UCCRN_edu aims at overcoming existing gaps in education on climate-resilient urban planning, design and governance by establishing synergies with leading research and teaching institutions, as well as EU and international networks with relevant expertise in policy and governance dialogue with local governments and communities to streamline climate action in cities. The Partnership aims at developing an educational alliance to consolidate approaches, methods and tools developed by UCCRN_edu community in previous and ongoing research, innovation, knowledge-sharing and capacity building activities. These are translated in a series of open access educational materials, designed to train the next generation of urban climate leaders, able to navigate the complexity of the interconnected knowledge domains to foster urban climate action as hybrid and multidisciplinary new professionals, real factors of change in research, design and policymaking. The final goal is to equip both learners and trainers with the required skills to plan, design and govern climate-resilient cities, integrating urban adaptation and mitigation, and developing a holistic vision to identify and implement systemic transformation pathways across sectors.
UCCRN_edu is launched by world-leading HEIs members of the Urban Climate Change Research Network (UCCRN, www.uccrn.org), an international consortium dedicated to foster multidisciplinary knowledge-based cross-sectoral action on climate change mitigation and adaptation from an urban perspective. An effective action in these domains requires to focus on the dynamics of environmental, social and economic transformations induced by climate change and their interdependencies; on urban policies and their vertical/horizontal integration with stakeholders and local communities; on technical and communication approaches to streamline existing best practices and innovative concepts; on collaborative design and policymaking methods to overcome the observed “implementation gap” in urban climate resilient development. UCCRN, based on the experience gained in more than 15 years of research, capacity building and support to cities worldwide in shaping local climate policies and innovating governance, planning and design practices, intends to capitalize the strength of the network to promote a permanent educational platform with a strong multidisciplinary identity and training towards both research and practice.