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Navigating Uncertainty: Building Sustainable Skills for Life

Empower yourself to thrive in a rapidly changing world by developing sustainable skills and strategies for lifelong success!

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CIVIS focus area
Digital and Technological transformation
Open to
  • Bachelor's
  • Master's
  • PhD
  • PhD candidates/students
Field of studies
  • Art, Design and Media
  • Business and Management
  • Computer Science and IT
  • Engineering & Technology
  • Environment & Agriculture
  • Law
  • Medicine and Health
  • Natural Sciences and Mathematics
  • Social Science and humanities
  • Environmental sciences, Urbanism, Geography
Type
  • Blended Intensive Programmes (BIP)
Course dates
2 February 2025 - 31 March 2025
Apply by
31 October 2024 Apply now

In a world full of unpredictability, this course equips you with the sustainable skills and adaptable strategies needed to navigate challenges and succeed in both your personal and professional life, regardless of the field of your studies! This cross-curricular approach to learning and professional development will allow you to plan ahead your future, building the pillars on which you can further your education.

The programme is designed to provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of theories, practices and research from an interdisciplinary perspective to develop sustainable educational action models in response to urgent challenges the societies face today, more particularly regarding the training and professional fields. This BIP is relevant to students from different fields of study, pursuing different field study routes, yet with an active interest in training, education, and their role as future professionals in a changing world dominated by green and digital transition, challenged by crisis and incredible technological leaps.

The program aims to equip participants with the knowledge and skills necessary for:

  • Tackling core issues for sustainable education (module 1, online study activities, synchronous and asynchronous),
  • Designing innovative learning environments including technology & inquiring about qualification requirements to design educational/ professionals offers (module 2, online study activities, synchronous and asynchronous),
  • Configuring transferable models and tools to develop, implement and evaluate learning and training pathways inthe context of sustainable education (modules 2, 3),
  • Design/select inquiry methodologies/models to develop evidence informed actions in education and training for ourselves and for others (module 3).
  • Through a combination of online learning and a 5-day face-to-face session, students will enhance their practical learning skills through collective assignments and group discussions, and collaboration with peers and professors from different CIVIS member universities to gain a broader perspective on education and training in an interdisciplinary context.
  • Students will emerge with a well-rounded understanding of education's challenges and opportunities in a changing society.

Main topics addressed

The program provides to the students knowledge related to the following fields:

1. Concepts of VUCA/BANI world, with implications on various societal sectors.

2. Sustainable development goals of UNDP and implications for their education and workfields.

3. Integrated personal and professional learning plan to develop resilience, agility, metacognition, social and emotional development as key characteristics of present and future learners in a complex, digital and green-oriented work environment.

4. Critical thinking and understanding the processes of scientific construction of knowledge, distinguish opinions, science and beliefs.

5. Quality of the sources, content and arguments available on key questions regarding SD.

6. Knowledge in the field of SEL and explain implications on their field of study.

7. Development of (life &) career paths as a change agent in the organizations and practice communities in which they perform.

Learning outcomes

After completing the course students will be able to: 

1. Explain the concepts of VUCA/BANI world, with implications on various societal sectors.

2. Present and explain the sustainable development goals of UNDP and implications for their education and workfields.

3. Develop an integrated personal and professional learning plan to develop resilience, agility, metacognition, their social and emotional development as key characteristics of present and future learners in a complex, digital and green-oriented work environment.

4. Define the concept of critical thinking, understand the processes of scientific construction of knowledge, distinguish opinions, science and beliefs.5: Evaluate the quality of the sources, content and arguments available to them on key questions regarding SD.

5. Acquire knowledge in the field of SEL and explain implications on their field of study.

6. Manage their development of (life &) career paths as a change agent in the organizations and practice communities in which they perform.

Dates:  2 February 2025 - 31 March 2025 Total workload: 125 hours
Format: Blended ECTS: 5*
Location: Bucharest, Romania Language: English 
Contact: firuta.tacea@unibuc.ro  

*Recognition of ECTS depends on your home university.

Physical mobility

The physical mobility part will be running from 17 to 21 March 2025 in Bucharest, Romania.

During the module 3, which is the physical part of the BIP, 5 days of learning activities will take place, with a total of 5 hrs/day.

The first 3 days will capitalize the work from the online modules 1 & 2, adding lectures and group work from the teachers of the partner universities, while in the 4th and 5th day a Learning & Development Hackathon will take place, students being required to work in groups (by field of study or professional sector) to identify, assess and curate platforms, programmes and other means available online and in-situ for their professional development following the graduation of their current study programmes. They will need to use their critical thinking and information from the programme to create a learning pathway for a professional to start onboarding as a continuous training / training on the job. They will be supported by the teachers to create an actionable plan, with resources, possible ways to ensure participation in communities of practices, mentoring opportunities and so on in order to make sure they will keep the designed pathway.In the 5th day the showcase will be presented and all group will be awarded, and this will consist the evaluation of the programme, using also a follow up tool to harvest the takeaways from the programme, key learning points, reflection ideas and self-development elements.

Virtual part

The virtual part will be running from 2 February 2025 to 31 March 2025.

  • In total, 25 hrs are foreseen, out of which 15 hrs synchronous and 10 hrs asynchronous.
  • The 15 hrs synchronous include online classes and lectures, online workshops
  • The 10 hrs asynchronous include webinars, readings, learning tasks (individual or group), video, reflection tasks.
  • The total duration of the virtual part will be 5 weeks x 5 hrs/week, out of which there are 3 hrs/week synchronous activities and 2 hrs/week asynchronous activities.
  • The learning outcomes are developed in alignment with the modules and topics.

Module 1: Essential questions about sustainable education

  • Core issues for/in sustainable education (competencies, learning contents, learning process, teaching, assessment for learning results)
  • VUCA and BANI world; implications on personal and professional life; Sustainable development goals - Education Competences and competencies; beyond professions and occupations - mindsets for lifelong learning.
  • Mapping the world of work and the world of education for wellbeing

Module 2: Learning environments and technology (f2f/online; apps, platforms, methods for online learning) Managing learning from Life Comp framework

  • Qualifications & competencies in educational field and in the labor market - ESCO platform
  • Developing Critical Thinking
  • SEL dimension of the professional development: Self-awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, Decision Making
  • Career learning, development and management skills as a (key) transversal or professional competenceDigital world and professional world - when worlds collide and collaborate.
  • Apps, platforms and the future oflearning in an AI-driven world.

Requirements

This course is open to Bachelor's, Master's and PhD students at CIVIS member universities

  • The participants need to speak English, but also French is desirable.
  • Students do not need to possess specific knowledge, given the transversal approach of this course.
  • Curiosity on the learning phenomena and exploration capacity will help students make visible progress in this programme.

Desirable skills required to follow the course:

  • Analytical, Critical Thinking
  • Communication and Collaboration
  • Curiosity and Exploration

NB: Visiting Students - Erasmus Funding Eligibility

To be eligible for your selected CIVIS programme, you must be a fully enrolled student at your CIVIS home university at the time you will be undertaking the programme. Click here to learn more about the eligibility criteria.

Students from CIVIS’ strategic partner universities in Africa cannot apply for participation in this course.

Application process

Send your application by filling in the online application form by 31 October 2024, including:

  • CV (Europass format)
  • Motivation letter (motivation for participation in full programme)
  • Level of studies (Bachelor or Master students)

Apply now

Assessment

The assessments will be continuous, for every topic, through assessment of learning/for learning approach. It will be integrated with the work on the topics, especially for the asynchronous activity.

  • The final assessment will consist in the Hackathon challenge, a group activity in the physical part of the programme (module 3).
  • The students will be combined based on their field of study or professional sector and will be given the task to create a learning pathway for them as professionals after the graduation, by investigating, curating and auditing various learning and development resources (apps, platforms, online academies etc.).
  • Students will showcase their programme, pitching it to the others, while teachers will assess the reliability of resource, the judgement behind the decision making process, the collaborative work, the relevance, applicability and technical features of the proposed resources. In this way, the assessment will bring on multilayered dimensions: the auditing process that the participants do for others they serve (by designing the learning pathway), but also thinking about their own choice on that decision(would they take that learning pathway?), challenging the metacognitive level and experiencing empathy, judgement and critical thinking.

Blended Intensive Programme

This CIVIS course is a Blended Intensive Programme (BIP): a new format of Erasmus+ mobility which combines online teaching with a short trip to another campus to learn alongside students and professors across Europe. Click here to learn more about CIVIS BIPs.

GDPR Consent

The CIVIS alliance and its member universities will treat the information you provide with respect. Please refer to our privacy policy for more information on our privacy practices. By applying to this course you agree that we may process your information in accordance with these terms.

Academic teaching staff from all 3 partner universities with expertise in the proposed topics - critical thinking, sustainable education, innovative pedagogies and learning environments, digital transformation in education and professional development, research-based learning.

Aix-Marseille Université

Impedovo Maria Antonietta - Professor in Education

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Aspasia Dania - Assistant Professor in Physical Education Teacher Education

Philia Issari - Professor in Counseling Psychology

University of Bucharest

Cosmina Mironov - teacher in Career counselling

Anișoara Dumitrache - teacher in Digital Education

Oana Moșoiu - teacher in Competence Development and Evaluation

Firuta Tacea - teacher in Curriculum Development.