CHARM ON is a monthly online series where academic and support staff can explore innovative practices and share experiences across the community.
Each session features a panel discussion with invited guests from across the university community, providing testimonials of concrete examples. The panels will include educators, researchers, students, and support staff. Together they will bring real-world perspectives on applying CHARM-EU’s approaches such as challenge-based learning, mobility, and interculturality.
Discussions of the series may motivate participants to dive deeper into CHARM-EU good practices in our Service Portfolio, and to participate in trainings offered by the Alliance.
CHARM ON will take place on the last Monday of each month at 13:00 CET, offering a regular space to share ideas, practices, and impact stories across the CHARM-EU community.
CHARM-ON #1: Bringing Innovation into Practice
The first event in the series will spotlight Challenge-Based Learning (CBL). Our panel will dive into practical experiences of using CBL, highlighting how this method can move from theory into impactful practice. Following a short introduction on the concept of the series by Dr. Ferenc Takó (ELTE), panellists Dr. Valeire Borrell (UM), Dr. Silvia Gallagher (TCD), Freeke Jansen (UU), Dr. Viktor Mihucz (ELTE). and Dr. Sergio Villanueva (UB) will discuss CBL with facilitators Nicolas De Keyser (HWR) and Alexander Arenas Canon (UM).
Dr. Valérie Borrell Estupina is an Associate Professor at the University of Montpellier, specializing in water sciences, with a particular interest in extreme events, global changes, and interfaces. She has contributed to the development of the Water track of the CHARM-EU Master’s program on Global Challenges for Sustainability, integrating challenge-based learning activities, blended intensive programs, as well as geolocated educational apps to connect theoretical teaching with real-world field situations.
Dr. Silvia Gallagher is a Research Fellow specialising in multi/transdisciplinary research and higher education innovation, with a focus on Challenge Based Learning. She has supported the development of Challenge Based Learning educational programmes within CHARM-EU, including Masters and Blended Intensive Programmes.
Freeke Jansen is a Project Assistant and Junior Policy officer for CHARM-EU. As a CHARM-EU alumna, she has firsthand experience with Challenge Based Learning and a strong interest in intercultural competence development.
Viktor G. Mihucz is a full professor in Analytical Chemistry at ELTE, with a focus on analysis of environmental, food and clinical samples. He has been teaching in the CHARM-EU Master’s programme Global Challenges for Sustainability and he is in charge of developing a joint master’s programme on Planetary Health within CHARM-EU.
CHARM-ON #2: International Joint Programmes
This second session focuses on one of CHARM-EU’s central achievements: international joint programmes. The beating heart of CHARM-EU’s mission, these transnational degrees integrate diverse academic traditions, governance models, and cultures into a single shared learning experience. Our panellists from across the Alliance – including Laia Alonso, Meritxell Chaves, Viktor G. Mihucz and Gilles Subra – will explicate the practical realities of building and sustaining these programmes — from accreditation and curriculum design to student mobility, digital infrastructure, and intercultural teamwork. The event will be facilitated by Nicolas De Keyser and Alexander Arenas Canon.
CHARM-ON #3: Citizen Science in Action
This month, our panel turns to Citizen Science in Action. Practitioners —Anna Sànchez, Isabelle Bonhoure and Josep Perelló (UB), Roger Strand (UiB), László Róbert Zsiros (ELTE) — will reflect on the principles, affordances, and values of doing research with communities, foregrounding its social dimensions: social commitment, collaboration, communication, learning (formal and informal), and evidence-based action. Through grounded examples from their own projects, they’ll explore ethical, methodological, and practical challenges, while sharing how they mobilise local partners and co-design participation. Rather than a one-size-fits-all recipe, the session offers starting points to ideate, design, contribute to, or lead just transparent projects and collaborations that connect academic rigour with societal needs. The event will be facilitated by Nicolas De Keyser (HRW) and Alex Arenas (UM).
