#GetConnected program of the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences

Students from Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences (Bachelor of Communications) were challenged to come up with ideas on how to improve urban knowledge exchange.

Which projects from your hometown in Europe are worth being shared with other cities? Could other cities benefit from the insights your cities have developed on a certain topic? And what does it take to make this happen?

The 28 students (from Spain, Denmark, Ireland, France, Malta, Italy, Poland and the Netherlands) worked on this challenge in 8 small teams. The 1-day event was part of the #GetConnected program of the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences. In a pressure cooker setting, the students of this Bachelor of Communications first worked on a methodological approach. One of the tasks was to think of aspects that hinder the transfer of knowledge. And what can give it a boost. Part of the assignment was to make the connection with the Sustainable Development Goals: does your city have an SDG-policy, and does your city have a specific field of expertise within the SDGs?

Projects

The students from cities such as Dublin, Madrid and Nantes, came up with projects that relate to challenges many cities in Europe cope with. And the projects could work in many situations, with limited fine tuning for local context. In this way, the projects were in line with first thoughts of the methodological framework on barriers and boosts for knowledge exchange. The projects included sustainable food production, inclusive cities, projects to raise awareness for unsafe situations -especially for women- in certain parts of the city. Part of the challenge was to convince the initiator/the person responsible for the particular project. In order to do so, the students made excellent videos, to inspire the local civil servant or others in their hometown.

Wrap up

In the wrap-up and overall discussion, the students indicated they were convinced of the importance of mutual learning across borders. Not only did the students take part in the #GetConnected program of Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, during the pressure cooker they showed this by delivering some excellent and inspiring work. The result of the 1-day event is that the projects they came up with might be picked up by more cities in Europe.

RUAS and Closer Cities Rotterdam