HIF-1500 Living Lab at UiT – Putting Students First – Designing the Classroom of the Future - 3 stp

The course cannot be taken as a single course. The course is reserved for students and academic staff from all disciplines and levels who have applied for admission via EUGLOH at their own institution. There is a maximum of 30 students. Other students or academic staff will not be admitted.

This course is part of the EUGLOH Living Lab, an immersive and experimental framework designed to develop transversal and multidisciplinary competencies among students and staff. Living Labs operate through knowledge-creating teams that foster pedagogical co-creation across education, research, innovation, and service to society.

The initiative promotes internationalisation and educational modernisation by integrating entrepreneurial learning, digital and transversal skills, and sustainability into curricula.

The initiative is co-developed by University of Porto (UPorto), Université Paris-Saclay, and UiT - The Arctic University of Norway, offering a hybrid, interactive format rooted in real-world challenges and multidisciplinary collaboration.

The course includes:

• A digital preparatory phase
• An on-site intensive week at UiT - The Arctic University of Norway (Tromsø)
• [WIP] A digital follow-up phase

All phases are pedagogically aligned and build toward a final collaborative innovation project.

Digital Preparatory Phase

Participants meet online for a course introduction and then work independently for one week on at least one of three modules:

1. Playful Learning

Explores how academic teaching can move beyond traditional lecture formats by meaningfully integrating play. Includes short video input, selected readings, discussions, and applied exercises.

2. Bodily Learning

Addresses the disconnection between learning and the body. Participants explore holistic approaches such as breathing techniques, meditation, and learning in nature. Includes video input, readings, discussions, and applied exercises.

3. Transferable Learning

Examines how university education can better connect to professional realities. Focuses on transversal skills such as critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and leadership, and how these can be embedded in curricula.

Based on their chosen module(s), participants design a student-centred course concept.

On-Site Phase at UiT - The Arctic University of Norway (Tromsø)

Participants work in international, interdisciplinary teams in a one-week educational hackathon.

Teams:

• Refine a real-world educational challenge
• Develop and test a prototype
• Present a final concept at the end of the week

The focus is on creativity, rapid iteration, teamwork, and feasibility rather than a fully polished product. The hackathon format is adapted to education; no technical background is required.

[WIP] Digital Follow-Up Phase

Participants:

• Share their concepts on a common platform to ensure sustainability and visibility across EUGLOH Living Labs
• Meet online to discuss implementation in their respective institutionsThis phase ensures continuity and practical transfer.
• This phase ensures continuity and practical transfer

This phase ensures continuity and practical transfer.

By the end of Living lab, the participants will demonstrate:

Knowledge

• Understanding of the hackathon methodology in educational contexts
• Theoretical and practical foundations of playful, bodily, and transferable learning

Skills

• Design an advanced educational concept linked to one module
• Collaborate effectively in interdisciplinary, cross-university teams
• Provide constructive peer feedback
• Develop and present a clear visual prototype

Competence

• Apply insights to their own educational context
• Manage complex projects under time constraints
• Make informed decisions in high-pressure situations
• Contribute to or lead international team-based innovation projects