ENGAGE.EU Winter School 2027 in Mannheim
Topic: Cultural Perspectives on Sustainability
Dates: 11–22 January 2027
- online kick-off 16 December 2026
- on-campus session 11–22 January 2027 at the University of Mannheim
Location: Online and at the University of Mannheim (Germany)
Language of instruction: English
Transcripts: After successful completion of the programme, incl. exam, 3 ECTS and a certificate will be awarded. Mannheim students who complete a 10–15-page term paper will be granted 6 ECTS in accordance with the IKW module (S International Cultural Studies)
Application phase: 1 October – 15 October 2026 (23:59 CET)
About ENGAGE.EU Winter Schools
ENGAGE.EU Winter Schools are intensive programmes taught by professors and lecturers from ENGAGE.EU universities. In line with the general ENGAGE.EU goals, these programmes aim to provide a forum for interdisciplinary academic exchange and learning on current societal challenges. Winter Schools aim to equip students with hard and soft skills needed to tackle these challenges and act as responsible future leaders. Additionally, a social programme will be offered to foster networking opportunities and intercultural competencies.
Academic programme
The ENGAGE.EU Winter School Cultural Perspectives on Sustainability is an intensive, two-week winter programme with a mix of virtual and in-person elements for bachelor’s students from all fields of studies, hosted by the University of Mannheim’s School of Humanities in January 2027.
The overall aim of the winter school is to provide you with state-of-the-art knowledge and skills on sustainability in the humanities (and adjacent fields) across Europe. Interdisciplinary academic exchange and intercultural experiences are central elements of the programme. Rather than approaching sustainability solely through business and AI-centred lenses (which are also part of the winter school), the programme deliberately intertwines technocratic perspectives with insights from the humanities, including ethical, cultural, historical, and philosophical inquiry. This integrated approach enables participants to develop a more holistic understanding of social and ecological sustainability and of the values, narratives, and power structures that shape contemporary responses to global challenges. Mannheim and the wider Rhine-Neckar region will serve as a living laboratory, allowing participants to engage in hands-on field research and to investigate sustainability challenges and transformation processes in real-world settings. In line with the general ENGAGE.EU goals, you will be equipped with hard and soft skills needed to tackle societal challenges and act as responsible future leaders.
The winter school takes place from 11 to 22 January 2027 with an online component on 16 December between 4 and 6 pm. Attendance and active participation in both course components are prerequisites for the successful completion of the winter school.
Dates and additional details
Online kick-off:- The compulsory online kick-off will take place on Wednesday, 16 December from 16:00 h – 18:00 h CET
- During the kick-off, you will be provided with all necessary information pertaining to travel, accommodation, as well as the exact programme for the winter school
- After that, you will partake in the online workshop “Successful collaboration across cultures for sustainable value creation” (Dr. Annelise Ly, Associate Professor at the Department of Professional and Intercultural Communication at Norwegian School of Economics, NHH Bergen, Norway)
- The following on-campus academic workshops are planned for the winter school, exact times to be announced.
- To guarantee a productive learning environment, participants will be split into two groups, with group A taking the workshop at a different time from group B.
- You are required to attend each of the workshops, as well as to present a project at the end of week two to obtain credits.
| Workshop Title | Lecturer |
| Who Gets Recommended? Digital Platforms, AI Biases and Sustainable Urban Life | Carsten Nickel, PhD Researcher and Lecturer at Vienna University of Business and Economics, Austria |
| Finance, Equality, and Sustainable Future | Dr. Emilia Vähämaa, Associate Professor of Finance at Hanken School of Economics, Finland |
| City, Voice, Inclusion: Urban Communicative Ecologies and the Conditions for Diversity | Dr. Emiliana de Blasio, Professor of Sociology of Communication and Culture, LUISS Guido Carli University, Rome |
| Constructing Communities, Creating a Home? Migration, Transnational Communities, and Diasporas | Naomi Niemann, PhD Candidate at the Historical Institute of the University of Mannheim |
| Learning to Pay Attention: Poetry, Nature, and the City | Dorotea Rossi Kriscak, PhD Candidate in Strategy and Sustainability at Norwegian School of Economics (NHH Bergen) |
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- The second on-campus week is dedicated to project-based fieldwork. Beyond the classroom, Mannheim, the Rhine-Neckar region, as well as the Palatinate will become an integral part of the learning experience. As a dynamic site of ongoing cultural, social, economic, technological, and ecological transformation, the region offers a unique laboratory for field-based exploration. Through excursions, stakeholder engagement, and collaborative research activities, participants will develop a grounded understanding of how sustainability is negotiated, contested, and implemented in everyday contexts.
- The course programme and practical experiences will be complemented by social events, including opportunities to network with fellow students and explore Mannheim.
- Overview of the on-campus week and its programme will follow.
Timetable
16. December, 4 – 6 pm:
Online Kick-off and Preliminary Workshop: Successful collaboration across cultures for sustainable value creation (Ass. Prof. Dr. Annelise Ly, NHH Bergen)
| Monday 11.01. | Tuesday 12.01. | Wednesday 13.01. | Thursday 14.01. | Friday 15.01. | |
| morning | 9:00 Registration 9.30h 10:00 – 10:30: 10:30 – 11:00: 11:00 – 12:00: | 9:00 Check-in 9:30 – 1:30: Group B: | 9:00 Check-in 9:30 – 1:30: Group B: | 9:00 Check-in 9:30 – 1:30: | 9:00 Check-in 9:30 – 1:30: |
| lunchtime | 12:00 – 13:30: Pizza lunch | 13:30 – 14:30: Lunch break (self-organized) | 13:30 – 14:30: Lunch break (self-organized) | Drive to Schwetzingen by bus + quick bus lunch (provided) | |
| afternoon | 13:30 – 15:00: 15:00 – 16:30: | 14:30 – 18:30: Group A: Workshop III: “City, Voice, Inclusion: Urban Communicative Ecologies and the Conditions for Diversity”Group B: Workshop IV: “Constructing Communities, Creating a Home? Migration, Transnational Communities, and Diasporas” | 14:30 – 18:30: Group A: Workshop IV: “Constructing Communities, Creating a Home? Migration, Transnational Communities, and Diasporas”Group B: Workshop III: “City, Voice, Inclusion: Urban Communicative Ecologies and the Conditions for Diversity” | 14:30 – 17:00: 17:00 – 18:00: | |
| evening | 19:00: Welcome Drinks | 19:00 Pub Quiz | 19:00: Curated Cinema Visit |
| Monday 18.01. | Tuesday 19.01. | Wednesday 20.01. | Thursday 21.01. | Friday 22.01. | |
| morning | 9:00 Check-in 09:30 – 12:00: | 9:00 Check-in 09:30 – 17:00: | Check-in at 8:00, 8:30 – 13:00 | 9:00 Check-in 09:30 – 17:00: | 9:00 Check-in 09:30-13:30: |
| lunchtime | 12:30 – 13:30: Lunch Break (self-organized) | Lunch break (self-organized) | 13:00 – 14:00 Lunch at Klima Arena | Lunch break (self-organized) | 13:30 – 14:30: Final Pizza Lunch |
| afternoon | 13:30 – 17:00: Field work: Linguistic Landscaping/ Migration in Mannheim/ Mannheim’s Economy/ Mannheim and Accessibility | Time for individual group work on projects + Career Workshops | 14:00 – 14:30 Bus ride back to Mannheim | Time for individual group work on projects + Career Workshops | 14:30 – 15:30: Wrap-Up and Award Ceremony |
| evening | 18:00 – 21:00: Social Event |
Practical information
Accommodation:
Please note that accommodation is not included. The University of Mannheim assists by providing accommodation suggestions, but you are not bound to these options.
Scholarship Support:
Successful applicants may be eligible to receive financial support (ERASMUS or other) from their home universities. Please contact your university’s ENGAGE.EU coordinator to learn more about this.
Fees:
There won’t be any tuition fees for participating in the Winter School.
Application
Your profile
This ENGAGE.EU Winter School is targeted toward students of any citizenship who are enrolled in an undergraduate study programme at one of the ENGAGE.EU alliance universities (University of Mannheim, Hanken School of Economics, LUISS University, NHH Norwegian School of Economics, Ramon Llull University, Tilburg University, University of National and World Economy, University of St.Gallen, Université Toulouse Capitole, Vienna University of Economics and Business). Since the Winter School is an interdisciplinary programme, students from diverse backgrounds (such as business, economics, law, social sciences, humanities) are strongly encouraged to apply as long as they meet the following requirements:
- You must be enrolled in an undergraduate study programme at one of the ENGAGE.EU partner universities.
- You must have completed at least 60 ECTS credits by the time of application to the Winter School, i.e., by 15 October 2026.
- You should have a strong interest in examining the social, cultural, economic, digital, and ethical dimensions of sustainability challenges and in engaging with these questions through interactive workshops, case studies, and collaborative discussions.
Application procedure
In order to apply for the ENGAGE.EU Winter School, you need to fill in the online application form below, and upload all necessary supporting documents, including:
- Motivation statement: A 2-minute maximum video explaining your background (education, work experience, language skills, study/work abroad experience, other relevant skills and experiences), as well as your interest and motivation for the topic of the Summer School. The video format is free (slides recording with voice-over, recording of yourself speaking in front of the camera, an animated video, etc.) Please note that this document needs to be in English. The motivation statement will be evaluated according to the following criteria: coherent and relevant argumentation, creativity, innovativeness.
- Academic transcript of records (in the official language of the applicant’s home university or in English).
Applications will open on 1 October 2026. The deadline for applications is 15 October 2026 (23:59 CET).
All applicants who submit their complete application on time will be informed about the status of their applications via email by early November.
Selection procedure
Candidates will be evaluated based on their motivation statement, academic record, and academic progress. A limited number of students per partner university will be accepted to the winter school.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Nico Stab at winterschool.phil@uni-mannheim.de.
Need help with eJourney?
For technical issues or problems with eJourney, please contact support-ejourney@uni-mannheim.de or visit the eJourney Online Help.
For questions regarding the application process or the offers, please get in touch with your ENGAGE.EU contact or ERASMUS office at your university.
Note:
If applicable, participants shall be responsible for obtaining their own visas /student residence permit and completing the required immigration formalities, as well as for obtaining the travel documents and other related documents needed to pursue studies at the host university or another participating university.
During the events, participants shall be subject to the rules, regulations, policies, procedures, codes and norms which are in force at the host university.
Violation of host country law by the participant may subject the student to withdrawal of the immigration status and scholarship.
For any physical mobility related to the event, participants will be required to carry adequate health insurance and need to ensure that their insurance will cover the potential costs of health care during that period.
Contact
Kathrin Blitzke
ENGAGE.EU Local Work Package Coordinator ENGAGE.EU Programmes (WP3)
Working from home every Monday, Wednesday and Friday; available only via E-Mail on these days.
Selina Allegro, M.Sc.
Project Management ENGAGE.EU Short Programmes
University of Mannheim
Teaching and Learning Center
L 9, 6 – Room 007
68161 Mannheim