An interdisciplinary model course that empowers universities to teach inclusive, human-centred and climate-resilient design
The InPlanEd (Integrated Planning Approaches in Higher Education) project, co-funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme, was officially completed in March 2025, after 28 months of substantial collaboration and co-creation between five partners from Greece, Cyprus, Spain and Belgium. Coordinated by the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA, Greece) and with the participation of the University of Cyprus (UCY, Cyprus), commonspace (Greece), the Association of European Schools of Spatial Planning – AESOP (Belgium) and Noumena (Spain), InPlanEd aimed to develop an Educational Prototype in integrated urban, participatory and evidence-based planning (spatial, transport, etc. etc.), aligned with the objectives of the New European Bauhaus, the Green Deal and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Impact of the project
Throughout the project, the partnership scheme:
- Conducted skills analysis and curriculum mapping in the field of integrated design, highlighting gaps and opportunities for integrating participatory, human-centred and mobility approaches in European university programmes.
- Developed and piloted a COIL course entitled: ‘Integrated Approaches to the Design of Inclusive, Human-centred and Resilient Cities’, which was successfully implemented with the collaboration between NTU and UCY in the winter semester 2024-2025.
- Created open educational resources and digital tools for blended, collaborative and intercultural learning, available on a digital platform.
- Engaged faculty and students, enhancing their digital and green skills through face-to-face and online training (hybrid model).
- Organised Knowledge Exchange Workshops (KEWs) in Nicosia and Athens, where the COIL course was evaluated and adapted based on the gained experiences of its implementation.
- Produced a COIL Course Integration Guide for the teaching staff for the smooth implementation of the COIL Course in the curricula.
Key deliverables
- Skills Profiles and Curriculum Analysis in Integrated Design
At the start of the project, AESOP carried out an in-depth analysis of curricula at universities in Europe. The completion of this deliverable revealed significant gaps in the integration of participatory design, mobility, human-centred design and evidence-based approaches in university education.
Although concepts such as urban development and the environment are extensively addressed, resilience is underrepresented, while soft skills often remain poorly integrated and not systematically developed. This analysis formed a key foundation for the design of the COIL course.
- COIL Course Reflection
The project partners also created open digital resources for use in integrated design training, such as lecture notes, practical tools and case studies, available on a dedicated digital platform. The resources support both individual learning and collaborative work. The Open Learning Platform is available here.
- COIL Course Integration Guide
The final project guide is addressed to the teaching staff and provides:
- Introduction to the philosophy of InPlanEd and specifically to integrated design.
- Lessons learned from the pilot implementation of the COIL course.
- Best practices for teaching strategies, collaboration, technical readiness and timing.
- Practical tips for teamwork and curriculum alignment.
Here is the link to the Guide.
COIL Course Reflection
The InPlanEd COIL course brought together 25 students from NTUA, UCY and external institutions in an inter-university and transnational educational environment. Through lectures, fieldwork, group projects and workshops, students were exposed to real challenges around sustainable development and integrated planning. The assessment included essays, presentations and participation analysis. Feedback indicated a high degree of satisfaction, highlighting the pragmatic approach, the variety of teaching methods and the valuable experience of intercultural and inter-university collaboration.
Next steps
The InPlanEd consortium seeks to continue the use and adaptation of the material in other university institutions. The project leaves a transferable, sustainable educational proposal based on innovation and addressing contemporary urban challenges through collaboration.
Source: University of Cyprus | Latest news (https://tinyurl.com/yn49vy79)