Through the partnership between Europa-Universität Flensburg (EUF) and Universidad Complutense de Madrid, the International Virtual Societal Challenge (IVSC) was offered to students who wanted to engage with societal issues such as the environment, race and gender. What followed was a five-week course in which students from both universities collaborated to create short videos on their chosen topic. These issues are broad and complex and so brainstorming sessions became key to understanding which aspects were most interesting to students. Narrowing down these issues into manageable sub-topics enabled discussions which in turn fed into what would be covered in the various videos.
There were no prerequisites for participation in the IVSC, which opened up the course to students of any discipline to participate. I came across the call-out through email and was interested in broadening my studies whilst at the EUF. With a background in literature and currently studying for my European Studies Master’s degree, I primarily deal with topics relating to the humanities. I’ve always had an interest in biology and the environment, so this was the perfect opportunity to broaden my knowledge on the subject. I also thought the idea of international collaboration was intriguing, as multiple perspectives from people of different backgrounds can only enhance educational experiences.
Andrea Stammerman of the EUF and Julia Ori of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid led the discussions. We touched on deforestation, carbon emissions, climate change, green spaces, urban versus rural environmentalism, eco-action and many other issues. We agreed on reforestation on university campuses as the subject of our video. With approximately three minutes to work with, it was important to prioritise the work being done now and the work that needs to be done.
As a group, we decided to split the video into three parts: information about the environmental policies of our respective universities, the thoughts of students, and information about the campus environments from knowledgeable sources. Research was conducted in three different ways: data collection, survey of students and interviews with researchers and professors. Once this was completed, it was time to put it together in video form. Footage from the different campuses was collected, interview audio was edited and information was displayed in easy-to-read formats. Via iMovie, this was edited together and our three-minute video was completed.
What we found from doing this project was that students were very willing to take part in a reforestation programme but that the universities may lack organisation, knowledge and the finances required to make this happen. It was also discovered that previous trees, plants and foliage would have to be taken into consideration when planning any change to the universities’ ecosystems. Future Proofing for climate change would be key to planting new trees and helping the older trees survive and thrive in the next twenty to thirty years and beyond. Collaboration and education would have to be at the heart of any reforestation initiative. There is, however, a keen interest on the part of staff and students alike to make this happen both in Flensburg and Madrid.
This IVSC enabled important environmental discussions across the European campuses. We achieved the goal of creating an informative video which dealt with reforestation, highlighting it as a topic of interest. Interacting with the student body and the staff within these universities shows that the environment is at the forefront of people’s minds. In the future, projects like the IVSC will hopefully feature more issues where even more work can be done in alleviating environmental fears and pushing for a more equal society.