United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals and Co-Creation

This summer school unfolds the United Nations’ sustainable development goals through student participation in a cross cultural and cross educational context. You will get a unique opportunity to obtain new knowledge, while learning to solve real-life problems related to the Sustainable Development Goals through problem-based learning.

Type

Summer School

Duration

4 weeks

Campus city

Aarhus C

Study start

28 July 2025

About the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals summer school

  • Dates

    28 July – 22 August 2025

    Language

    English - please note that VIA University College requires students attending VIA Summer School to be fluent in English. All summer schools require active participation both orally and in writing. This means students must have an English level of at least B2 (CEFR scale) upon arrival. You can find more information about language requirements here

    Credits

    10 ECTS

    Academic level

    BA level

    Prerequisites

    Students must have completed 1.5 years of studies at bachelor level

    Students must be at least 18 years old to apply

    Maximum enrolment

    Maximum 40 participants. Students are accepted according to a first come, first served basis

    Application deadline

    1 April 2025

    Location

    VIA University College, Campus Aarhus C, Ceresbyen 24, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark

  • Content

    This Summer School unfolds the United Nations’ sustainable development goals through student participation in a cross-cultural and cross-educational context. The goals derive from the United Nations’ international agreements on processing towards explicit sustainability in 2030.

    They are unique in that they call for action from all countries; poor, rich and middle-income alike to promote prosperity, all the while protecting the planet. The course will focus on global topics related to the sustainable development goals.

    As an important part of the summer school, you will get real-life challenges from co-creative partners outside VIA University College. The co-creative partners can be NGOs, private companies, socio-economic companies/organisations or public authorities. Students are free to choose among several challenges all related to the UN’s 17 SDGs. You will work in close cooperation with the partners to find relevant and useful solutions to the challenges. The solutions will contribute to the partners’ daily activities. The course focuses mainly on goals related to issues such as social equality and social inclusion, nutrition, health and culture combined with environmental issues. 

    Method

    A great part of the teaching is based on the pedagogical concept: Problem-oriented project work. The teaching will deal with real-life challenges and solutions related to UN’s 17 SDG and a large part of the teaching and the learning processes will take place outside the classroom. You will use fieldwork as an important method of bringing data into the classroom. During the course, you will visit companies who work with the UN’s 17 SDG’s in their daily operations.

    The methods of working are based on presentations, discussions and dialogue. It is therefore necessary that students taking part in this course are ready to use their competences in spoken English from day one.

    We expect full attendance and active involvement in class, when being on field visits, while doing presentations in class and, when working with the co-creation exam project with the external project partner.

    Learning outcomes

    Knowledge

    • The UN’s 17 SDGs in local, national and global contexts
    • Topics and challenges related to the UN’s 17 SDGs
    • How professional explorative processes can be initiated with others in relation to the global topics
    • How the student’s own professional practice, as well as the profession’s duties and areas of responsibility, can create added value in a cross cultural and interdisciplinary contexts

    Skills

    • Create and make use of network
    • Reflect and work explorative to solve challenges related to UN’s 17 SDGs
    • Use innovative methods and principles in problem-solving
    • Use fieldwork and research methods

    Competencies

    • Develop innovative ideas for small improvements and solutions for the real-life challenges
    • Combine theoretical and practice-based knowledge with innovative study and work forms
    • Facilitate and communicate a cross cultural project for internal and external partners
    • Provide co-creational yields through community involvement in different contexts

    Exam

    A group-based written assignment followed by an oral examination in groups. During the oral examination, students will partly be examined individually, and all students will be graded individually. 

    The summer school is based on the learning objectives in the curriculum of VIA Physiotherapy, p. 33-34 (Danish)

     

  • EU-citizens = 8.900 DKK
    Non-EU citizens = 12.800 DKK*

    *Prices are subject to change

    Tuition fee waivers

    Students from VIA, VIA's partner institutions abroad and other Danish institutions are eligible for tuition fee waivers for this course, if they can provide documentation for approval of credit transfer.

    Course fee includes

    Classes and tuition
    Electronic graduation certificate

    Accommodation, meals (food and drink), insurance, visa and travelling expenses to and from Denmark are not included in the fee.

    Note: This course is offered as a part of the regular bachelor programmes. Seats available after allocating seats to credit-transfer students from VIA University College, Danish Higher Educational Institutions and partner institutions are offered under the Empty-place Scheme and the rules of Danish Open University. You must meet the admission requirements for the degree programme under which the course is offered. If you have any doubt or questions regarding this please do not hesitate to contact VIA Summer School.

  • Apply now

    Apply here

    For more information about the application process go to How to apply to Summer School.

    If you are a student from VIA Physiotherapy you do not have to provide us with a credit transfer.

    Contact us via email

    VIA Summer School

    summerschool@via.dk

    Please note: If you are accepted, please wait for a final confirmation that the course will be held as a minimum number of students is required to run the course.

    Please do not enter any cost-commitments (such as visa applications, travel etc.) before you have received written confirmation from VIA Summer School that the course will be arranged, since VIA has no possibility to reimburse costs when courses are cancelled.

Meet former students