UNIC summer school brought together students from across Europe to explore the challenges of migration
The summer school provided students with an opportunity to develop solutions to pressing societal challenges in multidisciplinary and multicultural teams. A total of 25 students from five UNIC universities took part: the University of Oulu, as well as the universities of Łódź, Zagreb, Liège, and Bochum.
The course examined a range of migration-related phenomena and challenges. Working in international groups, students designed concrete local projects aimed at addressing identified challenges in a sustainable manner while enhancing community well-being.
Valuable experience of working in multidisciplinary teams
The three-week programme took place in August and September. The first two weeks consisted of workshops organised at the students’ home universities, complemented by joint online lectures. The summer school culminated in a week-long on-site programme in Łódź, where students finalised their project work and explored the city’s history, culture, and local operating environments.
The international collaboration offered students valuable experience in problem-solving and in working within multidisciplinary and multicultural teams. At the same time, participants were able to examine migration-related issues from the perspectives of different countries and academic disciplines.
UNIC collaboration continues through future summer schools
The summer school was supported by the Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) and coordinated by Associate Professor Przemysław Włodarczyk from the University of Łódź. At the University of Oulu, the programme was delivered by Professor Jaakko Simonen and doctoral researcher Nea Kunnari of the Oulu Business School.
"It was wonderful to observe how the international and multicultural group of students approached the course topic – migration – through the lenses of regional resilience and sustainable development. This year’s summer school continued the collaboration with various UNIC universities that began in 2023. The summer school week held in Łódź, and the course as a whole, once again provided valuable new insights into collaborating with our UNIC partners. This cooperation will continue next year in Croatia with a summer school organized by the University of Zagreb," Simonen summarizes the experience.
“The students produced interesting and innovative proposals for addressing local challenges, while also learning a great deal about problem-solving and project work in diverse teams. We are extremely pleased with how the summer school progressed overall. I am very much looking forward to future summer schools and the opportunities they will bring for both research and teaching activities,” Kunnari adds.
