Cities in Transition Investigated by European Students Erasmus Project

Project Title

Cities in Transition Investigated by European Students

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for Schools Only

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2015

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; ICT – new technologies – digital competences; EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy

Project Summary

Cities in Transition Investigated by European Students, short CITIES, is a three-year school partnership between five secondary schools from five European countries. The project partners from Germany, Norway, Poland, Spain and The Netherlands form this network to enable students from the upper secondary years, teachers and the schools as a whole as well as other relevant stakeholders and project partners (e.g. town administrations, energy suppliers, homes for the elderly, experts from universities) to develop central basic and transversal skills (the project’s major objective), enhance digital learning and contribute to a European area of skills and qualifications.

During the project students investigated the past, present and future of the European city and focused on the communities they live in as case studies: Amersfoort, Ibiza, Nesodden, Poznán and Rees. Through comparing and contrasting these cities spread all over Europe they recognised and analysed the cities’ present and future problems and discussed what challenges major problems like an aging population or a changing climate pose to our societies. In multinational groups and supported by experts from within and outside schools they steadily worked on solutions to these challenges. In the last project year this resulted in a debate in each of the five participating cities tackling one of the city’s problems or encouraging its development potential and thus making an actual impact on their local communities. Through this CITIES wants to raise the awareness of current challenges but also of the development potential of the European city and promote the idea of an active European citizenship and entrepreneurship within the schools and beyond.

During the working process students carried out many activities which helped to develop central basic and transversal competences, such as debating, organisation, language and ICT skills. These activities were designed by teachers to follow innovative principles like CLIL, digital learning and a focus on learning outcomes so that not only the students but also teachers and thus the schools profited from CITIES: Teachers developed e.g. their methodological skills and schools benefited on a long-term basis from enhanced CLIL and ICT methodology and knowledge of task design as well as from the raised European awareness and internationalisation within the schools and the local communities, which is also achieved through the project, for example as a consequence of the six project conferences involving many participants from the schools and beyond.

The project results were made available to both the school communities and the wider public and were disseminated through the project website and etwinning, the schools’ websites, debates, exhibitions, newspaper articles and on conferences for teachers. At the last project meeting students designed a brochure and a promotional video depicting the project results. This brochure and the video were used to disseminate the project’s results to a wider public, e.g. to other students, teachers, parents, township.

Through CITIES the five partners aim to develop basic and transversal skills essential for living successful and meaningful lives as active citizens in future European cities worth living in. At the same time they intend to promote a spirit of European cooperation.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 145510 Eur

Project Coordinator

Gymnasium Aspel der Stadt Rees & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Zespol Szkol Ogolnoksztalcacych Nr 12, II LO im. Gen. Zamoyskiej i H. Modrzejewskiej
• Nesodden videregående skole
• Farel College
• IES ALGARB