Moving the Cities

 

**In 2024 Moving the Cities is heading to BRAZIL!**

MOVING THE CITIES is a team-based project with students from Germany, Brazil, Austria, Chile, the US, and the UK addressing major global issues.

This one credit course aims to develop students’ innovation and entrepreneurial skills while immersed in a collaborative multicultural experience. Students in cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary teams will practice design thinking methods to formulate innovative solutions addressing the current challenges of their cities, regions, or ecosystems. These challenges are drawn from the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Expert coaches and mentors will guide the students through a “digital accelerator” using lean methodologies to help conceptualize and develop their ideas. 

  • More than 100 students from 10 universities and 6 countries are expected to participate
  • For Fall 2024, this program will be run in a hybrid design.  Students will participate in one week of remote onboarding and preparation followed by one week in country. 
    • ​Week 1: remote onboarding & preparation for the program. Students will be required to attend 1-2 synchronous meetings during this week but all other work will be asynchronous. 
    • Week 2: in-country program (Brazil) - hosted by UNISINOS
      • NOTE: Students will need to arrange to miss courses/classes during this week. All missed course work is the responsibility of the  student to arrange with their faculty members prior to the program.

 

Key dimensions to the program:

  • Address key societal challenges from around the world in your multinational student team
  • Professional and methodical input to help your team solve the challenge is provided from coaches and mentors from around the world.
  • Great way to enhance your professional profile and network with leaders from many parts of the world.
  • Meet students from around the world.
  • Cultural explorations of the area will enhance the students understanding of the host country. 
  • For IE students:  this program satisfies Option A of the IE international requirement (approved international experience). 
  • For the Innovation, Product Design, and Entrepreneurship (IPDE) certificate:  this program fulfills the entrepreneurship requirement section. More info can be found on the SSOE Intranet.

see sample  Final Pitch from 2021

 

 

Application process and requirements: 

  • Open to SSOE students - must be in their second year or higher
  • Must have a 2.75 GPA
  • Must apply by the deadline- rolling admission through May 15, 2024 11:59 pm.  Please click the "apply now" button to apply. 



This is a proposed Fall 2024 semester program. The course will have one week of virtual onboarding and then travel, all in late October, 2024.

 

Please note, program subject to minimum number of accepted/enrolled students to run. 

Where You'll Live: 

Students from all of the participating universities will stay at a hotel in Sao Leopoldo directly across from UNISINOS university. The hotel will have common areas where students can meet to work on their project and/or just hang out and get to know each other.  Students will be housed with 1-3 roommates per room.

 

 

What You'll Study: 

 

This one credit course aims to develop students' innovation and entrepreneurial skills, while immersed in a collaborative multicultural experience. Students in cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary teams will practice design thinking methods to formulate innovative solutions, addressing the current challenges of their cities, regions, and/or ecosystems. These challenges are drawn from the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Expert coaches and mentors will guide students through a "digital accelerator" using lean methodologies to help conceptualize and develop their ideas. 

The program culminates with student teams pitching their sustainable startup ideas to a panel of expert judges. More than 100 students from 10 universities and 6 countries are expected to participate.

Student learning will be integrated into remote pre-travel onboarding and preparation, a mentor and coach guided challenge, the group challenge experience in cross cultural teams and cultural explorations in and around the host city.    

 

Please note, program subject to minimum number of accepted/enrolled students to run. 

 

Moving the Cities (ENGR1624)
Syllabus:
PDF icon Download Moving_the_Cities_Syllabus_DRAFT.pdf (222.87 KB)
Your Pitt Study Abroad Contacts: 

Alicia JF Olalde, M.A.

Hello! Konnichiwa! I am the Director for Global Experiences and Engagement in the Swanson School of Engineering.  After working for the JET program in Japan for just over two years, I decided to pursue a career in international education. I returned to the US via a few months of travel -slowing making my way west with many stops in stunning locations and with amazing people. Whenever possible, I continue  explore new countries and cultures and have had the good fortune to work, study and travel all over the world. I have been fortunate to work both as an administrator and as a classroom educator in higher education; my areas of interest are international, adult and comparative education.  I enjoy assisting engineering students seize global opportunities! 

E-mail: 
a.olalde@pitt.edu

Schedule an appointment

SSOE students: schedule an appointment with me using Pathways via this link!

non-SSOE students-- send me an email and we'll set up a time to meet!

 

Your In-Country Contacts: 

Brandon Barber

Faculty Lead for Moving the Cities

Brandon Barber brings over 15 years of interdisciplinary design and engineering experience spanning the fields of product development, robotics, and architecture. Having founded a boutique design firm which worked with global clients, his projects can be found all over the world.  He currently works in the Swanson School of Engineering teaching in the Bioengineering program, leading a design engineering lab, overseeing the Pitt XProjects, and helping to run the Pitt Makerspaces. Brandon’s interests include human centered design, digital fabrication, and the integration of emerging technologies into design and prototyping workflows.   BioE Design, Innovation, and Outreach Coordinator

  In-State Out-of-State
Program Fee* billed by Pitt (see the "What's included" section) 1,700 1,900

Estimated Additional Expenses

(meals and personal expenses)

Travel to /from Pittsburgh (airfare) 

 

$300-500

 

varies

$300-500

 

varies
There may be additional costs associated with applying for a visa and/or traveling to an embassy or consulate.   As of April 2024, Brazil has postponed the reinstatement of visas  for US passport holders until April 2025.  More information can be found at the Brazilian e-visa site.  For students who are not US passport holders, the price and process to receive a visa to Brazil will be different,  and may necesitate travel to a consulate or embassy to obtain a visa. 

 

Please note,

  • This program is subject to minimum number of accepted/enrolled students to run. 
  • This class operates outside of normal tuition and fee schedules and cannot be combined nor included in full-term tuition pricing. Please consult the program manager with any questions

 

What's Included: 

As part of the program fee, the following are included:

  • 1 credit course
  • Participation fees for the Moving the Cities program
  • All academic-related excursions
  • Hostel
  • Some meals 

Please note,

  • This program is subject to minimum number of accepted/enrolled students to run. 
  • This class operates outside of normal tuition and fee schedules and cannot be combined nor included in full-term tuition pricing. Please consult the program manager with any questions

 

When You'll Go: 

For Fall 2024, this program will be run in a hybrid design. Students will participate in one week of remote, asynchronous, onboarding and preparation followed by one week in country at the end of October.

tentative dates:  in Brazil: October 27- November 1, 2024 (arrival date may be October 26 or 27)