18 Students from the Faculty of Geography of the University of Bucharest, Participants in the CIVIS BIP “Participatory tools for urban nature planning and management”

In the first half of 2023, 45 students affiliated to six universities in the CIVIS alliance, of which 18 from the Faculty of Geography of the University of Bucharest, and 27 from the University of Paris-Lodron in Salzburg, the University of Aix-Marseille, the Free University of Brussels, the Sapienza University of Rome and the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, took part in the course Blended Intensive Program – Participatory tools for urban nature planning and management.

Implemented by the University of Bucharest, as coordinator, in partnership with the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg and the Autonomous University of Madrid within the European CIVIS alliance, it took place within HUB 4 – Cities, spaces and territories, being perfectly anchored both in the priorities established at the level of the CIVIS alliance, as well as in topics of particular scientific interest at international level.

The program included four online roundtables (consisting of three modules: a lecture given by the participating professors, a student discussion panel and a homework assignment), held between February and May 2023, and a five-day on-site activity in Salzburg, in Austria, between June 19-23, 2023.

The didactic activities were supported by teaching staff from the Faculty of Geography of the University of Bucharest (prof. Cristian Iojă, PhD, prof. Mihai Răzvan Niță, PhD, lect. Diana Onose, PhD, lect. Athanasios Gavrilidis, PhD, lect. Andreea Niță, PhD), the University of Salzburg (prof. Stefan Lang, PhD, assoc. prof. Angela Hof, PhD) and the Autonomous University of Madrid (prof. Maria del Mar Alonso, PhD, assoc. prof. Fernando Borrajo Millan, PhD).

Evaluation of students, based on involvement in planning and management of urban nature in Salzburg

At the end of the face-to-face activities in Salzburg, each team of students, including those from the University of Bucharest, from the fields of study Geography and Environmental Science, presented different perspectives for the planning and management of urban nature in Salzburg, the students being evaluated based on their involvement in this topic.

“The contact with professors and students from other universities helped us to better evaluate our level, to understand what we are very good at and what we need to improve, to practice teamwork in a multicultural context, but above all to discover that inside our university we have incredible resources that we have to learn to take advantage of”, emphasized Raluca Slave, PhD student.

“We are already at the fifth practical experience of this academic year, after those in Neamț County, Iron Gates Natural Park, CIVIS – Brussels and Brussels (professional practice in European institutions). What could a student want more than to be given the framework to discover his talent and improve his skills?”, said Ana Maria Todoran, student in the MA Integrated Assessment of the State of Environment.

“The CIVIS alliance is definitely a win for the University of Bucharest, and the correlation of our activities with those of the partners in the network must become a natural and not exceptional action. The BIP Participatory tools for urban nature planning and management allowed us to offer our students another international experience, but also to strengthen collaborations that we have initiated for more than ten years”, pointed out prof. Cristian Iojă, PhD, teaching staff at the Faculty of Geography of the University of Bucharest, director of the Department of Geography and Environment, scientific researcher at the Center for Environmental Research and Impact Studies.

The activity in Austria proposed a program that aimed to consolidate the skills acquired during the four online meetings, as well as to develop practical competences related to the use of advanced methods relevant to urban nature research, advanced understanding of the characteristics of the territory and the development of multidisciplinary and multicultural teamwork abilities. Representatives of Salzburg City Hall (GIS Department), of Berchtesgaden National Park (rangers and staff of the information-documentation center Haus der Berge), of Society for Urban Ecology (president of the professional society prof. Jurgen Breuste, PhD) and of local non-governmental organizations have attended the face-to-face activities.

The CIVIS BIP Participatory tools for urban nature planning and management aimed to discuss, in an interactive and open framework, concepts, methodologies and best practices related to participatory tools usable in urban nature planning and management. The course was addressed to all students interested in understanding the challenges related to public participation in the life of cities, regardless of the level of studies (bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or PhD) or field of studies (environmental science, geography, social sciences, GIS, law). Also, the course contributes to the implementation of the sustainability objectives assumed by the University of Bucharest, especially ODD4, ODD11 and ODD 16.

CIVIS is a European University Alliance that brings together 11 member universities: Aix-Marseille Université (France), National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Greece), University of Bucharest (Romania), Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain), Sapienza Università di Roma (Italy), Stockholm University (Sweden), Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen (Germany), University of Glasgow (UK), Paris Lodron University Salzburg (Austria) and University of Lausanne (Switzerland). Selected by the European Commission among the first 17 European pilot universities, the CIVIS Alliance brings together approximately half a million students and over 70,000 staff members, including 37,400 academics and researchers.