April 5, 2022
As the “Desinc Live” project is heading towards its conclusion, the evaluation phase has started. Along with activities aiming to collect feedback and comments on the “Practices of Urban Inclusion” course, four multiplier events have been planned to share the outcomes of this experience and prepare the ground for potential replication.
The first event took place at the Politecnico di Milano and hosted about 30 scholars and members of CSOs. Their experience can provide a starting point for a joint reflection on innovative teaching & learning and the possibility of cooperation among academic and non-academic partners. The Milan multiplier event gave room for reflection on the course itself, the replicability of such experiences, and methods and tools of innovative teaching in learning frameworks based on cooperation between HEIs and CSOs. The interactive activities organized by the Italian team aimed to answer the following questions:
- How did learners experience the course proposed during the project? What did they take out of it, and what innovative features did they find?
- Which keywords best describe innovative learning experiences, such as the “Practices of Urban Inclusion” course? What features make a learning experience different from traditional, academic teaching formats?
- How do we think about (or rethink) the evolution of teaching through the collaboration between High Education Institutions and Civil Society Organizations? How to best engage local stakeholders in their role as co-actors in an innovative learning path?
- How can we create the conditions for further replication of the educational offer?
After a welcoming moment and an ice-breaking activity in which attendees were asked to provide their definition of learning based on their teaching and professional experience, the coordinators of the Italian team (Francesca Cognetti – PoliMi, and Giorgio Baracco – RWI) described the “Practices of Urban Inclusion” course. They highlighted some challenges and tensions that occurred while developing this educational experience.
Some significant points were stressed, such as the horizontal and experience-based learning proposed by the course, which is based outside the classroom and rooted in long-standing research; the interdisciplinary and culturally diverse community of learners and teachers, which fostered an enriching environment; the possibility of developing new skills for architects, urban planners, and social workers in fragile contexts. The coordinators also addressed the challenge of creating educational paths capable of training a generation of future planners that are more sensitive to the issues of making the city more open to migration.
Two learners were also involved in the presentation and described their direct experiences. Their presentation focused on two main questions: What is the role of designers in shaping inclusive urban practices and designing a more equitable city? Is it possible to imagine different, more open, inclusive, multidisciplinary, and horizontal ways of learning? They described their educational path as interdisciplinarity, horizontality, and variety in the proposed activities. Therefore, they offered a “toolkit” to design urban inclusion based on making (new spaces and new forms of joint intervention in public space), storytelling (by listening to people and narrating the city differently), and sharing ( sharing knowledge and competencies, but also creating moments of co-design).
After the course presentation, the audience was asked to reflect on the values and principles that the “Practices of Urban Inclusion” course proposed. Suggestions and comments arose about all the principles of the Learning Manifesto (see course prospectus) that helped further explore the offer brought about by the “Desinc Live” project.
An original contribution by the audience centered around the necessity of engaging over time, i.e., creating the conditions for making the educational offer consistent in the long run and adjusting short-term and long-term outcomes and expectations. Issues of cooperation between academia and civil society were also raised with regard to consolidating an offer that is mutually enriching and thought-provoking.
The event ended after a brief discussion about the potential replicability of the educational offer. The audience discussed the importance of replicating this teaching format and expressed the will and availability to develop the course further.