Date/Period: 20-24 October 2025

Daily Schedule: will be provided to the selected students during the last week of September

Organized by: Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt (Germany)

Registration and Participation: Register via Google Form

Deadline for registration: 20 September 2025, 00:00 CET

Participants must attend the full session and contribute to collaborative tasks.

Objectives of the Call

The primary objective of the program is to enhance the understanding and strategic relevance of urban sustainability. It aims to equip students with interdisciplinary tools to:

• Explore sustainable urban development through strategic management, stakeholder engagement, and policy innovation.
• Address real-life municipal challenges, specifically in sustainable mobility and urban transformation in Ingolstadt and Neuburg an der Donau, Germany.

Specific objectives include:

• Critically assess and benchmark city sustainability performance.
• Apply sustainability indicators and strategic management principles.
• Co-create digital, data-informed solutions for municipal use.
• Foster cross-sectoral collaboration (technology, governance, community).

Course Short Description

Format: Applied Blended Challenge (ABC) Program

Organisers:

• Host: Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt (THI)
• Co-hosts: Carinthia University of Applied Sciences (CUAS)
• Location: Ingolstadt and Neuburg an der Donau, Germany
• Stakeholder: City of Ingolstadt

Short Description: The course is a blended, challenge-based program that immerses students in real-world urban challenges. It combines weekly online learning with an intensive face-to-face project week in Ingolstadt, where students co-develop strategic policy solutions for local governments. The course integrates sustainability science, smart city approaches, stakeholder analysis, and policy communication tools to foster actionable solutions and entrepreneurial thinking in international student teams.

ECTS: 3 credits

Duration

• Online: 6-9 October 2025 (15:00-17:00 CEST) and 13 October 2025 (10:00-12:00 CEST)
• On-site: 20-24 October 2025

Target Group

Students from ACE²-EU partner universities (Quota: 4 students per university)

Profile:

• Students from diverse academic backgrounds (urban planning, environmental studies, business, public policy, engineering, etc.)
• Motivated to work on real-world municipal challenges
• Interested in sustainability, smart cities, and international collaboration

Expected skills/attitudes:

• Willingness to collaborate in interdisciplinary and intercultural teams
• Proactive engagement in both online and face-to-face sessions
• Openness to entrepreneurial and policy-oriented thinking

Learning Objectives

• Understand the sustainability and mobility challenges faced by urban areas, with emphasis on mid-sized European cities.
• Analyze and benchmark the sustainability performance of cities using global frameworks and indicators (e.g., SDG Index, ISO 37120).
• Apply digital and managerial tools to develop solutions for urban transformation.
• Engage with public and private stakeholders, understanding governance structures and strategic materiality in city planning.
• Co-create actionable strategic concepts, including executive policy briefs for municipal actors.
• Translate technical and analytical insights into policy-relevant recommendations and public impact narratives.
• Collaborate in international, interdisciplinary teams, enhancing team-building, communication, and project management skills.
• Communicate proposals effectively, both visually and verbally, during a final pitch to city stakeholders.

Certification

A certificate of attendance will be issued by the course organizers upon successful participation. The certificate will list:

• Course title
• Learning outcomes
• Developed competences
• Duration (10 synchronous online / 24 onsite + 56 independent and group work)