Digital Interacting with the Real World: EU-CONEXUS BIP Connects Students Through Geospatial Technologies

UTCB recently hosted the EU-CONEXUS Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) Digital Interacting with the Real World, bringing together students from Universitat Catòlica de València (Spain), Frederick University (Cyprus), Gdańsk University of Technology (Poland), Sivas Cumhuriyet University (Türkiye) and UTCB (Romania) for a week of collaborative learning focused on geospatial technologies and digital mapping.

Organised under the umbrella of the EU-CONEXUS European University Alliance, the programme combined online and on-site activities, encouraging students to explore how digital tools can be used to understand and interact with real-world environments. The opening online sessions, led by Julijan Sutlović (University of Zadar) and Gregoris Kalnis (Frederick University), introduced participants to maps as communication tools and the role of GIS in urban design.

During the physical mobility in Bucharest, students attended lectures and practical workshops delivered by Ana Pejdo (University of Zadar) and UTCB academic staff Ana Cornelia Badea, Aurel Negrila, Doina Vasilca, Dragos Badea and Anca Ene. They explored topics including geographical literacy, Web GIS applications, photogrammetry and map creation while completing three Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) assignments in international teams.

Participants also visited the National Centre of Cartography, the Village Museum, the Astronomical Institute of the Romanian Academy and the Map Museum, and took part in a field trip to Bran Castle and Peleș Castle, where they applied digital mapping techniques to identify and analyse points of interest.

The programme concluded with online team presentations displaying the outcomes of the students’ collaborative projects. More than developing technical knowledge, the BIP strengthened intercultural cooperation, teamwork and problem-solving skills, reflecting the EU-CONEXUS commitment to innovative, international and challenge-based education.

Hosted by UTCB’s Faculty of Geodesy, the programme once again demonstrated how EU-CONEXUS Blended Intensive Programmes create meaningful international learning experiences that prepare students to tackle tomorrow’s challenges together.