As universities across Europe and beyond face increasing pressure to address climate change, resource scarcity, and sustainability challenges, new approaches to learning and innovation are urgently needed. CIRCULAR CAMPUS 2030 responds to this need with an ambitious international programme that combines education, collaboration, and hands-on problem-solving to reimagine the university campus as a living laboratory for circular and sustainable transformation.

This activity is structured as a progressive learning journey over the course of five months, guiding participants from foundational knowledge to real-world application, through a carefully designed sequence of online workshops, an immersive on-site experience, and a final innovation hackathon.

The journey begins with three online interdisciplinary workshops that build a shared conceptual and methodological foundation. Participants explore key dimensions of circular campus transformation, including water circularity and circular water systems, sustainability impact assessment and stakeholder-driven prioritisation, and circular waste management and waste-to-resource systems. These sessions provide essential analytical tools and frameworks that enable participants to understand campus systems from a holistic and sustainability-oriented perspective.

Building on this foundation, selected participants come together in Istanbul for a two-day on-site workshop focused on integrated campus systems and spatial strategies. This phase shifts the learning experience from theory to practice, encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration and enabling participants to engage directly with complex, real-world scenarios. Teams begin to connect system thinking with spatial and operational approaches to campus transformation.

The programme concludes in Bucharest with a dynamic hackathon titled “From Campus Systems to Circular Living Labs.” Here, participants collaborate intensively to design integrated solutions for resource-efficient and climate-resilient universities. This final stage fosters creativity, innovation, and teamwork, challenging students to transform their knowledge into actionable proposals with real impact potential.

As universities continue to evolve in response to global environmental challenges, initiatives like CIRCULAR CAMPUS 2030 demonstrate how education can move beyond the classroom and become a catalyst for meaningful transformation.

Participation

The online workshops is open to students affiliated with EELISA institutions who meet the following conditions:

• Undergraduate students having completed at least half of their Bachelor studies (preferably students in the final part of the 2nd year or in the 3rd year), as well as Master and PhD students.

• Academic background or interest in fields connected to sustainability, circular economy, energy systems, architecture, urban studies, environmental sciences, engineering, governance or related interdisciplinary domains.

• Demonstrated interest in circular transition, climate resilience, sustainable campuses and Agenda 2030 objectives.

• Motivation to participate in interdisciplinary and international collaboration activities.

• Willingness to actively contribute throughout the duration of the programme.

• Openness towards research-based and challenge-based learning methodologies.

• Ability to work collaboratively in multicultural and interdisciplinary teams.

• Sufficient English communication skills to participate in discussions and collaborative activities. The online workshops are designed to provide participants with a shared theoretical, methodological and conceptual foundation necessary for the following stages of the project. Students who are not covered by this funding are encouraged to contact the EELISA coordinator at their institution to explore alternative support options.

WHEN

From December 12, 2026  to April 16, 2027

WHERE

Online

Onsite in Istanbul and Bucharest

APPLICATION

Deadline for application may vary depending on the activity, please check the Digital Campus.

Application is open until 1 Speteember 2026 via Digital Campus

 CIRCULAR CAMPUS 2030 Programme