BIP on Pedagogical Innovation Brought International Educators to Besançon

Academic staff, researchers, doctoral, and master’s students from across Europe and beyond gathered in Besançon, France, from 15 to 19 June 2026 for the 2^nd edition of the Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) on Pedagogical Innovation, this year hosted by the Marie and Louis Pasteur University (UMLP), Faculty of Law, Political Sciences, Economics and Management (UFR SJEPG) in France.

The BIP combined an online phase, consisting of three international seminars in May and June, with a week-long in-person programme in Besançon. Participants represented STARS EU partner universities from Poland, Czechia, Spain, France, Sweden, Germany, Albania, the Netherlands, and Portugal, along with hosts from Morocco and Algeria.

Rethink learning

The in-person sessions focused on topics such as active and social learning, learning design, diversity, and anti-discrimination awareness. Particularly inspiring were workshops on Wild Pedagogies, which encouraged educators to rethink learning beyond traditional classroom settings, as well as sessions dedicated to creating more inclusive and engaging learning environments.

Considerable attention was devoted to the growing impact of artificial intelligence in higher education. Participants discussed the technical foundations of AI and its pedagogical applications, reflecting on how these technologies can support teaching, assessment, and student engagement while also raising important ethical and practical questions.

The week concluded with a session on Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), during which participants were challenged to design their own COIL and explored how virtual international collaboration can connect students and educators across borders, creating meaningful intercultural learning experiences beyond traditional mobility schemes. It also highlighted new opportunities for cooperation among STARS EU institutions and their international partners.

Profesional relationships

Beyond the academic sessions, participants enjoyed a range of networking and cultural activities, including a campus tour and a visit to the historic Citadelle of Besançon. These shared experiences provided valuable opportunities for building new professional relationships and strengthening connections among colleagues from different countries and institutions.

The BIP highlighted the importance of international collaboration in higher education, offering participants fresh perspectives, practical inspiration, and opportunities for future cooperation. Building on the success of this edition, the next Blended Intensive Programme on Pedagogical Innovation will be hosted by the Bragança Polytechnic University (IPB), Portugal, where educators from across the alliance will continue sharing innovative practices and developing new collaborative initiatives.

Scientific Area: Social Science.

EXPR: Education, general; including training, pedagogy, didactics.

Name of the service: Work-integrated learning (HV).

Main responsible: Ulrika Lundhh Snis, Professor.

Category of the service: Research group.

Target group: Education, Business, Industry.

Scientific refence:

– Ludvig Sunnemark, Fredrik Sunnemark, Karl Dahlquist, Emil Gahnström, Per Assmo & Laurence Piper (2024) Bridging theory and practice through Work-Integrated Learning (WIL): critical perspectives on the conceptualisations of WIL at a university in Sweden, Critical Studies in Education, 65:4, 403-420, DOI: 10.1080/17508487.2023.2294462
– Björck, V., & Willermark, S. (2024). Where is the the ‘WIL’ in Work-integrated Learning Research? Studies in Continuing Education, https://doi.org/10.1080/0158037x.2024.2378718
– Svensson, A., Lundh Snis, U., & Bernhard, I. (2024). Special issue guest editorial: Perspectives on sustainable learning and organizing, part one. Learning Organization, 31(3), 293–298. https://doi.org/10.1108/tlo-04-2024-305
– Eklund, A., & Skyvell Nilsson, M. (2024). Program coordinators’ perspectives on implementing a transition program for newly graduated nurses : a qualitative interview study. Journal of Health Organization & Management, 38(9). https://doi.org/10.1108/jhom-01-2023-0018
– Eriksson, K. M., Carlsson, L., & Olsson, A. K. (2024). Exploring Socially Sustainable, Smart Manufacturing: Building Bridges Over Troubled Waters. Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-38165-2_96

Offer description:

Work-integrated learning (WIL) is continuously and strategically developed for the renewal of scientific knowledge that focuses on the relationship between working life and learning. Based on contemporary and future problems and societal challenges, research is made relevant and that it can make a difference more quickly. Internationally, there are different views on what is and should be the subject of research on work-integrated learning. In the Anglo-Saxon WIL perspective, research is focused on the relationship between student-university-employer and should rather be seen as work-integrated education rather than work-integrated learning. At University West there is an inclusive and unique view of WIL that consists of a mix of the Anglo-Saxon WIL perspective with a focus on student learning, Work-integrated education and the Workplace learning perspective. The definition of WIL is set out as an interdisciplinary postgraduate subject with connections primarily to the social sciences and humanities. The subject is defined by the fact that problems are focused on the relationship between working life and learning. Working life is defined broadly and also includes forms other than traditional paid work. The term learning is understood in a broad sense and includes change and socialization processes linked to knowledge and competence. The WIL research group consists of researchers, doctoral students and students who are part of research and education connected to WIL. The research group is interdisciplinary where researchers with a multidisciplinary background come together, primarily from the social sciences and humanities. The exchange of knowledge and collaboration with other social actors and universities in Sweden and internationally is central. These create conditions for research collaboration and invite transdisciplinary working methods to develop in-depth knowledge of WIL, regionally and globally. The Swedish name for the research group is KAM AIL, while the English name for the research group is CIWIL (Current Issues in Work-Integrated Learning).

Scientific Area: Social Science.

EXPR: Education-general; including training, pedagogy, didactics.

Name of the service: Centre for Research in Basic Education (CIEB) – IPB.

Main responsible: Cristina Mesquita | Doctor | Scientific coordinator.

Category of the service: Research Centre.

Target group: Public and private basic education institutions.

Scientific refence: 

ORCID

Cristina Mesquita received her PhD in Science of Education – Children Studies by the University of Minho, Portugal, in which she defended the thesis “The Children’s Voice in Pedagogical Innovation”. She also received her Master’s in Science Education, area of specialisation in Teacher Education, from the University of Lisbon, where she defended the thesis “Learning to be a Teacher of Early Childhood Education: Theories and Practices”. She also has twelve years of experience as an early childhood education teacher, plus fifteen years of experience in higher education. She has been responsible for Childhood Pedagogy and Supervision in teachers’ training courses. She also has training in language didactics in early childhood education. Currently, she is a professor in the Social Sciences Department of the School of Education of the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança. She is the director of the Master of Early Childhood Education and Primary Education. During her career, she authored several national and international publications focusing in education, praxeology and social and children pedagogy.

Offer description:

CIEB, the Centre for Research in Basic Education, is a research unit applied to the specificities of basic education, understood as a fundamental basis for learning and the development of societies.

The CIEB is centred on a holistic vision of education that articulates the curriculum, the initial and ongoing training of teachers and educators, collaborative work with contexts, pedagogy and specific didactics, and applied research, with the aim of promoting innovation and the quality of students’ learning and the development of professionals.

The mission stemming from this vision of education is to develop pedagogical intervention projects centred on cooperative support for the learning of students and their families, promoting their educational and social success through training and collaborative work with professionals, and building and developing a systematised body of technical-scientific knowledge that can be used as a reference and fundamental basis for designing, implementing and evaluating intervention projects/programmes and educational change.