Urban Biodiversity Teaching and Learning in Higher Education – U.BI.TEACH

Project U.BI.TEACH aims to promote the teaching of biodiversity in the HEIs by using innovative means and techniques. The project will help the HEIs to improve their capabilities to protect urban biodiversity by deploying innovative teaching methods. The developed means, such as U.BI.TEACHing PACK, teaching tools kit and Urban LAB.O, will encourage students to create urban biodiversity projects considering the local community needs and will strengthen the dialogue between the higher education and local contexts.

Goals of the project U.BI.TEACH:

• To contribute to the fight against climate change – to modernize the urban biodiversity teaching in the HEIs by providing students with skills to become the green change agents in their communities.
• To strengthen abilities of the HE sector – to improve abilities of the universities and colleges to protect urban biodiversity and promote development of the local biodiversity protection projects.
• To develop and implement innovative teaching tools:
• U.BI.TEACHing PACK – to formalize skills necessary for new urban biodiversity teaching methods.
• Teaching tools kit – to provide teachers with resources to adapt innovative teaching methods.
• Urban LAB.O – to create local urban biodiversity observatories where students will be able to create projects according to the local community needs.

Results:

• Modernized teaching programs in the HEIs by integrating innovative urban biodiversity teaching methods.
• Strengthened abilities of the HE sector in the field of urban biodiversity protection including new projects and cooperation with local communities.
• Developed new teaching tools, such U.BI.TEACHing PACK and teaching tool kit, which will help teachers of HEIs to teach more efficiently the urban biodiversity.
• Created urban biodiversity observatories (Urban LAB.O), in which students will create real projects solving local community problems and will strengthen cooperation between HEIs and local contexts.
• Increased involvement of students in science and Green Change projects by providing them with real tools and knowledge on how to create sustainable urban solutions.
• More active dialogue with local communities and inclusion of them in the urban biodiversity protection initiatives.

Added value:

• The project has provided opportunity to KVK to strengthen teachers’ competences, expand interdisciplinarity and international cooperation as well as enable students to create real urban biodiversity solutions.
• At the national level, the project has contributed to the improvement of quality of HE, implementation of Sustainable Development Agenda and strengthening of the image of the country as innovative and sustainability-supporting state.
• At the European level, the developed competence system and innovative teaching platforms have become a unique contribution to the European Education Area, supporting the goals of the European Green Deal and promoting international dissemination of knowledge and good practice.