In the course of the blended learning intensive programme "Personal Green Skills in Higher Education", international students have developed new perspectives and sustainable solutions to the climate crisis. The final week at THWS in Schweinfurt was the highlight of the pilot project.
Published on 14 January 2026
As Waltteri Wiheriäkoski from Finland shows the other students his homemade mobile phone holder, they stroke the orange-painted wood, which used to be part of the Finn's skateboard, with admiration. Waltteri studies civil engineering at Tampere University in Finland, a partner university of the Technical University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt (THWS). He has researched how many kilograms of carbon dioxide a cubic metre of wood stores and passes the question on to the class. Everyone gives an estimate, and in the end, it is Professor Dr Holger Walter who gives the correct answer: depending on the tree species, it is between 700 and 1,050 kilograms.
"Why not continue to use the storage capacity of the material, even if the skateboard is broken?" Waltteri asked himself. Sai Karthik Shankar had a similar idea. The THWS student made a volume control from old moving boxes that can be connected to a computer. The motto of the two: "Just start and try it out!"
Thus, the elective course "Personal Green Skills in Higher Education" is just right for them. In this course, students from five countries have the opportunity to develop their own projects on the topic of sustainability, either individually or in groups. "Green Skills" is a blended learning intensive programme (BIP) in which students from Europe first work on a topic online and then meet for a week at one of the partner universities – in this case, at the Schweinfurt campus of THWS. On the last day, the participants present their results.
Blended Learning Intensive Programme (BIP)
A BIP is a short, intensive learning format that combines a virtual phase with a week of face-to-face learning at a partner university. The focus is on international exchange and the acquisition of technical and intercultural skills.
The advantages for students:
- Financial support through Erasmus
- Credits for courses in your own degree programme
- Certificate of participation from the partner university
- International experience without having to spend a whole semester abroad
An experience that lasts beyond your studies
In addition to working on their own projects, the aim is also to gain new perspectives on the climate crisis and possible solutions through workshops, a simulation game, and field trips. For example, a lecture on future agriculture and a trip to a community-supported agriculture project made a big impression on many of the participants, says Professor Dr. Holger Walter. "This is a topic that affects everyone, because we cannot do without food." The professor from the Faculty of Applied Natural Sciences and Humanities developed the programme on "Personal Green Skills in Higher Education" together with Sophie Fischer from the Institute for Digital Engineering, involving lecturers from the partner universities. In addition to THWS and the Finnish university, these include institutions in Kaunas in Lithuania, Malaga in Spain, and Vienna in Austria. At the end, students receive a grade for their e-portfolio and presentation.
But even more important is what the young women and men take away from the project in the long term. "At some point, the students will occupy positions in society and in the economy where they will have to make decisions. So it's important to remember that you yourself can make a difference," says Professor Dr. Walter.
Exchange across national and disciplinary borders
Professor Dr. Walter, Fischer and their European colleagues approached students from a wide range of disciplines for "Personal Green Skills in Higher Education". As a result, agricultural scientists sit alongside prospective engineers and teacher training students. "The group dynamics were very good from the start; you could tell that the students were interested in exchanging ideas," reports Fischer.
Milan Dragacevac and Ahmet Ata Kepel took the students' different backgrounds as the starting point for their project. The THWS students conducted a study to examine the extent to which sustainable practices are established in everyday life in different cultures and countries. In Ukraine, for example, preserving food is common, while in Ghana it is drying fruit or vegetables. "Even though we all come from different cultures, we share the belief that nature is sacred," says Ahmet.
One of the goals of the BIP was to create this common ground, a basic understanding of the climate crisis and ways of dealing with it in everyday life. "The most important thing is interaction," says Professor Dr. Walter. His colleague has observed that students are always particularly enthusiastic when it comes to taking action and developing solutions for dealing with sustainability issues.
The focus is on practical application
For Alicia de Luiz García, Victor Perucha Trujillo, and Maria Calderón López from Spain, the focus on personal green skills was initially unfamiliar. Instead of theoretical input, there are a variety of workshops, group work, and excursions. Maria Calderón López, who studies Industrial Design Engineering at the University of Málaga, had expected something different – but at the end of the week she still draws a positive conclusion: "The programme is an interesting opportunity for learning and getting to know other points of view." She and the others learned the most from interacting with international students. But they are also taking practical and sustainable solutions such as the German deposit system back home with them as inspiration.
Within the course of "Personal Green Skills in Higher Education", the Spanish students have developed a board game that teaches children in an entertaining way what sustainability means and how to protect the environment. They collect points by cleaning up oceans or planting forests. The students printed the chips in the laboratory using lasers and also designed the game board themselves. "You can play it at school, but also at home, because it's not just for learning, it's also fun," says Alicia de Luiz García.
"Personal green skills" will continue to be taught in the future
Most teams formed within a university so that members could prepare in person before the week in Schweinfurt. Nevertheless, workshops, excursions and leisure activities such as a trip to Bamberg gave everyone the opportunity to make international acquaintances.
Professor Dr. Holger Walter and Sophie Fischer are pleased with the premiere of "Personal Green Skills in Higher Education". The pilot project was initially funded by the European Union for two years and is set to continue in the future – at least in part. Professor Dr. Walter and Sophie Fischer point out that planning and implementing such an intensive programme is very costly. In addition to field trips, film screenings, simulation games, and workshops, the organisers also coordinated accommodation and meals for the participants. The teachers are now evaluating the programme, saving course content, and making the teaching materials available to partner universities. This is because individual courses and methods are to be used at the universities in the future.
