Triplex confinium – tackling gaps and mismatches in the field of higher education for architecture and urban planning while exploring and addressing discontinuities along the national borders in-between Romania, Hungary and Serbia. Erasmus Project

Project Title

Triplex confinium – tackling gaps and mismatches in the field of higher education for architecture and urban planning while exploring and addressing discontinuities along the national borders in-between Romania, Hungary and Serbia.

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 higher education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Regional dimension and cooperation; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Cultural heritage/European Year of Cultural Heritage

Project Summary

CONTEXT
Architecture students, educators and consequently young professional architects, from Romania, Serbia, and Hungary are mostly unaware of each others common cultural ground and of the extent that their somewhat similar recent social, political, and economic history is affecting their work environment and design decisions. The transnational collaborations that tackle the complex territorial conditions of one such very specific possible meeting area, the Banat region (DKMT euro-region).

OBJECTIVES
We will address the gaps and mismatches between each partner country’s spatial policies as well as educational trends by acknowledging that difference is just as important as semblance. By designing and testing new comparative educational modules for architects related to the fields of anthropology, political science, social geography, digital tools for interpretation of data we hope to increase the awareness of architects towards these common issues. These will be addressed to a group of 21 educators and 28 students working together in two intensive training programs. The program will create opportunities for real, on site experiences for the target group of the project highlighting the theory and tools necessary for territorial exploration as well as project implementation through participatory tactics. On the long term we will create a framework for transnational partnerships between our neighboring countries – Romania, Serbia and Hungary, focused on competences of the set target group with the aim of approaching shared problems regarding both higher education and regional development. By increasing the awareness of our common heritage as a palpable, shared resource we hope to encourage our main target group to promote excellence within this field of spatial practice, with the direct involvement of local actors: volunteers, community leaders, elected officials, administrators, and various NGO’s

PARTICIPANTS
The target group of the project consists of 21 tutors and 28 students. There will also be 179 indirect beneficiaries of the project that will participate to multiplying events. Participants come from the fields of architecture, urban planning, urban anthropology, social geography, sociology and political science.

ACTIVITIES&METHODOLOGIES
The main intellectual output in the project, that will constitute the base for all others will be the new pedagogical structure based on three modules: Critical thinking in architecture, Exploration&Analysis, Design&Implementation. Information and tools developed as part of the three modules will gradually migrate into the other two outputs – Curriculum and Digital publication. The production workflow is based on the following stepts: (1)Collective sketch out of deliverables and actions during transnational meetings; (2)Individual development & local testing sessions; (3)Dissemination of results to all partners ; (4)Internal peer review mechanism; (5)Main testing sessions during intensive programs (6) Integration of results. These 5 types of actions should be understood as phases in a production cycle that repeats itself determined by the two intensive programs in the project.

RESULTS
-1 pilot learning module consisting of three sub-modules Critical thinking in Architecture, Exploration, Design.
-innovative curriculum for a two year joint MSC to be implemented in the participating institutions after the projects ends.
-1 web publication comprising the content of the first two outcomes transposed in a form that is easily accessible to a larger audience.

IMPACT
28 learners will improve or gain abilities of data collection; using GIS tools to store and analyse data; critical writing skills; ability to communicate in writing, drawing and speech; improved ability to initiate architectural projects in the Banat region. Participants will become familiarized with the history and evolution of the region Banat, architectural theory, urban anthropology applied to architecture or the way digital tools change our understanding of the territory. Learners will master tools for gathering qualitative and quantitative data from journalism, social geography and anthropology; learn how to use digital tools for indexing and analyzing information (GIS tools); gain applied experience in debating issues of public interest; gain applied experience in dealing with city officials, lawmakers and other institutional actors. Students will be more flexible in their views as they will exercise their capacity to understand opposing points of view and more likely to exercise their sense of equity and empathy in a time when it is mostly needed. On the long term the project will help increase the relevance of local schools within the academic field but also in the region as actors directly involved with communities.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 280276 Eur

Project Coordinator

UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA TIMISOARA & Country: RO

Project Partners

• SOFIA UNIVERSITY ST KLIMENT OHRIDSKI
• UNIVERZITET U NOVOM SADU
• DEBRECENI EGYETEM
• UNIVERSITATEA DE ARCHITECTURA SI URBANISM ION MINCU DIN BUCURESTI
• BUDAPESTI MUSZAKI ES GAZDASAGTUDOMANYI EGYETEM
• UNIVERSITATEA BABES BOLYAI