Successful edition of the International Creathon by the ECIU, the UAB’s European alliance

Under the title of Building Inclusive Futures: Care, Community and Mobility, participants worked on two major challenges linked to different regions in Catalonia: a rural context challenge related to heritage and accessibility in the regions of Pallars Jussà and Noguera, and an urban context challenge focused on the connection between the UAB campus and the city of Cerdanyola del Vallès.

In total, six teams participated in the rural challenge and four teams in the urban challenge, working together with students from different disciplines and European universities, local agents, teaching staff from both the UAB and the Kaunas University of Technology in Lithuania, and with institutions in the territory to develop proposals with real impact.

The Creathon also included fieldwork: the rural challenge teams explored different heritage sites in the Catalan Pyrenees, such as Pobla de Segur, Orcau, Castell de Mur and Roca dels Bous. The participants in the urban challenge conducted on-the-ground analyses of the surroundings of the Sec River and the municipality of Cerdanyola del Vallès.

After all the learning acquired during the fieldwork, the event ended with the public presentation of the proposals developed by the participating teams before a jury made up of teachers and experts.

In the Rural category the winning team was formed by Nishtha Jagili, from Dublin City University (Ireland); Linnea André, from Linköping University (Sweden); Abdullah Al Hasib, from Tampere University (Finland); Aimé Moral, from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; and Sara Clementoni, from the University of Trento (Italy). The group proposed several actions aimed at tackling depopulation in the Pallars Jussà and Noguera counties, combining sustainable mobility solutions, heritage valorisation and promotion of local tourism. Among the ideas presented were the creation of cultural routes using public transport to visit the most emblematic places in the area, tourism initiatives linked to the agricultural world, and models for the reuse of empty homes inspired by the Italian model called “Alberghi diffusi”.

In the Urban category the winning team was made up of Alex Ganaza, from Dublin City University (Ireland); Ali Abbasov, from Kaunas University (Lithuania); Nievedita Ramaesh, from the University of Twente (the Netherlands); and Theo N-Guyen from Groupe INSA  (France). Their proposal consisted in the creation of “CLUB Cerdanyola”, an initiative based on a card for UAB students and Cerdanyola residents that would allow them to access discounts and social activities at both the University and the city. The aim of the proposal was to promote economic and social interaction between local businesses, students and residents, as well as strengthen the connection between the campus and the city.

The Creathon is part of the UAB's commitment to promoting challenge-based learning methodologies, international collaboration, and connections between the University, its surroundings and society.

For more information please visit: ECIU alliance