CONTEXT/BACKGROUND Ecological issues (climate change, loss in biodiversity, scarcity of resources, etc.) and their social consequences (growing inequalities, poverty, conflicts, forced migrations, etc.) call us to promote a paradigm shift, to redesign our production and consumption patterns, our lifestyles, and thus adjust the curricula in higher education, and to explore how economic and legal tools can be applied to these challenges. That is the ecological transition in the education field. The European University for Transition (EU4TRANSITION) Erasmus + project aims at developing and implementing innovative learning and research practices (e.g. new curricula, teaching methods, institutional network). It addresses key topics relevant for our contemporary ecological transition at local and European level such as the governance transition, the main controversy of the ecological transition, the economic transition, ethics and spirituality, construction, energy, local economy, finance, community, local transition, agricultural transition, climatology and empowerment by the sciences of engineering. OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT: In doing so, EU4TRANSITION will focus on the development of a "European University in Transition" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2008) who accompany the ecological, but also economic, social and legal transitions (4 main domains). Our purpose is to develop innovative, multidisciplinary, pragmatic and holistic approaches for teaching and learning in the field of « Transitions » and facilitate the exchanges, flows and co-creation of knowledge and, more specifically, skills. NUMBER AND PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS: EU4TRANSITION brings together seven partners from five countries (Estonia, France, the Netherlands, Spain and Turkey). The key persons of the organization involved in the project have highly international recognized experiences in teaching and conducting research in the field of the Transition (agriculture, climatology, biology, business administration, ethics, economics, governance, management, etc). OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT 1) Encourage a rapprochement between classical academic institutions and transition schools in order 2) Pool the practices of similar transition schools in Europe, already existing, in order to enrich each other's knowledge, to set up an adequate curriculum and to develop our collective and individual practices through common enrichment and; 3) Stimulate the development of this type of school across the European continent. SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE RESULTS EXPECTED: - Firstly, an alliance of teachers and researchers sharing feasible innovative practices on teaching ecological transition (including economic, social, legal) and about evolution of Higher and Open Education - Secondly, an initiative in Higher and Open education, to reinforce partners' innovative methods in teaching, in an holistic and systemic way - Thirdly, a partnership between institutions who intend to share an experimental project with common curricula, resulting in a course material and in a MOOC . POTENTIAL LONGER TERM BENEFITS: In working together they will challenge structures, organization and methods that are taken for granted, in order to experience and test common « modules » of teaching/researching on ecological transition and develop new common forms of training/researching and certification, and even create the foundations for a new common Open and Virtual European University for Transition. DELIVERABLES: D1: Teaching guide on innovative pedagogy for transition studies D2: 3 part 50h course material on systemic elements on Ecological and social transition D3: A MOOC on Transformative pedagogy for an ecological and social transition D4: 3 Spring school experiments in transition schools D5: Local seminaries with each partner organization and its ecosystem D6: an international seminary to present and discuss our major findings
Les objectifs principaux du projet ont été les suivants: 1) Encourager un rapprochement entre institutions d’enseignement supérieur classiques et écoles de la transition proposant une expérience immersive 2) Rassembler les pratiques existantes des acteurs académiques, des chercheurs et des écoles de transition en Europe afin d’enrichir les connaissances de chacun et de développer les pratiques individuelles et collectives. 3) Développer un curriculum adapté afin d’enseigner les enjeux de transition.
Les questions écologiques (changement climatique, perte de biodiversité, rareté des ressources, etc…) et leurs conséquences sociales (inégalités croissants, pauvreté, conflits, migrations forces, etc.) nous appellent à promouvoir un changement de paradigme et à redessiner nos schémas de consommation et de production, nos styles de vie, et ainsi à ajuster les curriculum de l’éducation dans le supérieur. Il s’agit de la transition écologique dans le domaine de l’éducation. Le projet Erasmus Plus d’Université Européenne de la Transition (European University for Transition, EU4TRANSITION) a développé des pratiques d’apprentissage et de recherche d’enseignement innovantes (nouveaux cursus, méthodes d’enseignement, réseau institutionnel) pour accompagner la transition dans le domaine de l’éducation. Il a développé des approches multidisciplinaires, pragmatiques et holistiques pour enseigner et apprendre dans le champ des « Transitions ». Il s’est attaché aux questions-clé de notre transition écologique contemporaine au niveau local et européen telles que la transition écologique et économique, la gouvernance, l’éthique, la communauté, la transition locale, les visions du monde…