2nd Urban Laboratory: Changing Cities

26/09/2025 - 27/09/2025 | Köln, Germany
Photo by Michele Bitetto on Unsplash

 

Greener, fairer, more resilient: 

How can we spark urban climate action, co-create more liveable cities, and engage students in shaping these transformations through education?

If you're passionate about these questions, join fellow student teachers, trainees, and educators in our hybrid seminar "Changing Cities" in september 2025! 

Together, we'll explore how to inspire change in our communities and classrooms.

 

 

**Please apply here until July 15**

Our 2nd Urban Lab will consist of two phases:

phase 1: preparatory online phase

phase 2: workshop in Cologne

This first phase will be all about diving into the contents of the seminar. You will have the opportunity to work on two short online learning modules which will allow you to familiarise yourself with the main questions and problems that we will address together. 

  • The first module will provide an overview of the challenges European cities are facing in the 21st century, addressing issues such as climate change and urban injustice.
  • The second module will briefly introduce the concept of transformative education, which will serve as a basis for the didactical perspective of our seminar.

In addition, we will also have an online meeting, which will take place via Zoom on September 19, 2025, between 16:00 and 17:00 CET. During this meeting, we will give you an overview of what awaits you at our workshop in Cologne and answer any remaining questions.

On September 26-27, 2025, we will welcome you at the Institute of Geography in Cologne for the main part of our seminar.

  • Friday, September 26: 14:00-17:00 CET

    On our first day, we will explore how our cities can become more liveable and sustainable. You will share examples from your hometowns and take a field trip to learn about a local project in Cologne.

  • Saturday, September 27: 09:00-16:00 CET

    The second day will be all about didactics! First, you will have the chance to step into a student’s shoes by working on a hands-on project to develop concrete ideas for the transformation of a local neighbourhood. We will reflect on this experience and discuss the opportunities and challenges of transformative learning in practice. Then, you will have time to work out how you could implement a transformative learning project with your students and discuss your ideas with the other participants. The project plans from this phase will be shared among the participants on an online platform, so that you will leave the workshop with plenty of ideas for your future lessons.

Registration & important information

  • Please apply HERE until 15 July, 2025.
  • Max. number of participants: 30
  • Please do not make any non-refundable bookings until you have received a final confirmation from us!

Cost & possibilities of teff funding

Participation in the event itself is free of charge. 

If you are associated with a teff partner institution, expenses for travel and accomodation can be covered for 1-2 participants from the following institutions (click on the institution to see who is your teff representative):

If you belong to another institution or are from outside Cologne and incur travel or accommodation costs, you can of course still participate, but you will need to cover these costs yourself / find alternative sources of funding.

 

Selbstverständlich freuen wir uns auch sehr über Bewerbungen aus der Ausbildungsregion Köln! Als Teil des ZfL-Fokusjahres “Gemeinsam lernen, lehren & gestalten: Lernortübergreifende Zusammenarbeit in der Ausbildungsregion Köln” soll auch dieses Event die Vernetzung und den Austausch untereinander fördern und den Wert phasenübergreifender Lehrer*innenaus- und -fortbildung steigern! 

Bedenken Sie lediglich, dass das gesamte Event auf Englisch stattfindet (die Teilnehmer*innen i. d. R. jedoch (ebenfalls) keine Muttersprachler*innen sind).

Übrigens: Sollten noch Restplätze frei sind, ist eine Anmeldung für Kölner*innen (+ Umland) ggf. auch nach Ablauf der offiziellen Frist möglich. Fragen Sie sicherheitshalber immer unter teacher-academy[at]uni-koeln.de nach - vielleicht ist ja noch etwas frei!

Any Questions?

If you have any questions regarding the Urban Laboratory, please contact Finnja Vickus at fvickus[at]smail.uni-koeln.de .

For any questions considering the teff funding (e.g. accomodation, travel costs, …), please contact your teff representative (click on your institution in the list above) instead.

We are looking forward to meeting you!

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