On the 21st August, about 50 students gathered in Mektory, 40 of them from different European universities, to contribute to the promotion of start-up entrepreneurship and research-based innovation at the university. For the first time, the problem- and project-based course "Green Deal Collider: Sustainable Futures" will be held as a Blended Intensive Programme in cooperation with several partners. The main lecturers are Ergo Pikas, a tenured assistant professor, and Kätlin Kangur, lecturer and programme director of the Design and Technology Futures curriculum.
The interest in the course conducted in the BIP format was very high - nearly 150 students from all over Europe registered their interest in May and June, and a total of 50 students were accepted to the course. Out of those, 14 are undergraduate and integrated studies, 29 are master's and 4 are doctoral students from fifteen different universities in Europe. The most, 11 students, are from Germany, 10 from Portugal, 8 students are from Latvia and 7 students from Estonia.
This time, the course lasts a total of 7 weeks. During the first week (which was preceded by a virtual introductory meeting) from 21.-25. August, an intensive study period will take place on-site in Mektory, where the focus will be on the Green Deal, sustainable (start-up) entrepreneurship, team roles and management, design thinking and honing presentation skills. On August 25, the student teams will present what they have done during the week and then return to their home universities to continue testing and validating their solution and then completing their project by working as a team virtually. Various projects related to the green transition and sustainability and their mentors, who guide the student teams, play a very important role in the course. The mentors are Veiko Karu, Tony Hand, Rutt Hints (Department of Geology), Simo Ilomets (Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture), Kerli Kirsimaa, Tarmo Richard Klamp (Centre of Climate Smart Future), Märt Helmja (CEO of energy-cooperative Energiaühistu), Ralf-Martin Soe with colleagues from the Smart City Center of Excellence, Tuule Mall Parts (Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture) and Alexandre Nominé (Institut Jean Lamour, University of Lorraine).
For more information about the course, please contact: Karl-Erik Karu, karl-erik.karu@taltech.ee, Ethel Praks, ethel.praks@taltech.ee. If you are interested in using the Erasmus+ BIP format, please contact Riina Potter from the Mobility Centre, riina.potter@taltech.ee.