ECIU University calls on DCU students looking to make a real impact

As one of the 12 ECIU University member institutions, DCU master’s and final year undergraduate students have a unique opportunity to join multidisciplinary and international teams at the ECIU University to solve challenges provided by business and societal partners across Europe.

During Semester 2, students will tackle local, national and global problems with a challenge-based approach, gaining invaluable real-world experience and the opportunity to make an active contribution towards real societal change.

Some of the challenges include: Carbon-intensive regions in transition – how the Irish Midlands must seek to pivot from reliance on fossil fuel energy production to greener renewable energy production; Make urban area and complexes more green; Promoting active means of transportation in Hamburg; The User eXperience challenge, whereby students will analyse, evaluate and re-design the user experience of digital products and services of Italian companies.

Speaking about the initiative and its benefits for students, Professor Lisa Looney, Vice President for Academic Affairs at DCU, said:

“We would encourage any student interested in making a difference to register their interest on the ECIU University Challenge Platform. They will be asked to choose a challenge that intrigues them most and be paired up with others who have a similar interest to them.

Not only will students have an opportunity to contribute to real societal change and the possibility to solve genuine challenges faced by communities and organisations today, they will gain unique experiences and develop professional and personal skills in the process.”

WHY PARTICIPATE:

·         Make a real impact. Our challenges are the ones that communities and organisations face at this very moment. Working with them will give you “first-hand” experience and the possibility to contribute to real societal change.

·         Contribute to more sustainable communities. Our challenges evolve around the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal no. 11 “make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”. By collaborating at local, national and international levels, you help to solve these complex challenges and make society futureproof. 

·         Follow your own learning path. You will gain unique experiences and develop professional and personal skills, like problem-solving and team-work competencies, the opportunity to work in a multidisciplinary and international team and learn intercultural competencies. The ECIU University connects 12 universities from 12 different European countries.

·         Challenge yourself by a new way of learning. In the challenge-based approach, you will work together with teachers, government, experts, business, companies and societal organisations. In addition to this, you may choose from a variety of micro-modules which can support you to better solve the challenge.

INTERESTED? Explore the ECIU University challenges here including DCU’s contribution on Carbon-intensive regions in transition.