Unite! BIP Program concludes with resounding success at KTH Stockholm
Arnold Pears Head of Department of Learning in Engineering Sciences with teachers and BIP participants
Published Sep 02, 2024
The recent week-long Unite! Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) on "Competencies for collaborative teaching in Joint Programmes" ended on a high note at KTH, marking a big step forward in the development of innovative teaching methods for international joint programmes (JPs). The Department of Learning in Engineering Sciences played a big part in leading and organising the programme which was attended by university teachers from the Unite! partner universities.
A Week of Innovation and Collaboration
The BIP programme, led by Lorenzo Galante and Margaret Pate with a distinguished group of educators from our Unite! partner universities, was designed to equip university faculty with the skills and knowledge needed to facilitate collaborative teaching and learning in joint programmes. A unique feature at the beginning of the programme was a combinatorial game designed by Lorenzo and Margaret, facilitated by ChatGPT, in which participants developed integrated study programmes that spanned different disciplines and involved collaboration with the private sector. Participants were provided with a mix of theoretical knowledge and practical applications, all aimed at maximising the potential of international joint programmes.
Tomi Kauppinen , the head of Aalto Online Learning—Online Hybrid Lab from Aalto University, took the reins on mastering digital collaboration tools, showcasing the latest technologies to enhance student engagement and cross-border project development. His session was met with enthusiasm as participants discovered new ways to integrate these tools into their curricula. You can also listen in on Tomi as the host for the Cloud Reachers podcast .
The administrative intricacies of JPs were demystified by Karin Knutsson , group manager for the Project Support team at the KTH International Relations Office, who led a workshop on the challenges of managing joint, double and European degrees. Her insights were particularly valuable in helping participants navigate the often-overlooked bureaucratic hurdles involved in implementing JPs.
The multicultural dimension of JPs was brought to life as a hybrid session by Marcela Acosta-Garcia , Program Manager for UNITE! at Aalto University who emphasized the importance of Community-Based Learning (CBL) and Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL). She highlighted how these approaches can capitalize on the diversity inherent in JPs to create richer, more inclusive learning environments.
Ernest Ampadu provided a deep dive into the pedagogical strategies required for large-scale teaching, helping them with the resources to optimize their teaching practices. He leads the Teaching in Large groups CM4.4.1 at Unite and the handbook that has been delveloped within this group is on the Unite! Teaching and Learning digital toolkit and can be found directly on this link Teaching large groups handbook.
Experiences and takeaways
This was our inaugural BIP programme at Unite!, and we're pleased to share that there is now a comprehensive website on Erasmus+ Blended intensive programmes , providing valuable insights into the entire process and key considerations.
To capture the true impact of the Unite! BIP programme, we've collected some insightful reflections from our participants. Their experiences and takeaways offer a glimpse into the collaborative spirit and innovative learning that defined this week-long journey. Below you'll find a collection of quotes and moments that highlight the unique perspectives and inspiration gained during the programme.
We asked them two questions:
What was your motivation to take part in the one-week Unite! BIP program at KTH?
What was your overall impression of the program and do you plan to use the knowledge and experience gained to help lead change at your university?
Jan-Peter Ceglarek from TU Darmstadt
Jan-Peter Ceglarek
I am building a growing remote-hybrid engineering course for Unite!, which currently includes 3 of the Unite! partners. This gave me first experience in coordinating within Unite! and build educational programs together with other Unite! partners and the workshop of building a JP was the next logical step.
And I was told, that Stockholm is beautiful – which is so true.
The workshop was super informative on what are the complex aspects in building and implementing a Joint Program (JP). Not only is it hard to align the content of the study, but also to bring the administrative side to sign all the papers – which is not a new problem, but still frightening.
The workshop was very inspirational, so that I would be really interested in working a JP and building a path towards an easier implementation of JPs within Unite!, if Unite! would fund me to work on this.
Sven Bossuyt
Sven Bossuyt - Aalto univerisity
The moment I first heard about the initial proposal for Unite!, I was eager to get involved because I saw exciting opportunities for collaborative teaching that recognizes the diverse heritage in science and technology that exists across Europe in different languages and cultures. Over the years that I have been involved in Unite! I developed a deeper appreciation of the challenges posed by collaborative teaching across different national contexts in higher education, but my conviction that this is important and my enthusiasm to strengthen multilingual and multicultural teaching have only grown. This BIP was a way to engage with the subject matter while also experiencing collaborative teaching as a learner in a diverse group, and broaden my knowledge of the complexities of joint programmes as well as my understanding of potential reasons for choosing joint programmes over looser forms of collaborative teaching.
Participating in this BIP was a great learning experience, with a perfect mix of content that was new to me and discussions that revisited familiar ground from different perspectives. I made new connections and strengthened existing relationships. The knowledge, insights, and inspiration I gained in person here and through the preparations remotely will surely help me support the changes that have already been happening at Aalto.
Anna Maria Kamińska - Wroclaw University
Anna Maria Kamińska
Deciding to take a part in Unite! BIP week was one of those decisions that you make easily, and never regret it. The knowledge and practice taken during this week will allow to all of us to build successful joint programs among Unite! Partners.
The Unite! BIP week was a great opportunity not only to understand joint programmes, but also to practice how to design and implement them. Also it was a unique chance to meet motivated and open-minded future JP partners among Unite! Universities.
Duarte Costa
Duarte Costa - U Lisboa
I am interested in all aspects of teaching, including the design of a degree. l also was particularly interested in the idea of joint degrees, mainly for its interdisciplinary nature. I am a mathematician, but I think my area is at its best when it is in contact with other fields of knowledge, and in particular with real world problems, whether they are of a technical, scientific or philosophical nature. When I found out about this course, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to learn about how to deal with all the complexities involved in the creation of such a program. And who knows, maybe I’ll be able to help build a joint programme someday!
I think the program is very well put together. It gives the trainees lots of space to discuss the ins and outs of a joint programme, which I think is how we better learn how to actually do it. The time is short, but that somehow boosts the creativity quite a bit, and allows for very efficient brainstorming. I definitely will take a lot from this that I can add to my role at the university, and hopefully someday, from a more privileged position, I will be able to use my motivation and the knowledge I obtained here to help bring this joint programmes project further along.
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