Department of Energy Hosts the ENHANCE Blended Intensive Programme on the Water-Energy-Food Nexus
The Department of Energy at Politecnico di Milano hosted the Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) “Co-Design of Water-Energy-Food Nexus Sustainable Solutions and Scenarios with the Use of Virtual Reality”, an international initiative developed within the framework of the ENHANCE Alliance, the European alliance of technological universities funded by the Erasmus+ programme. The Alliance promotes the development of joint educational programmes, international mobility, and the creation of a truly European university campus.
The initiative brought together 28 students from six European countries—Italy, Germany, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and Switzerland—offering an international learning experience jointly designed and delivered by four universities of the ENHANCE Alliance: Politecnico di Milano (PoliMi), RWTH Aachen University, Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin), and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). The programme focused on the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus, one of the most relevant areas for global sustainability, with particular emphasis on the interconnections between water resources, energy systems, and food production.
Following five weeks of online activities dedicated to the fundamentals of the WEF Nexus, sustainable energy planning, water scarcity, food supply chains, and the Sustainable Development Goals, the programme concluded with an intensive on-campus week at Politecnico di Milano’s Bovisa Campus, fostering exchange and collaboration among students from diverse academic, cultural, and disciplinary backgrounds.
International Education Through Modelling, Innovation, and Collaborative Learning
During the on-campus week, students worked in international teams using modelling tools for integrated Water-Energy-Food Nexus analysis, open-source software, and international databases to assess water demand and availability, renewable energy production, and sustainable development scenarios. The programme concluded with presentations of projects developed by multidisciplinary teams, enabling participants to apply technical knowledge, collaborative skills, and systems-thinking approaches to sustainable design.
The programme also introduced innovative teaching methodologies through LEGO® Serious Play® sessions dedicated to the co-design of sustainable solutions, alongside immersive Virtual Reality activities used to explore and evaluate practical WEF Nexus scenarios. The objective was not only to transfer knowledge but also to foster creativity, systems thinking, and international collaboration—key elements of the educational approach promoted by the ENHANCE Alliance.
The initiative represents a concrete example of the added value of the ENHANCE Alliance. Through its Blended Intensive Programmes, students can attend modules jointly designed and taught by faculty members from different European universities, experience innovative teaching methods, and develop interdisciplinary competences in an international learning environment.
The Department of Energy’s Contribution to the ENHANCE Alliance
The programme was scientifically coordinated by Prof. Riccardo Mereu and Eng. Andrea Valese from the Department of Energy at Politecnico di Milano, in collaboration with Prof. Dr.-Ing. Heribert Nacken, Florian Balmes, and Daniel Murillo Jaramillo from RWTH Aachen University; Prof. Dr. Nina Langen and Dr.-Ing. Birgit Rumpold from Technische Universität Berlin; and Dr. Tatiana González Grandón from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).
The close collaboration among the partner institutions enabled the integration of complementary expertise in the fields of energy systems, water resources, food sustainability, and the digital transformation of education.
Special thanks to Rebecca Prudenziati and the team at the International Relations Office of Politecnico di Milano for their invaluable organizational support and their continued dedication to the successful implementation of the program.
"The challenges associated with the Water-Energy-Food Nexus require interdisciplinary expertise and strong international collaboration. Through this Blended Intensive Programme, we provided students with an environment in which they could engage with complex challenges, work in multicultural teams, and explore innovative approaches to designing sustainable solutions. This is the true added value of the ENHANCE Alliance: creating genuinely European educational pathways in which universities, students, and faculty work together to address the major challenges of the energy transition and sustainable development."
