Abstract:

This paper reports learning situations where Erasmus+ European projects motivate the participation of higher education students from the School of Tourism and Maritime Technology of Leiria Polytechnic’s, in Portugal in co creation workshops, in virtual and face to face mode, with a design thinking collaborative learning approach.

The PITCH project, a Strategic Partnership for higher education with title: “Promoting and Implementing Training on Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Creativity in Higher Education”, following the Knowledge Alliance entitled “Promoting Creativity and Innovation Management in an innovative blended learning and validation program at the interface between higher education and business”, CIM, motivated the application of a design thinking collaborative learning methodology in certain curricular units related to creativity and innovation. Some of the students exposed to these methodologies had the opportunity to participate in virtual international workshops with students from other European higher education institutions in international multidisciplinary teams, learning about specific themes and presenting solutions for concrete challenges.

This virtual workshop lasted two days’ and the main theme was “Innovations in digital learning in European Universities”. It was led by the PITCH project partners and the University of Aarhus in Denmark. Short theoretical inputs were given in a contextualized way; 80 students worked online in small teams, discussed ideas, and presented their solutions in a final pitch. Two international teams were rewarded with the possibility to participate in an in-person workshop in Greece, within the PITCH workshop and conference in Thessaloniki, May 2022.

The workshop and final conference of the PITCH project had eleven countries represented, around 50 students and teachers from European higher education institutions in a five-day learning meeting where Learning, Sustainability, Creativity, and Innovation were at the center of the team’s work. Each morning there was a short global talk and the presentation of the team’s previous work inspired the working day in small groups. From the challenge and target population selection, until the ideas generation, selection and presentation within the final conference, time, space, and guidance was given to these multidisciplinary international teams. After the presentations students had the chance to appreciate all the ideas, voting for the most interesting and innovative also evaluating the methodology and their learning week.

Main results of these initiatives are some very creative projects that may be really implemented, but the experience and the transversal competences developed by these students in this learning process is probably the greatest achievement already obtained.

Creativity, innovation development in international projects are also present in other projects within the School of Tourism and Maritime Technology of Leiria Polytechnic’s, in Portugal, like in the “Link me up” project within the DEMOLA Global approach or the students participation in the International Student Competition on "Place Branding and Mediterranean diet” organized by the Macerata University in Italy and also the Short Advanced Programs developed within the European RUN, Regional University Network.

Keywords:

Learning, Creativity, Design Thinking, Co-creation.