„Urban Regulations and Political Memory: Towards Understanding Spatio-Temporal Aspects of Urban Development” is an international, interdisciplinary course organised by five 4EU+ member universities: University of Warsaw, University of Milan, Charles University, Sorbonne University, Heidelberg University as part of the 4EU+ joint educational offer during the academic year 2026/2027.
Key topics of the course are the driving forces of urban changes, development of smart cities and interdisciplinary methodologies of urban studies. The course is developed as part of an educational project which addresses changes in the conditions of the urban development of smart cities in Poland, Italy, Czechia and Germany, according to three dimensions: past (history), present (law) and future (geography). Emphasis is put on integrated and interdisciplinary approach in order to help students understand the complexity of new urban centres in which real estate development must coexist with the protection of the environment and with the history and heritage of the local community.
The course will be conducted by an interdisciplinary team of historians, lawyers, geographers, urbanists and educational sciences specialists.
Course dates: virtual part – Wednesdays afternoons, starting from 14 October 2026 (13:15-14:45 / 13:15-15:45 / 13:15-16:30); on-site part 24-26 February 2027 at Heidelberg University
Language of instruction: English.
Number of online didactic hours: 51 (lectures and workshops): 35 virtual hours (October 2026 – January 2027), 16 on-site hours (24-26 February 2027)
Assessment methods and conditions for obtaining credit:
Individual work: individual reflective portfolio – students are required to submit 2/3 sides reflective portfolio consisting of reflections on two selected lessons.
Group work: group reflective portfolio (students are required to submit 4/5 sides reflective portfolio consisting of final reflection on the entire online course highlighting major learning outcomes) and group work during the students’ conference (students will work collaboratively in interdisciplinary and international groups. Each group will be expected to actively participate in on-site urban research activity and to present a joint outcome).
ECTS: 6 (University of Milan: history and law – only MA students).
Application and selection:
The students will be selected based on their CVs and motivation letters. The deadline for sending the documents is 23 September 2026. The CV and the motivation letter should be sent as a single PDF document to unread@wpia.uw.edu.pl. The file's name should contain the applicant's name (surname_name.pdf), and the subject of the email should be "UNREAD recruitment”. The motivation letter should indicate the students’ objectives and motivations for taking the course. The motivation letter should not exceed 1,000 characters.
Read about previous editions of the course:
2026: UNREAD Winter School and Conference at the University of Warsaw
2025: Exploring urban sustainability: UNREAD project conference in Prague
2024: UNREAD project conference in Milan
2023: 4EU+ UNREAD project successfully finalises its second edition
2022: Fifty participants meet at the UNREAD project conference in Warsaw