ULLC Education
Welcome to the Urban Living Lab Center's (ULLC) Education Programme, where learning and skill development are at the heart of urban innovation. As a collaborative initiative hosted by leading academic and research institutions, the ULLC is dedicated to educating current and future students and professionals in the field of urban living labs.
What is the Education Programme
The Urban Living Lab Center (ULLC), co-hosted by major educational and research institutions, places high importance on learning, training. and skill development for current and future students and professionals. Education plays a fundamental and multifaceted role in the ULLC.
The activities encompass:
Skill Development: Education at the ULLC is essential to equipping current students and future professionals with the skills needed to thrive in urban living labs. Through hands-on experiences, workshops, and courses, participants can develop practical skills in areas such as data analysis, urban planning, urban mobility, urban energy systems, sustainability, and community engagement.
Experiential Learning: The ULLC provides a unique opportunity for experiential learning. It is a real-world laboratory where students can apply theoretical knowledge to practical challenges in ongoing projects in Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe. This hands-on approach strengthens their understanding of urban living lab practices, problem-solving, and collaborative innovation.
Workforce Development: As urban living labs continue to gain prominence in addressing urban issues, the demand for professionals with specialised skills continues to grow. The ULLC plays a crucial role in preparing this workforce, fostering expertes capable of developing and managing urban living lab projects.
Find out more about our Change Makers Programme.
Research Support: Education within the ULLC also extends to research (Degree Programmes & Courses). Students involved in ULLC’s activities CAN engage in research projects, allowing them to explore innovative solutions and contribute to the academic knowledge base. This research-driven approach benefits students and advances ULLC’s mission to expand the boundaries of urban innovation.
Find out more about our ULLC Fellowship Programme.
Interdisciplinary Learning: Urban living labs rely on interdisciplinary collaboration, bridging fields such as mobility, education, climate, urban planning, digitalization, clean air, energy, and governance. Through multi-disciplinary partnerships among partners, ULLC encourages cross-disciplinary collaboration, fostering a holistic understanding of urban challenges and solutions.
Networking and Collaboration: The ULLC provides a platform for students to connect with peers, educators, researchers, and industry professionals. This exchange of ideias and experiences strenghens collaboration, fosters community, and natures a vibrant ecosystem of urban innovation.
Long-term Impact: By educating and empowering students and future professionals, ULLC contributes to the long-term sustainability of urban living labs. These individuals carry their knowledge and skills into their careers, driving continued innovation and positive change across cities and communities worldwide.
Who is Involved in the Program?
The main ULLC partners engaged in Education are the academic partners, who play a central role in developing and delivering learning oppportunities. Their work is complemented by te knowledge and catalyst partners, each contributing unique expertise to strengthen the overallimpact of the Education Programme.
The ULLC network includes over 20 academic institutions that offer degree and certification programmes at various levels on the ULLC thematic areas. Partners like MIT also offer short micro masters and short certification programs through platforms like MITx Online.
In addition to academic institutions,Knowledge Partners contribute to building the technical capacity of practitioners working on the ground to implement sustainable energy, mobility and resource management solutions.
ULLC also benefits from the involvement of catalyst partners, who help accelerate transformation by providing the necessary impetus to an idea or approach. While financial support is often a key factor, catalytic partners also bring in visibility, knowledge exchange and peer-to-peer learning across regions.
Partner Universities Latin America
Partner Universities Africa
Partner Universities Europe
Partner Universities Asia
Courses will be hosted by:
What Does ULLC Offer?
From educational perspective, the ULLC offers academic partners with opportunities to collaborate and avoid spending their resources on creating courses that are already available. Partners are encouraged to make use of materials developed by others within the network and to design course plans that integrate openly accessible resources offered through the ULLC.
In addition, collaboration with knowledge and catalyst partners enables ULLC's academic institutions to incorporate practical examples from real-world projects, bringing real-life examples to support the theory being delivered through lectures.
The ULLC’s online learning platform, the NUA Campus, further enhances collaboration by offering a shared digital enviroment. This way, the NUA Campus can provide an online classroom for all the ULLC academic partners.
In addition, the ULLC also regularly develops course concepts for academic partners to consider. These ideas are shaped by reviewing existing courses and modules among the ULLC academic partners, sieving the duplicates, and suggesting topics based on the needs of practitioners and at a local implementation level.
Interested in taking advantage of the ULLC offer?
If you represent an academic institution, NGO, or think tank, you may be eligible to become a ULLC partner. In addition to being one of these institutions, you will also need to:
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Operate in Asia, Europe, Africa and/or Latin America
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Work on topics related to ULLC's thematic areas, either through academic programmes or project implementation.
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Be willing to share the material and results produced within your organisation.
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Allow other ULLC partners to use your materials, provided that proper acknowledgment is given.
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Be open to working with peer organisations and other ULLC partners in mutually beneficial ideas, e.g., joint courses or projects.
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Be prepared to contribute your resources in cases when no active funding, especially in cases that show potential for developing new financial opportunities.