The assessment committee considered, among other things, alignment with the CHARM-EU educational principles and vision, expected impact, innovative character and outreach. Two of the honoured projects are interfaculty collaborations and one project is being carried out within one faculty. See below for a short introduction to the selected projects.
Acclimatise Africa-Europe-Pacific: Collaborative Learning for Climate Resilience
An interfaculty project with the Faculty of Geosciences and the Faculty of Law, Economics, and Governance in collaboration with Wageningen University & Research (WUR).
Climate change demands collaboration between different disciplines and a global and inclusive approach, yet European universities often rely on Western-centric knowledge systems, leaving indigenous and non-Western perspectives underrepresented. As a result, students miss out on opportunities to develop skills that prepare them for the complex and intercultural reality of global sustainability challenges. At Utrecht University, despite the commitment to sustainability, three key issues persist: narrow epistemological frameworks, limited North–South collaboration, and insufficient opportunities for transdisciplinary co-creation. These challenges will be addressed with the Acclimatise Africa-Europe-Pacific project. This project is an expansion of the successful Acclimatise pilot—a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) initiative launched in February 2025 in ten African universities. This new project will build a transcontinental learning community that integrates theory and practice. Students will co-create climate solutions informed by diverse knowledge systems. It offers a unique model for decolonising and future-proofing climate education in Europe.
Contact person: Margien Bootsma (M.C.Bootsma@uu.nl)
Innovating Education: A Transdisciplinary Project that Bridges Divides Between Indigenous Ways of Knowing and European Epistemologies to Counter Violence against People and the Planet
A faculty project at University College Roosevelt.
This collaborative project bridges cultural and geographical divides to counter violence against people and the planet. It focuses on marginalized communities and environmental challenges by centering Indigenous ways of knowing and being. This includes addressing the disconnect between epistemologies in European higher education and those within by Native American societies. For example, to confront water (insecurity), the transdisciplinary approach employs arts-based research and land-based learning and draws from future studies, history, gender, and media studies. In this innovative framework, European and Indigenous students are seen as active participants in the learning process and as future leaders. They engage in problem solving activities in online forums, knowledge sharing on digital formats, and storytelling via transnational artwork. The cross-cultural/ cross-platform approach amplifies marginalized voices, innovates educational methodologies, and cultivates new questions and perspectives. This transformative education will empower students to drive sustainable change.
Contact person: Nancy Mykoff (n.mykoff@ucr.nl)
Tackling Health Challenges in Internationally Linked Biomedical Research Hubs
An interfaculty project with the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Science.
This project develops a new transdisciplinary 2-phase educational module that connects biomedical research and education across two UU faculties (medicine and betasciences) and Universities of Montpellier and Barcelona. Students will work in interdisciplinary teams on real-world health challenges such as cancer, focusing on innovations like immunotherapy, nanomedicine, and targeted therapies. Learning takes place within and between Student Research HUBs—dedicated and connected lab environments within the participating faculties, where students collaborate with researchers using cutting-edge techniques. The module builds on ongoing international partnership with the University of Montpellier and will be embedded within the CHARM-EU Alliance. Through this, the project promotes crossing disciplinary, institutional, and national borders, preparing students for future careers in research, healthcare, and industry. The module aligns with UU’s strategic goals of innovation, societal impact, and internationalization, and will serve as a model for broader CHARM-EU implementation and sustainable embedding in UU education.
Contact person: Niels Bovenschen (N.Bovenschen@umcutrecht.nl)