Designing a Blended Intensive Programme for international and interdisciplinary landscape education.

Abstract

Since the creation of the European Higher Education Area in 2010, there has been a significant expansion of international training programmes across Europe. In this context, Blended Intensive Programmes (BIPs) have recently been introduced as part of the new generation of Erasmus+ programmes for the 2021–2027 period. This initiative promotes cooperation among universities from different countries by offering short-term learning experiences that combine a virtual component with an on-site phase. BIPs typically address innovative topics with a strong interdisciplinary dimension that are generally not integrated into the regular curricula of the participating universities.

The aim of this chapter is to present and analyse the design and outcomes of the second BIP on landscape (BIP-GEO 2025), organised by three European universities: the University of Minho (UM), the University of Granada (UGR), and the University of Padua (UNIPD). This interdisciplinary programme, developed during the 2024/2025 academic year, focused on the study of landscape transformations in peripheral rural areas of southern Europe. With the University of Minho acting as host institution and coordinator, the BIP involved 27 undergraduate and master’s students from various degree programmes at the three partner universities.

The design of the BIP was based on the experience gained in the previous edition (BIP-GEO 2024), coordinated by the University of Granada. The training programme was structured around a set of collaborative learning activities, both theoretical and practical, aimed at familiarising students with the current challenges and issues affecting peripheral rural landscapes. To this end, several international workshops—both virtual and on-site—were organised to facilitate interaction among students and academic staff from disciplines related to landscape planning and management at the three participating institutions.

The BIP was organised into two phases:

i) Virtual phase: Selected students participated in different training modules, engaged in thematic debates in international tandems, and developed a group research initiation project.

ii) On-site phase (University of Minho): This phase included three field trips to rural areas in northern Portugal, focused on observing and reflecting on the challenges faced by peripheral rural areas and their planning and management needs. In addition, two sessions were devoted to the presentation and discussion of group projects, along with a lecture session delivered by specialists in the field.

The coordinators plan to organise a new edition of the programme in Italy in 2026, building on the foundations established by the two previous editions of this international landscape training programme. By offering an international perspective, this BIP seeks to foster collaboration and the exchange of experiences among future landscape science professionals in southern Europe. It is hoped that this chapter will serve as inspiration for academic staff interested in designing and organising blended mobility programmes.