POLITO visits UB-GEF 

As part of GreenFORCE’s teaching exchange activities, from May 13th to 17th, 2024 and from May 27th – 31st, 2024, four researchers from Politecnico di Torino enriched the academic landscape through engaging lectures and seminars for University of Belgrade—Faculty of Geography (UB-GEF) students.

The initial lectures targeted territorial and regional development by focusing on the debate of functional areas in defining metropolitan governance and mechanisms. In this context, students had the opportunity to discuss the Western Balkans territorial development trajectory and the role of international actors with local and Politecnico di Torino researchers. This collaborative effort enhanced the students’ academic experience and contributed to furthering research excellence in several fields

The second group of the teaching exchange activities, by Professor Andrea Ajmar (Ph.D.) and professor Fabio Giulio Tonolo, covered a training dedicated to the application of an “innovative” teaching method (the Team Based Learning approach (TBL)) to a well-known and consolidated quantitative analysis software methodology (the GIS-based suitability analysis). This training was done with the objective to evaluate the impact, in terms of familiarization with a relatively complex process (the suitability analysis), that can be applied in many situations in which the final solution requires to combine and weigh different inputted geospatial criteria, increase students’ engagement by means of a structured problem-solving method for in-class activities (the TBL) and stimulate discussion-led problem-solving of a real-case (or, at least, realistic) scenario, highlighting the importance of the development of communication and collaboration skills.

POLITO’s researchers also engaged in several institutional meetings with peers at the Belgrade Faculty of Geography and the newly established Republic Agency for Spatial Planning, where they discussed opportunities for cooperation in various fields.