EU4Dual First Young Researcher School
PAR University of Applied Sciences hosted five early-stage researchers from MCAST as part of the First EU4Dual Young Researcher School, aimed at building research capacity within the alliance. The programme included mentoring, peer collaboration, and individual research development focused on dual education and the Grand Challenges. Through seminars, institutional visits, and networking, participants gained valuable insights into applied research practices, fostering cross-institutional learning and strengthening the alliance’s academic cooperation.
Online Teaching Intensive Program
How can we design cross-border digital teaching while combining quality and innovation? The Online Teaching Intensive Program (OTIP), part of the EU4DUAL project, provides university educators from different countries with a platform to network asynchronous and synchronous teaching formats across Europe.
UniverCity 2025: Future Studies in the UniverCity
On 11–12 December 2025, Mondragon University’s Global Digital Humanities BA organised UniverCity 2025: Future Studies in the UniverCity in Bilbao. The seminar explored the university not only as a space to analyse futures, but as a living laboratory to collectively prototype them. Across the two days, international scholars, students and local community actors engaged in collective experimentation through utopian pedagogies, Change Laboratory methodologies and experiential futures approaches. A key dimension was the collaboration between the
Research: Supporting Trauma Informed Teaching in Higher Education
European universities are increasingly enrolling students who have fled war or crises, or experienced other traumatic events. These experiences can negatively impact learning and well-being, causing stress, anxiety, and trauma-related challenges.
Iraia Urkia-Basterra’s PhD Mobility in Dual Education
Iraia Urkia-Basterra, PhD student and lecturer at Mondragon Unibertsitatea’s Faculty of Humanities and Education, had a 3-month-long mobility in DHBW. The PhD mobility was carried out within the framework of the EU4Dual Alliance, supporting cross-institutional collaboration and knowledge exchange in the field of Dual Higher Education. The stay was hosted by the team of NextEducation at DHBW Karlsruhe under the guidance of Ulf-Daniel Ehlers, editor-in-chief of the European Scientific Journal of Dual Higher Education (ESJDHE).
Bridging Academia and Industry for the Green Transition
This year’s EU4DUAL conference focused on the Green Economy and the Future of Work. Dr. Erika Varga, Associate Professor at Neumann János University, participated in the “New Technologies for Green Economy” roundtable in Bidart, France. She presented Kecskemét city’s hydrogen-based public transport plans. This positioned the University as the academic voice in an interdisciplinary discussion on energy challenges, featuring industry experts, technology developers, and policymakers, emphasizing the crucial future role of hydrogen energy in transportation.
Challenges in creating pedagogical materials for the industrial environment
Industry 4.0 is transforming manufacturing — and training must keep pace. We explore the challenges of designing pedagogical materials for industrial operators: from knowledge gaps and time constraints, to language barriers and resistance to new technologies.
Innovative training materials — IoT integrated into composite material manufacturing
IoT is reshaping composite manufacturing — but are engineers ready? We look at new training materials designed to bridge the gap between telecommunications and mechanical engineering students, using real-world industrial applications as the learning context.
What gap analysis reveals — operators’ needs in the Industry 4.0 era
Gap analysis is a powerful tool for industrial transition. We examine what it reveals about operators’ skill needs as manufacturers move from machine automation to connected, data-driven systems — and why training design must follow.
Co-Creation Session on Circular Business Models for the Textile Industry under Horizon Europe
On 15 May, 2025, a co-creation session brought together representatives from Savonia, MUE, MGEP, ESTIA and Zabala to collaboratively explore a Horizon Europe call focused on circular business models in the textile industry. The session began with a warm-up exchange aimed at presenting the research teams and their respective approaches, followed by a joint working session to integrate knowledge and develop concrete ideas. Although the exercise did not result in a project proposal, it fostered