PIONEER Festival at Avans University of Applied Sciences: Building the cities of tomorrow together
The PIONEER Festival at Avans University of Applied Sciences brought together Avans colleagues from different disciplines around one central question: how do we shape the major urban challenges of our time? During the festival, we made two movements visible. From an outside-in perspective, we asked: what are the European priorities and opportunities within the alliance? […]
Designing International Learning Experiences: Insights from the COIL Workshop for PIONEER Alliance Lecturers
International teaching collaborations often involve more than simply connecting courses; they require coordination across disciplines, shared learning goals, and careful planning. Lecturers from the PIONEER Alliance explored this process firsthand during the online workshop “How do I teach a COIL?”, which took place on 30 March 2026. The workshop was led by Jacqueline Bürki (Bern […]
Strengthening the partnership between BFH and Laurea, the Finnish UAS
The three-day visit by Finland’s Laurea University of Applied Sciences featured strategic discussions and exchanges on cybersecurity, digitalisation, and Bern’s innovation ecosystem. The PIONEER University Alliance (see box) provides an institutional framework specifically designed to bolster collaboration between its partner universities. Among these partners is Laurea University of Applied Sciences, which operates six campuses across […]
The Pioneer Festival Invited the World to UNIZA’s Heart
On 3 March, the entrance hall of our university’s main building hosted students, educators, and representatives of the university environment for our second PIONEER Festival. The event was commenced by Jozef Ristvej, UNIZA vice-rector for international relations and marketing, who introduced the PIONEER Alliance. The morning session covered information on scholarship opportunities, including the scholarship […]
PIONEER SDG11 Winter School: Inspiring week of scientific exchange and practical insights for early career researchers
The first ever held PIONEER SDG11 Winter School at TH Köln brought together 20 early career researchers from seven PIONEER partner universities to explore solutions for safe, resilient and sustainable cities. The event aimed to foster scientific exchange and offered a rich program of keynote speeches, paper presentations, site visits, and a practical workshop on […]
International Staff Week in Venice: PIONEER at the heart of the European Universities debate
From 15th to 18th December 2025, Università Iuav di Venezia organised and hosted the International Staff Week “European universities: opportunities and challenges” in Venice. hosted the International Staff Week “European Universities: opportunities and challenges”, bringing together international professionals to reflect on the evolving role of European University Alliances in internationalisation, educational innovation and institutional cooperation. […]
Inspiring Encounters and Strengthened Partnerships: BFH International Staff Week 2025
Inspiring Encounters and Strengthened Partnerships: BFH International Staff Week 2025 30.12.2025 Representatives from European partner universities discovered BFH as a place of learning, teaching, research, and innovation. They visited BFH campuses, laboratories, and research infrastructures in the Canton of Bern. With UN Sustainable Development Goal 11 – sustainable, inclusive, safe, and resilient cities and communities – […]
First PIONEER Festival: Info Fair, Erasmus Mobilities, Workshops on COIL and Challenge-Based Education
At the premiere of the PIONEER Festival from October 28 to November 6, 2025, at TH Köln, students, faculty, and staff engaged intensively with partner universities to learn more about Erasmus mobilities. Several events took place, including a LEGO® Serious Play session focusing on the teaching formats Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) and Challenge-Based Education […]
Strategic Discussions of the PIONEER Alliance Took Place at Tomas Bata University
On 21–22 October 2025, Tomas Bata University in Zlín hosted a governance meeting of the PIONEER Alliance, attended by more than 50 representatives from all partner institutions. During the two-day programme, meetings of several key bodies of the alliance took place – the Governing Board, Advisory Board, Steering Committee, and Project Management Team. Discussions focused […]
WP7 – Shaping the Future of the Alliance
WP7 focuses on the future of the PIONEER Alliance. As delegates in this key work package, we engage in discussions on topics such as open science and the Orchestration Team — the group designed to lead strategic dialogues on shared projects, and cooperation among the alliance. To build our team and to start the discussions, […]
