The idea of the UNITE! International Project Week has accompanied the alliance from the early stages of bringing our European University to life. Conceived as a growing family of short-term exchange programs offered to the international community of UNITE! students, the initiative started in 2020 with INSPIRED, the International Project Week for Interdisciplinary Research-Oriented Digital Learning at TU Darmstadt. At the same time, the educational concept of the challenge-based research project set in an international environment was transferred to our Partners at the University of Lisbon and is now taking shape as a brand new program: ULisses, University of Lisbon Interdisciplinary Studies on Sustainable Environment and Seas.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and encouraged by the success of INSPIRED 2020, both UNITE! International Project Weeks are now being offered in an exclusively virtual format, redesigned from the original blended exchange approach. Welcoming its participants to a bespoke virtual working environment fostering interaction, the programs aim to prepare their students to face the challenges of the emerging professional contexts: digital, multidisciplinary, international and intercultural, requiring synchronous as well as asynchronous collaboration, etc.
We hope to further inspire our Partners and pay the concept of the UNITE! International Project Week forward to grow the family of exciting and innovative short-term student exchange programs offered by our alliance. With some encouraging news reaching us from Stockholm, we expect a KTH offering to launch in 2022
