy, and international affairs. 

**Exam information**

Your task will be to identify a significant case of energy innovation in your area (city or region) and to find information material about it (for example websites, brochures, policy documents, interviews, or surveys sent by email). Furthermore, you will describe this case by finding answers to the following questions:  

- What are the motivations and/or driving forces behind this case of energy innovation?

- Is this a case of private enterprise or is the state involved in any way?

- If the state is involved, in what form does it take part?

- Why is the state involved?

- Does the information material about the case refer to the national economy?

- Does your case include a form of international cooperation?

In the exam (short essay), you will discuss the information that you have collected against some of the contents of the course. This must also be presented at the end of the course.

University of Stavanger

Energy Innovation Across the Globe

Study module and a practical challenge on energy innovation worldwide

Energy presents a fundamental challenge shared by cities and regions across Europe as well as globally, characterised by the ‘trilemma’ of seeking to achieve secure supply, affordability, and environmental sustainability. Tackling this trilemma involves maximising efficiency across the system, from the generation of clean energy to power buildings and transportation, the storage and distribution of energy when and where it is needed, and the smart consumption by end-users.

Energy and sustainability

The UAB Language Service organizes courses in Catalan language to develop foreign students’ linguistic and intercultural skills with the aim of helping them to integrate into the Catalan social and academic context.

These online courses are carried out in Parla.cat. Each level consists in 135 hours and students have 2 hours of online support from a professor of the UAB Language Service, including the correction of 2 activities.

All offered levels are based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

**LEARNING OUTCOMES**

- Communicative approach
- Works on all communicative skills
- Specially aimed at university level students
- Stepping-stone to other Romance languages

Language Studies - Catalan

The course deals with ethical questions that rise from the development of more and more sophisticated autonomous systems, questions of what requirements that should hold for the technology and why included, which sort of agents artificial systems are, if these can be considered moral agents and if they can be ascribed moral responsibility as well as where the main responsibility for artificial intelligence (AI) ought to be placed and why. The course focuses three main areas of moral relevance for autonomous systems and AI: responsibility for decisions made by artificial agents, bias/discrimination as a result of AI use and the importance of participation in the development of AI systems. During this course, students are provided theoretical tools for reflection on the development of AI, requirements that ought to made regarding this technology and how it ought to be managed in society.

721G28 Ethics of Artificial Intelligence

Ethical questions around technology and AI

**Background**

Länsförsäkringar Östgöta sees a major challenge in the ever-changing climate and how it will affect property owners in Östergötland in the future. The insurance company already sees that an increasing number of properties have been affected by climate change-related events, such as floods and heat damage. Natural disasters like floods are becoming more common and leading to high costs for property owners and insurance companies in Sweden. Heat waves lead to an increased risk of fire, elevated indoor temperatures, and property damage.

**Challenge**

One organization may not be able to stop climate change, but perhaps we can find a way together to prevent the damage it causes to the insurance company clients' properties. How do we prevent damage from affecting properties as the temperature rises? How can we prevent floods from harming the foundation of the buildings? Länsförsäkringar Östgöta wants you to find a smart, sustainable solution to one of all the climate-related challenges. By taking on this challenge, you will contribute to society and give individual property owners opportunities to meet the challenges ahead.

Prevent damage to properties due to climate change-related events

Finding smart, sustainable solutions to climate-related challenges

**Program**

**May 1st: Welcome @ University of Twente**

We will welcome you and your fellow ECIU students on Monday evening, the 1st of May. The first evening is just to get to know each other a little bit and have some drinks and bites. 

**May 2nd-3rd: Create Tomorrow!**

And then… it all starts! Tuesday the 2nd of May and Wednesday the 3rd of May is Create Tomorrow. Get ready for workshops to follow and interesting keynote speakers to listen to on the first day. While working on real challenges from actual companies with your team on the second day, it is possible to ask questions and talk to your challenge provider all day. Throughout this day, there will be speakers and entertainment performing on stage. After the winner is announced, it is time for the after-party. Excited about the idea of joining? Experience more Create Tomorrow here: [CreateTomorrow](https://www.createtomorrow.nl).

**May 4th: Twente Experience**

For you, as ECIU students, this is however not the end of it all. On Thursday, we will gather once more and you will get to know the campus of the University of Twente and its surroundings a little better. After lunch, there will be an interesting workshop. 

**May 5th: Liberation Festival (optional)**

The official program will end on Thursday. However, if you want, you can stick around a little longer. Friday the 5th of May is Liberation Day in the Netherlands. Therefore, there will be a festival on campus. For more information and tickets, click here. Be quick, since it is often sold out beforehand! If you want to stay in the Netherlands on Friday night, you’ll have to book an accommodation yourself, as it’s not included in our offer.

**Practical information**

- We will take care of sleeping accommodation from May 1st until the morning of the 5th, free of charge for you. However, you need to bring your own sleeping bag and pillow case because you will sleep in cabins. Beds and pillows are present. Bring your power banks as well, since there are only a few sockets.

- Our campus is smoke-free, which also goes for the cabins and surroundings.

- Lunch will be provided on Wednesday the 3rd and Thursday the 4th of May.

- Dinner will be provided during both days of Create Tomorrow.

- ECIU University is all about international cooperation. An average of 4 ECIU students per partner could receive a financial contribution of 200 euros each. You will be contacted by the officer responsible at your university if you are among the students selected for the contribution.

- You can sign up for Create Tomorrow as a team, as a duo or as an individual. ECIU will cover the registration fee for Create Tomorrow. You need to register through this challenge page and not through the website of Create Tomorrow.
- Since we will cover a lot of your costs, you will be charged with these costs in case you do not join the whole program after signing up. You can cancel your application until March 29th.

University of Twente

Create Tomorrow

Edition May 2023
Join the world’s largest student think tank in The Netherlands!

Module type: Language studies

Module description

This three-week intensive course is intended for students who wish to gain an introduction to the Swedish language. The aim of the course is to give a short introduction to Swedish everyday life and the Swedish language, its grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation.

**Learning outcomes**

On completion of the course, the student should be able to:  
• understand and use well-known, everyday expressions and very basic phrases, which all aim to meet concrete needs  
• present herself/himself and others, and ask, as well as answer, questions relating to their own life such as where s/he lives, people s/he knows and things s/he owns  
• conduct simple conversation, provided that the conversational partner speaks slowly and clearly, and is willing to help out.

799G47 Intensive Beginner’s Course in Swedish for Exchange Students, level A1

Language Studies

Elements of AI is an online course that you can do at any time and in any pace at [https://www.elementsofai.com/](https://www.elementsofai.com/). The course is a self study course of the online material and is examined through self correcting and peer reviewed exercises. When you have completed Elements of AI (either the Swedish or the English version of the course) you can register to this course to get your results validated. To verify that you have really taken the online course, you have to upload your certificate from Elements of AI and do a validation test with questions similar to the ones in the online course. For more information see [https://www.ida.liu.se/~ETE318/info/courseinfo.en.shtml](https://www.ida.liu.se/~ETE318/info/courseinfo.en.shtml)[.](https://www.ida.liu.se/~ETE318/info/courseinfo.en.shtml.)

ETE318 Elements of AI

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATION SCIENCES

The overall purpose of the challenge is for students to acquire knowledge and abilities within the area of entrepreneurship, with particular focus on idea feasibility analysis and business planning for new, innovative ventures.

The challenge places emhasis on technology-based entrepreneurship, and ventures based on new products and services. It is divided into two themes, where the latter is the main one:

- Innovative entrepreneurship. What is entrepreneurship? What are the specific conditions of new, innovative ventures and how can such ventures be organised?
- Business planning for innovative ventures. To do a feasibility analysis: information requirements and analyses. To write and present a business plan. Within this themes, students work in groups to do a feasibility analysis and write a limited business plan for an innovative venture.

Students will choose from a variety of about 15-18 projects provided by Region Östergötland, the municilpalities of Linköping and Norrköping, and a number of start-ups.

Innovative Entrepreneurship

This course seeks to improve the students' understanding of intercultural practices and policies in diverse cultures and institutional contexts. The course will focus on Cultural diversity. The aim of the course is to enable participants to reflect upon intercultural practices in diverse contexts. The course will be divided into the following themes:  
• Welfare systems as the context for discussing cultural diversity.  
• Transnationalism, migration and return migration and transnational lives.  
• Intercultural practices and reflection on welfare and social workers sensitizing activities.

Students will after having completed a five week study program, hand in an individual home exam.

**Description of learning methods and activities**

Lectures, seminars, group work and individual work adapted to different modes of study. All students are expected to read the syllabus and participate in group discussions and thereby develop analytical reflections in a productive environment with fellow students. The students will also go on field visit or collect information about relevant practices or/and welfare institutions. The students will themselves be in charge of the organization of field visits.

**Learning outcome**

***Knowledge:***

After completing the course, the students shall  
• Have advanced knowledge on intercultural practices in diverse contexts  
• Have an increased understanding of cultural diversity and transnationalism  

***Skills:***

After completing the course, the students shall be able to  
• Identify complexities within cultural diversity  
• Develop communication skills through the international classroom experience

***Competences:***  
After completing the course, the students shall be able to  
• Participate in a dialogue to improve awareness of and respect for cultural diversity  
• Development of reflective processes on how personal beliefs, values and knowledge influences welfare practices

Cultural Diversity

The course seeks to enable participants to reflect upon intercultural practices in diverse contexts

Innovation is increasingly important for the development and competitiveness of firms and to deliver social as well as economic va lues for societies. Today's most successful firms compete mainly through innovation, whether in the form of continuous development of new products, improvement of processes or organizational forms, or identification of new markets. In order to survive in the knowledge economy, firms need strategies for what kind of innovations to pursue and how to promote innovation by designing the necessary preconditions. In this context, knowledge, and understanding of innovation is an important assets. Additionally, innovations increasingly should contribute to generating social and environmental values, addressing Grand Social Challenges. Through this course, students will develop a critical perspective of the firm strategies for the management of the innovation process. Through investigation of the innovation processes in real private or public organizations during the course, students will acquire the skills to assist in managing the firm innovation process in a responsible way. Students enrolled in this course have the opportunity to work with local firms. 

**Contents**

The course will take up the following topics:

- Disruptive innovation
- Exploring innovation space
- lnnovation as a process
- Sources of innovaion
- Dynamic capabilities
- lnnovation strategy
- Lean for innovation
- lnnovation in public organizations
- Sustainable innovation
- Gate stage process, agile model of innovation
- Open innovation

**Learning outcome**:

***Knowledge***  
Through the course, students will develop a solid understanding of the scholarly de bate on innovation in the management sciences, including

- The importance of innovation to firms
- ldentifying strategic capabilities
- Sources of innovation
- The process of innovation
- Leadership an organization of innovation
- Strategies for innovation
- Getting innovations to market
- Responsible and social innovations
- User as innovators

***Skills***

Students will be able to:

- present and critically assess different scholarly theories and hypotheses, as well as strategy and/or policy statements, related to innovation
- conduct an analysis of the drivers and/or outcomes of innovation in real organizations
- discuss different strategies for promoting innovation in a firm
- contribute to the management of a firm's innovation process

***General competence***  
This course will contribute to student's general competence in

- academic writing
- search and review relevant literature
- presentation and academic discussion
- ability to conduct fieldwork in the organizations
- ability to analyze firm innovation standpoint through theoretical lenses

Business Development and Innovation

Business Development and Innovation: the firm perspective

The course addresses regional development planning, with a focus on EU memeber states. The  course discusses how EU's regional development policy and programmes are implemented through regional strategic planning. There is a  specific focus on how regional development planning manages challenges such as climate change, urbanisation, digitalisation and social equality. The course includes elements that provide insight into ongoing regional planning efforts and development projects as well as examples of how this is organised and how priorities are made within regions and at the EU level.

On completion of the course, the student should be able to:

- describe and critically reflect on regional strategic planning frameworks for regions in the EU
- explain and critically reflect on how regional strategic planning is designed and practiced through and in collaboration with various actors
- analyse regional strategic planning

709A06 Strategic Planning - Regions and EU

Regional development planning, with a focus on EU memeber states

This is an online beginner’s Swedish course which includes pronunciation exercises, reading, oral training, basic Swedish grammar and short writing exercises. After having completed the course, you should have basic knowledge of Swedish – A1 in accordance with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

On completion of the course, the student should be able to:  
•understand and use well-known, everyday expressions and very basic phrases, which all aim to meet concrete needs  
•present herself/himself and others, and ask as well as answer questions relating to their own life such as where s/he lives, people s/he knows and things s/he owns  
•conduct simple conversation, provided that the conversational partner speaks slowly and clearly, and is willing to help out.

714G45 Swedish for Foreign Students - level A1

Language studies

**Background**

As we try to achieve the UN goal to become carbon neutral by 2050, obviously the participation of public and private actors is crucial. They transform the energy sector with new regulations and modern technologies. It is becoming greener, more decentralized, and empowers consumers more than ever. Consumers can produce, store, and even share renewable electricity with each other, they can offset their carbon footprint, switch to biogas and more.  As the world moves towards decarbonization and the increased adoption of renewable energy sources, digital technologies play a crucial role in empowering consumers to take control of their energy usage and make more sustainable choices. Consumers have more opportunities than ever before to access information (with the help of smart meters) and manage their energy usage through digital solutions. However, consumers are still not exploiting their full potential - their engagement in energy sustainability is still relatively low, and many people are not taking full advantage of the available digital tools.

**Challenge**

Ignitis Group is looking for innovative solutions that leverage digital technology to increase consumer engagement in energy sustainability. This might include developing new apps, platforms or other digital tools that can educate and empower consumers to make more informed decisions about their energy usage, encourage to switch to renewable energy sources, participate in energy communities, etc. Student teams are urged to think outside of the box and come up with innovative solutions that would help consumers to become more sustainable.  
To develop effective solutions, teams will need to consider the latest trends in digital technology, consumer behavior, and energy policy. It's important to not only create digital solutions that are user-friendly, but also to make sure they are able to motivate consumers to take action and make changes in their energy consumption habits. The goal is to create digital solutions that are not only effective in increasing consumer engagement but also easy to use, accessible to a wide population, and able to drive real behavioral change towards energy sustainability.

Consumer Digital Engagement for Energy Sustainability

How can we empower consumers to make more sustainable choices through digital solutions?

## **Content**

**Package 1 : Philosophy and Law**

Conceptual introduction to the ways in which knowledge is produced and disseminated without paying attention to gender, age, race, and class differences and sexual difference as regards relations among subjects and among bodies, and, thereby, becoming what might be understood as rigid, immaterial, and disaffected knowledge. The impact of producing and disseminating knowledge in these terms will be made clear by analyzing the so-called neutrality of the Law and its effects in gender equality policy making. 

**Package 2 : Psychology and Literature**

(1) Applied critical consideration of epistemic violence, that is, of how gender differences have an effect on subjects and bodies and how they have an effect in their well being depending on the role that gender is given in Psi Disciplines.

(2) Applied critical deconstruction of gender stereotypes and of prejudices that symbolically limit the imaginary field of subjects and bodies and tie them to the immateriality of heteronormativity.  

**Package 3: Anthropology and Pedagogy**

Attention will be payed to a specific challenge in order to (1) make clear how to take into account diversity, difference, and inequality by means of situating knowledge and of feminist methodologies and feminist data analysis and how to (2) validate and make epistemically relevant different kinds of agency by gendering it (including age, class, and race differences). 

## **Learning Outcomes**

1. To identify the key concepts of feminist thought in its diversity and the methodologies therefrom derived and in relation to the ways in which knowledge is produced and disseminated and its results applied.
2. To acquire a complex understanding of how to apply a gender and queer perspective in the analysis of societal challeges.
3. To obtain a complex understanding of the role of the body and the marks of gender, age, race, and class when facing the design, the production, and the execution of social projects.
4. To grasp the mechanisms of the binary, heteronormative, and colonial system of gender in the processes of subjectivation/normalization.
5. To consider the material and affective dimension of the production and dissemination of knowledge and to share its impact in the context of challenge-based learning.

Gender as a cross-cutting tool for understanding, diagnosing, and solving challenges

Self-paced open MOOC (3rd Edition)

The company, which is the **market leader** in Italy, currently produces and sells almost exclusively to HORECA. The market share related to food retailers is limited and mainly concentrated in the Easter period (salad with flowers). The expectation is to **increase the knowledge** of consumers about the consumption and use of flowers as **ingredients**to prepare food and **raise the sale volume** at the supermarket by 50% after the challenge.

THE CHALLENGE is to **increase the use of flowers** in human nutrition as ingredients in the preparation of dishes and drinks or with innovative food processes, and increase sales of **edible flowers** at the supermarket.

The Flowers Gourmet Hackathon

Increase the use of flowers in human nutrition

Aalborg University

INSA Group

Lodz University of Technology

Tampere University

University of Aveiro

SDG/Domain

Preparatory

Effective transport and mobility is an integral part of achieving sustainable development across all scales, from city networks to rurban to national to international networks. Technological innovations are already delivering improvements to transport service delivery, user experience and environmental performance across various transport modes (road-based, rail, aerospace, active travel), but this is only the beginning. The world of transport will transform dramatically over the coming decade as new technology, such as decarbonised power sources, mobile communications, AI and big data radically transform the way that transport outcomes can be delivered.

2 learning opportunities

Learning opportunity

Topic

Status

Study format

University

2 learning opportunities