### Background

Many regions of Catalonia—particularly inland, rural and mountainous areas—are facing profound demographic and social transformations. Depopulation, ageing populations and declining economic activity are weakening social cohesion and threatening the preservation of cultural and natural heritage. Limited mobility and poor connectivity play a central role in these dynamics, restricting access to education, employment, healthcare and community life.

At the same time, urban areas are experiencing increasing pressure on their mobility systems. Traffic congestion, high transport costs and car-dependent infrastructures disproportionately affect students and young people, while limiting active mobility and access to green spaces. In this context, mobility is no longer just a technical issue, but a key factor shaping **quality of life, social inclusion and environmental sustainability**.

### The Urban–Rural Perspective

The Creathon 2026 addresses these challenges through two complementary territorial lenses, each developed in close collaboration with **local and regional stakeholders**, ensuring that students work on real needs and realistic contexts. In both cases, the challenge explicitly explores how **mobility and heritage can actively contribute to retaining and attracting population**, particularly young people, in territories affected by demographic decline.

In **Cerdanyola del Vallès**, the urban challenge focuses on the transformation of the **Riu Sec**, a dry riverbed that crosses the city and connects it to the UAB campus. Despite the geographical proximity, the campus remains poorly integrated into the city’s daily life. The challenge invites students to rethink the Riu Sec and its surroundings as a **structuring corridor for sustainable mobility**, capable of linking neighbourhoods, the university and natural spaces, while enhancing ecological continuity and accessibility. This challenge is developed in collaboration with the **Ajuntament de Cerdanyola del Vallès**, which provides the institutional and territorial framework for the proposals.

In **Pallars Jussà and Noguera**, the rural challenge addresses the impact of limited mobility on depopulation, access to services and territorial cohesion. Heritage is approached **not only as something to preserve, but as a strategic resource** capable of generating access, economic opportunities, habitability and long-term population anchoring. Students will explore how innovative mobility solutions, heritage activation and the re-use of local assets can contribute to revitalising communities and creating attractive living environments. This challenge is carried out together with a network of key territorial actors: the **Museu de Lleida**, the **Associació d’Iniciatives Rurals i Marítimes de Catalunya (ARCA)**, **Geoparc Orígens**, **Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC)**, the **Institut Ramon Muntaner (IRMU)** and the **University of Lleida**, all of whom bring complementary perspectives on heritage, mobility, governance and rural development.

### Objectives and Learning Experience

Through a challenge-based learning approach, students will work with real stakeholders to design **context-sensitive, feasible solutions**. The challenge builds on **existing territorial strategies and mobility plans**, translating them into concrete, place-based proposals at local scale. The Creathon offers a unique opportunity to:

- apply academic knowledge to real-world problems;
- collaborate in international and interdisciplinary teams;
- engage directly with local communities and territories;
- develop practical skills in co-creation, prototyping and communication.

By connecting urban and rural realities, the Creathon 2026 empowers students to imagine and build **more inclusive, sustainable and connected futures**.

Motivation letter is a personal statement and it might include a brief introduction of yourself, explanation why are you interested in the learning opportunity you are applying to, any relevant experience or skills that you have, your goals and how this opportunity will help you achieve them, This document should not be more than 400 words.

Motivation Letter

CV (Curriculum Vitae) is a document that summarizes your educational and professional history. It must provide a detailed overview of your academic and work experience, skills, achievements, and qualifications.

Member universities may require additional information from applicants. Please read the application information section carefully and include any extra required information in this section.

Other

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

a group of people standing in a room with a sign

ECIU University Creathon 2026: Building Inclusive Futures: Care, Community and Mobility

Co-create inclusive mobility and heritage solutions for urban and rural Catalonia

Resilient communities

Transport and Mobility

Critical and innovative thinking

Inter-personal skills

### **Develop Sustainable Nanotechnology Solutions with a Global Team**

This course challenges you to co-create innovative, eco-friendly products using nanotechnology tools. Working in international and multidisciplinary teams, you’ll tackle real-world challenges with guidance from expert teachers. Your mission: to design a green product that contributes to solving society’s most pressing issues.

**Why Nanotechnology?**  
Nanotechnology plays a pivotal role in sustainable development, offering solutions for **clean water, air, and energy**—key pillars of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. By integrating advanced technology with a multidisciplinary approach, this course equips you with the skills to address global challenges collaboratively.

**What You’ll Do:**

- **Focus on three key areas:** Develop sustainable products targeting **water** purification, remediation, and reuse; **air** purification; and **energy** solutions.
- **Apply what you learn:** Use life cycle analysis and recyclability principles to design impactful solutions.
- **Collaborate globally:** Work in an international team to solve problems and learn to navigate cultural and time-zone differences.

**Skills You’ll Gain:**

Through a challenge-based learning approach, you’ll master teamwork, time management, and product development. You’ll also learn to apply academic knowledge to real-world problems, ensuring your solutions are both innovative and actionable.

Join this Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) course and be part of a global effort to create a sustainable future through nanotechnology! For more information, contact Arturo Susarrey Arce (a.susarreyarce@utwente.nl).

University of Twente

Image of leaves and hand with hexagon tech overlay

Sustainable Nanotechnology

Help co-create sustainable solutions using nanotechnology tools.

Energy and sustainability

Entrepreneurship, technology and innovation

Media and information literacy

Intra-personal skills

Global citizenship

Barcelona has long been recognized for its innovative approach to managing public facilities, where local grassroots organizations, rather than the government, take the lead. This **community-led model** ensures that neighbourhood centres, cultural hubs, and sports venues are tailored to the needs of local residents, fostering a strong sense of community and belonging.

Currently, 64 public facilities in Barcelona operate under this model, including neighbourhood centres (casals de barri), youth centres, civic spaces, sports facilities, and cultural centres like the LGTBI Center and La Central del Circ. These **spaces are crucial** for **social interaction**, offering educational and recreational programs that strengthen community bonds. However, the rigid classification of public facilities in urban planning often fails to adapt to social dynamics, limiting their accessibility and impact on community life. Instead of being designed to meet the specific needs of each neighbourhood, legal frameworks often replicate existing models from surrounding areas, leading to a lack of flexibility and innovation in urban planning.

Despite its success, this model faces significant challenges due to a lack of legal protection. Although recognised by the Barcelona Municipal Charter, it lacks a clear framework at Catalan, Spanish or European level. This **regulatory gap** creates uncertainty when contracts come up for renewal, forcing community organisations to navigate complex bureaucratic processes and compete with larger, better-funded entities. In addition, the distribution of public facilities is often based on administrative criteria rather than actual neighbourhood needs, leading to inequalities and under-utilisation.

Moreover, broader **urban changes** such as rising rents, gentrification, and mass tourism are **reshaping neighbourhoods**, displacing long-time residents, and **weakening the social fabric**.

The situation is critical, with spaces like La Violeta (Gràcia) and Casa Orlandai (Sarrià) facing the threat of losing their community-led status due to public bidding processes. To preserve the vibrancy and inclusivity of Barcelona’s neighbourhoods, it is essential to rethink the management and planning of public facilities. Ensuring that these spaces remain community-led and integrated into the urban fabric will be key to strengthening social cohesion. Now is the time to act to **protect these vital community spaces**.

[FAVB (Federació d'Associacions Veïnals de Barcelona)](https://favb.cat/), the **challenge provider**, is the Federation of Neighborhood Associations of Barcelona. It is a grassroots organization that brings together various neighborhood associations across Barcelona to advocate for residents' rights and urban improvements. FAVB plays a crucial role in citizen participation, urban development, and social movements in Barcelona, acting as a bridge between local authorities and the people.

Transcript of Records is an official document issued by your home university. It specifies the name of the institution, the academic programme you are enrolled in, the list of courses taken up until the current period, the exams or tests you passed, the grades and the credits you earned. 

Transcript of Records

Empowering Neighbourhoods: Keeping Barcelona’s Community Spaces Alive

How can we rethink public facilities in Barcelona to ensure they remain locally driven spaces of connection, belonging, and inclusion?

***Archives in the Age of Artificial Intelligence***

Today’s cultural institutions—libraries, archives, museums, and beyond—as well as private companies and even individuals, are grappling with an overwhelming volume of visual materials accumulated over decades, much of which remains difficult to access or interpret at scale. Artificial intelligence is increasingly viewed as a tool for addressing this complexity, offering new ways to search, sort, and curate large image collections. Technologies such as image recognition, tagging, and content generation, used primarily for efficiency, are shaping how visual narratives are contextualized. This Learning Opportunity was created in response to that shift. It invites students to reflect on a key question: How can AI meaningfully support the work of image curation, and what limitations or challenges must be addressed for it to serve the public good?

The course prepares future professionals to engage with AI not only as a technical resource but also as a cultural and ethical concern. It offers a space to reflect on constructed memory, representation, and the often-invisible decisions that determine what is preserved—and what is left out.

Analysing Images with Artificial Intelligence (A-EYE)

A call to action and an invitation to explore technology’s impact on how we manage and engage with historical and cultural heritage.

Society is made and designed for people who have a ‘normotypical’ development, i.e. for those who do things in a similar way to most of the population.  
  
People with disabilities have many difficulties (architectural barriers, accessibility, communication, access to work...) to be able to participate in this social life and to develop their autonomy within the society in which they live.

This situation is aggravated when it comes to children with disabilities and even more so with those who have multiple disabilities and/or minority ailments. They are not only excluded from social life, but even more so, from access to play and from developing their autonomy and skills in their natural environment (home, school, park).  
  
The fact that they have different abilities from the rest of the population not only excludes them from society but also condemns them to depend on another person who has to do everything for them. Today's society is highly computerised, with infinite technological resources, where everything or almost everything can be controlled from mobile devices, tablets or computers. **But what about people who, because of their disability, cannot access or interact with these devices that control everything?**

In this challenge, we work together with [Nexe Fundació](https://nexefundacio.org/), an organization that has been dedicated for 40 years to improving the quality of life of children with multiple disabilities and their families, as well as defending their rights.

Creating an inclusive environment for children with multiple disabilities

How can we ensure accessibility and participation for children with multiple disabilities so that, based on their abilities, they can control their natural environment and develop their autonomy?

This course will provide students with basic knowledge of the Catalan language and its culture. The main objective is to enable students to understand and use very common everyday expressions and simple sentences aimed at meeting immediate needs. It will also introduce them to key aspects of Catalan culture.

The linguistic and cultural background of students is used as the ground to build upon and to maximize their learning. They will work using a communicative and challenge-based learning methodology.

This course is not intended for students who have lived in Catalonia, even for a short period. It focuses on discovering the basics and essence of the culture. Therefore, if you have lived there, we do not recommend enrolling.

This image shows a view of Park Güell in Barcelona, Spain, a famous public park designed by architect Antoni Gaudí. The foreground includes the iconic whimsical buildings with wavy rooftops and colorful tile work, typical of Gaudí's distinctive modernist style. In the background, you can see the urban landscape of Barcelona

Exploring Catalonia: An introduction to its language and culture

2nd Edition

Language learning

Energy has become an increasingly important factor in recent years. We have transitioned from a world where energy was cheap and readily available to one where it is becoming more difficult to obtain. Furthermore, **energy consumption has dramatic consequences for the environment,** as its use leads to an increase in CO2 concentration and subsequently, **global warming**. Understanding this factor and being able to manage it quantitatively is becoming increasingly necessary for the next generation.

In this course, we will be studying **transportation and analyzing it in terms of energy**. We will learn how to **calculate the impact of our transportation systems**in terms of energy, and explore the best strategies to reduce their impact.

Energy in transportation

4th Edition

**The Content** of this Micro-module is organized in 3 packages:

- **Package 1 : Philosophy and Law**

Conceptual introduction to the ways in which knowledge is produced and disseminated without paying attention to gender, age, race, and class differences and sexual difference as regards relations among subjects and among bodies, and, thereby, becoming what might be understood as rigid, immaterial, and disaffected knowledge. The impact of producing and disseminating knowledge in these terms will be made clear by analyzing the so-called neutrality of the Law and its effects in gender equality policy making.

- **Package 2 : Psychology and Literature**

(1) Applied critical consideration of epistemic violence, that is, of how gender differences have an effect on subjects and bodies and how they have an effect in their well being depending on the role that gender is given in Psi Disciplines.

(2) Applied critical deconstruction of gender stereotypes and of prejudices that symbolically limit the imaginary field of subjects and bodies and tie them to the immateriality of heteronormativity.

- **Package 3: Anthropology and Pedagogy**

Attention will be payed to a specific challenge in order to (1) make clear how to take into account diversity, difference, and inequality by means of situating knowledge and of feminist methodologies and feminist data analysis and how to (2) validate and make epistemically relevant different kinds of agency by gendering it (including age, class, and race differences).

By the **end of the course**, you will be required to submit one **assessment file** consisting of three parts: one for each training package

Gender as a cross-cutting tool for understanding, diagnosing, and solving challenges

SELF-PACED OPEN MOOC (8TH EDITION)

In a global context marked by deepening inequalities, armed conflicts, hate speech, and growing xenophobia, the human rights violations suffered by migrants, refugees, and displaced persons are increasingly alarming. These violations are particularly visible in the territories surrounding Europe’s borders—spaces that have come to be seen as zones of legal exception or "non-law." Public narratives around migration and asylum are often shaped by biased media portrayals and partial interpretations, undermining efforts to defend and uphold the rights of those affected.

Within a “Fortress Europe,” exclusion, xenophobia, and the criminalization of migration disproportionately affect migrants and racialized communities, leaving them in a state of heightened vulnerability.

**This course offers future professionals a strategic opportunity to sharpen their critical thinking skills in the face of rising racist and xenophobic discourses.**

Participants will explore the broader framework of the European Pact on Migration and Asylum, critically examining border externalization and securitization policies. The course will address documented human rights violations in various regions along Europe’s borders, while also highlighting resistance movements and grassroots efforts in defense of fundamental rights.

Moreover, it seeks to foster critical reflection, encourage open debate, and support the development of impactful advocacy and awareness-raising initiatives led by participants.

Fortress Europe: human rights violations against migrants and refugees at Europe's borders.

Understanding forced displacement and migration from a human rights perspective.

5th Edition

The housing crisis is shaped by a combination of **economic, social, and legislative factors**.  
Economically, stagnant wages and rising rental prices have created a growing affordability gap, while housing is increasingly treated as a speculative asset by investors. Socially, urban migration, demographic changes, and the rise of tourism have increased pressure on housing demand, displacing vulnerable populations. Legislatively, the region suffers from limited public housing policies, weak rent control mechanisms, and a lack of long-term protections for tenants, which hinder the government's ability to ensure fair and stable housing. Together, these factors have deepened housing insecurity and widened social inequalities across cities like Barcelona.

Specifically, the increase in rental housing prices is a complex phenomenon influenced by a combination of factors:

Among the economic factors, we can identify **a demand that exceeds the supply of housing due to the lack of policies** that incentivize and promote the existence of an affordable rental housing stock, as well as the strong interest from investors in investing in the rental property market, which drives prices up. Both factors contribute to rising prices. Additionally, difficulties in obtaining mortgage loans to buy homes can increase the demand for rentals.

Among the social factors, **the high population concentration in cities** also contributes, making prices higher in urban areas. In Spain, the prices in cities like Madrid and Barcelona stand out. Changes in family structure, with the increase in single-person households or nuclear families, also play a role. Furthermore, the rise in tourist rentals (such as through platforms like Airbnb) can reduce the supply of housing available for long-term rental, increasing prices.

Among the legislative factors, regulations that set limitations on the rental price can reduce the incentive for owners to enter the rental market or invest in building maintenance, thus reducing supply. Tax regulations can also affect the rental price, if tax rates are passed on to tenants.

During this challenge we will try to find out what initiatives, proposals and measures could be taken by local governments to solve this problem in urban communities, starting with the **City Council of BARCELONA**as a pilot.

a narrow alley between two stone buildings

Rethinking Barcelona: Urban Innovation Amid the Housing Crisis

How can Barcelona’s City Council respond to high rents and other structural drivers of the housing crisis to build a more equitable city?

**The Content** of this Micro-module is organized in 3 packages:

- **Package 1 : Philosophy and Law**

Conceptual introduction to the ways in which knowledge is produced and disseminated without paying attention to gender, age, race, and class differences and sexual difference as regards relations among subjects and among bodies, and, thereby, becoming what might be understood as rigid, immaterial, and disaffected knowledge. The impact of producing and disseminating knowledge in these terms will be made clear by analyzing the so-called neutrality of the Law and its effects in gender equality policy making.

- **Package 2 : Psychology and Literature**

(1) Applied critical consideration of epistemic violence, that is, of how gender differences have an effect on subjects and bodies and how they have an effect in their well being depending on the role that gender is given in Psi Disciplines.

(2) Applied critical deconstruction of gender stereotypes and of prejudices that symbolically limit the imaginary field of subjects and bodies and tie them to the immateriality of heteronormativity.

- **Package 3: Anthropology and Pedagogy**

Attention will be payed to a specific challenge in order to (1) make clear how to take into account diversity, difference, and inequality by means of situating knowledge and of feminist methodologies and feminist data analysis and how to (2) validate and make epistemically relevant different kinds of agency by gendering it (including age, class, and race differences).

There are 3 assessment files, one for each package, that need to be completed in order to pass the course.

SELF-PACED OPEN MOOC (7TH EDITION)

**Develop Sustainable Nanotechnology Solutions with a Global Team**

This course challenges you to co-create innovative, eco-friendly products using nanotechnology tools. Working in international and multidisciplinary teams, you’ll tackle real-world challenges with guidance from expert teachers. Your mission: to design a green product that contributes to solving society’s most pressing issues.

**Why Nanotechnology?**

Nanotechnology plays a pivotal role in sustainable development, offering solutions for **clean water, air, soil, and energy**—key pillars of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. By integrating advanced technology with a multidisciplinary approach, this course equips you with the skills to address global challenges collaboratively.

**What You’ll Do:**

- **Focus on four key areas:** Develop sustainable products targeting **water** purification, remediation, and reuse; **air** purification; **soil**remediation; and **energy** solutions.
- **Apply what you learn:** Use life cycle analysis and recyclability principles to design impactful solutions.
- **Collaborate globally:** Work in an international team to solve problems and learn to navigate cultural and time-zone differences.

**Skills You’ll Gain:**

Through a challenge-based learning approach, you’ll master teamwork, time management, and product development. You’ll also learn to apply academic knowledge to real-world problems, ensuring your solutions are both innovative and actionable.

Join this Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) course and be part of a global effort to create a sustainable future through nanotechnology! For more information, contact Arturo Susarrey Arce (a.susarreyarce@utwente.nl).

Member university

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Member university

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Learning opportunities of Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona