Grisons and Rotterdam Universities of Applied Sciences design cities of the future

The University of Applied Sciences of the Grisons (UAS) and Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences have signed a cooperation agreement. The cooperation was finalized during the Sketchcity study week attended by students from both institutions, according to a statement. The launch of the new cooperation brought together 200 students from the fields of urban planning and multimedia production from Chur, Bern and Rotterdam.

The agreement originated out of the Sketchcity project, which the UAS Grisons has been conducting in the Netherlands since 2016. The cooperation is expected to conceive innovative ideas for the urban design of the future through interdisciplinary teaching and learning, as well as research, according to the statement. "We are connected by the Rhine, which symbolizes this cooperation," commented Professor Bruno Studer, Head of the Department of Applied Future Technologies at the UAS Grisons.

Given the existing contacts and positive experiences made thanks to the Sketchcity project, the two universities decided to intensify their collaboration, writes the statement. The basis of the cooperation is the Swiss method Sketch&Draw, which can be used as a visual development and innovation tool. The underlying idea is to enable co-creation, co-teaching and research with visual means.

"We all need a visual tool to design the future. Sketches have always been the basis of development in academic research," commented Tanja Hess, who created the Sketch&Draw method. She is a Professor of Visualization in the Multimedia Production bachelor's program at the UAS Grisons and Bern University of Applied Sciences. ce/gba