EmpACT i3 Employability with imPACT

What is EmPACT i3?

"Employability with imPACT" is a project that involves a transdisciplinary community of university students, faculty and public and private entities to develop knowledge and skills in future professionals who will be able to make an impact on the transition challenges of the Nouvelle Aquitaine-Euskadi cross-border territory.

What areas are addressed?

It proposes three areas based on the Challenge Based Education (CBE) approach:

• Health and sustainability of the oceans with focus on plastic pollution
• Marine renewable energies
• Circular economy

What implies to be member of EmPACT i3 community?

Students develop challenge-oriented research projects guided by the faculty and define a micro-project associated with their research in collaboration with an entity on the other side of the border. They will also have the opportunity to carry out a 1-week mobility in the entity to immerse themselves in the working culture and the cross-border socio-cultural environment. The entire EmPACT i3 community will also participate in 3 cross-border intercultural and multilingual workshops.

On this occasion, students, teachers and local entities will share the progress of their projects, their mobility experiences and they will build a transdisciplinary and cross-border vision on the transition challenges associated with the three main areas. EmPACT i3 offers high-impact training experiences that prepare the students for employability with cross-border projection and impact on transition challenges.

Employability with impact on transitions is promoted by three ways:

• a shared vision on the needs of the territory in knowledge and competences,
• a professional orientation for transition problems by the immersion of the students in the micro-projects in collaboration with the entities,
• innovation of knowledge and competences within the entities inspired by the students' research projects.

Why i3?

The project is being developed jointly by the University of the Basque Country, the University of Bordeaux-Nouvelle Aquitaine and Euskampus Fundazioa within the framework of the Campus Euskampus Bordeaux strategic alliance and is funded by the Interreg POCTEFA VI Programme (2021-2027).

This project is built on the experience of the Ocean i3 project. * i3 refers in Basque to:

• Ikaskuntza/Learning,
• Ikerkuntza/Research,
• Iraunkortasuna/Sustainable Development

which is the educational model of the University of the Basque Country.