Linköping University is part of the European Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU), a network of 13 higher education institutions in Europe and one in Mexico. Collaboration with society is central to all ECIU universities. An important development for the network began to take shape in 2019 – the ECIU University. It is a platform that focuses on Challenge Based Learning (CBL), where students from all universities can apply for courses and challenges based on finding solutions to real problems in organisations or companies.
“It gives our students the opportunity to learn how to act and function in an international context. And it’s a new way to learn. Many of the modules, called challenges, are based on finding a solution to a real problem. It’s a challenge to have to think a little differently, linking the theoretical knowledge you've learnt to making it useful in real life,” says Konstantinos Mitropoulos, programme coordinator at the competence centre ECIU@LiU.
In addition to the opportunity to gain international experience, he highlights the interdisciplinary benefits of ECIU University.
“It’s not just for engineers or economists. The set-up is based on there being a group of people with different backgrounds who must learn to listen and collaborate with each other. The multidisciplinary approach means the solution to the problem is often much better.”
The courses that students can apply for vary in length and design. From just a few higher education credits up to a whole semester of study. Some courses are completely online, others are based on independent study, and the most popular variant is a combination which includes a short period abroad. Most of them can easily fit into the students’ existing schedules.
“These are experiences and challenges that are not as easy to get in normal university programmes. Students just need to get an account and go in and apply, there are always some modules that are open for application,” says Konstantinos Mitropoulos.
