Whether in your studies, a real-life (ECIU) challenge or in your future career, the need to develop your intercultural competences and become able to work with anyone and anywhere in the world is becoming more and more important. Being connected with other countries and other cultures can provide you with wonderful opportunities for collaboration and new and refreshing insights. To accommodate such creative collaboration, it is important to make sure you have the right tools for effective teamwork in multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary groups. With this course, you will gain practical insights into intercultural competences by creating your own Citizen Science project! During this micro-module, you will learn to better understand and work within diverse groups, how to improve on your communicative skills and create an effective team, and how you can apply and present your solutions in a broad variety of contexts. 

For more information and the latest updates, check out [https://www.utwente.nl/en/intercultural-competences/](https://www.utwente.nl/en/intercultural-competences/)

University of Twente

Intercultural Competences

Guiding practical insights through Citizen Science

Critical and innovative thinking

Inter-personal skills

Global citizenship

**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.

Transcript of Records is an official document issued by your home university. It specifies the name of the institution, the academic programme you are enrolled in, the list of courses taken up until the current period, the exams or tests you passed, the grades and the credits you earned. 

Transcript of Records

Motivation letter is a personal statement and it might include a brief introduction of yourself, explanation why are you interested in the learning opportunity you are applying to, any relevant experience or skills that you have, your goals and how this opportunity will help you achieve them, This document should not be more than 400 words.

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 syllabus of the module](https://uais.cr.ktu.lt/ktuis/stp_report_ects.mdl_ml?p_kodas=S170B123&amp;p_year=2023&amp;p_lang=EN&amp;p_stp_id=). The module consists of 6 ECTS: total 160 hours, of which 16 hours of lectures, 16 hours of practical work, 32 hours of seminars, 96 hours of individual work.

Civil Society and Volunteering

Media and information literacy

Intra-personal skills

**Background**  
The fashion industry is known for its negative environmental impact, from carbon emissions to textile waste. By avoiding the emissions from buying an item new, consumers can reduce their carbon footprint, reduce waste and make a significant impact on the fashion industry's climate impact.  

**Challenge**  
The task is to develop a comprehensive strategy that addresses one or more of these challenges and help second-hand to become the first choice worldwide in fashion industry:

- How can we change negative perceptions of second-hand clothing?
- How can we ensure safety and ease concerns, when buying?
- How can we make it easier to assess fit and quality when shopping for used items online?

Second-hand – first choice

How can we make second-hand items the first choice worldwide in the fashion industry?

[The syllabus of the module](https://uais.cr.ktu.lt/ktuis/stp_report_ects.mdl_ml?p_kodas=S189M150&amp;p_year=2023&amp;p_lang=EN&amp;p_stp_id=). The module consists of 6 ECTS: total 160 hours, of which 16 hours of lectures, 16 hours of practical work, 32 hours of seminars, 96 hours of individual work.

Public Governance and Civil Society

Resilient communities

**Background**  
Multiple disposal options for electronics and household appliances are available in Lithuania and other developed countries. There are specialised containers for electronic waste available in shopping centres. E-waste can be returned at any place of purchase. Devices can be deposited at large-scale waste collection sites; many waste management and recycling companies even offer free pickup services from people’s home. Furthermore, individuals can bring all their e-waste to designated collection points and receive monetary compensation as an incentive for proper waste sorting.  
Despite the prohibition on disposing of all electronic waste in municipal containers, small electronic waste frequently ends up in such containers. Consequently, this waste may find its way to landfills, posing environmental and health risks due to the presence of hazardous substances that require proper disposal and recycling. Moreover, these devices contain valuable non-ferrous and precious metals, which can be extracted through environmentally friendly recycling, thereby conserving natural resources. This recycling process can be repeated multiple times, emphasizing the significance of recognising the usefulness of discarded resources. While various methods and extensive communication exist on this topic, people predominantly focus on managing larger electronic devices like refrigerators and dishwashers. However, electronics encompass a broad range of items that require electrical connection or batteries for operation, including electric toothbrushes, electronic cigarettes, computer mice, phones, charger cables, earphones, electronic toys, etc.

**Challenge**  
There are numerous ways available for the proper disposal of electronic waste, and currently there is a significant emphasis on education regarding this topic. Waste management entities, media companies, sustainability-focused organisations, and public associations actively communicate about this issue. However, these methods do not completely solve the problem. We believe that unconventional and contemporary solutions are necessary to help individuals identify small outdated devices as electronic waste, encourage them not to discard such items in municipal waste containers but collect them alongside larger equipment and deliver to waste management companies. Given the abundance of small electronic equipment on the market that requires proper post-usage, we need innovative approaches in addressing this collectively.

Effective disposal of small electronic waste

What strategies can be implemented to support individuals in disposal of small electronic waste?

**Background**

The challenge is provided by the economical development agency “Kaunas IN”. It's goal is to facilitate the transformation of the Kaunas city’s economy to the higher added value economy. Therefore, we work to attract foreign direct investments (FDI) to the city while making Kaunas a more suitable location for FDI companies to open a branch. Successful integration of international talent (and their family members) into the social, labour and educational environments is one of the key factors in the facilitation of FDI companies. Also, because of declining demographics, the city’s ability to integrate foreign talent, re-emigrating diaspora and refugees adds up massively to the economic growth of the city.

**Challenge**  
With over 50 secondary schools, only 2 of them are capable to fully integrate foreign children. The major obstacle is language barriers. It can hinder active participation, comprehension, and social integration for migrant children, impacting both their academic performance and social connections within the school community. Also, insufficient teacher resources, including a lack of language-proficient educators and limited training in addressing the needs of migrant students, further impede integration efforts. As there are no sufficient funds, creativity and motivation become the only options. Most of the schools are lacking the latter. Therefore, the challenge is to find tools and means for schools to learn how to integrate foreign schoolchildren. The aim is to make a value proposition that is higher than the difficulties and inconveniences the schools would experience.

Capacity building tools enabling integration of immigrant and re-immigrant children into schools

What tools can empower schools to foster seamless integration of immigrants' and re-immigrants' children into the education system?

**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?

[The syllabus of the module](https://uais.cr.ktu.lt/ktuis/stp_report_ects.mdl_ml?p_kodas=T240M004&amp;p_year=2023&amp;p_lang=EN&amp;p_stp_id=). The module consists of 6 ECTS: total 160 hours, of which 16 hours of lectures, 16 hours of laboratory work, 16 hours of seminars, 112 hours of individual work.

Urban Data Analytics

Energy and sustainability

# **Our challenge**

Learners will work together to acquire skills and competencies related to the physiopathological basis of the reproductive system, infertility, and influence of lifestyle on reproductive health. The ultimate goal is to integrate and apply this knowledge in identifying and solving real problems in the area through the implementation of multicultural working groups. During this challenge, priority will be given to innovative and experimental teaching models, such as challenge-based in a blended learning approach that combines virtual and face-to-face mobility.

## Expected Impact

The participants will develop cross-cutting and transdisciplinary knowledge in reproductive health lifestyle. Regarding the skills developed by the students, it can be listed:  
-Cross-cutting skills, such as communication abilities, language competencies, critical thinking, problem-solving, intercultural competencies, and research capabilities;  
-Future-oriented competencies that will enable participants to face the challenges they will encounter in their professional lives;  
-Personal development, such as the ability to adapt to new situations and self-confidence.  
  
This challenge will also promote new forms of international mobility that allow an increase in the number of individuals with an international mobility experience in higher education, while also promoting collaborative and cooperative work skills through the experience of active teaching and learning methodologies. This intensive blended program is aligned with the strategic development plan of the Department of Medical Sciences, within the scope of its internationalization policy, as well as with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, namely for Good Health and Well-being (Goal 3), Quality Education (Goal 4), Gender Equality (Goal 5), and Reduced Inequalities (Goal 10).

## Blended Format

The challenge will be run over June and September 2023 [Online. 12/21/30 June 2023 and 1 September 2023; and Face-to-face (Aveiro, Portugal). 4-8 September 2023].

Member university

Kaunas University of Technology

Member university

Kaunas University of Technology

Learning opportunities of Kaunas University of Technology