Looking for a European, hands-on learning experience beyond the lecture hall? From 18 to 20 May 2026, students and staff from Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) joined the UNIC CityLab "Perspective on Sustainability: Case Study of the City of Zagreb," hosted by the University of Zagreb.
Over three days, they used Zagreb as a living case study for sustainability, the circular economy, climate resilience, urban mobility and collaborative governance — co-creating with the City of Zagreb, local researchers and civil society. The CityLab was made possible by the A.A. van Beek Fund and organised by the UNIC Centre for City Futures and the University of Zagreb, with EUR's Alberto Quintavalla, Renée Knoop and Deniz Karagoz.
What is a UNIC CityLab?
UNIC CityLabs are applied, collaborative challenges in which universities, cities and communities work together on real urban issues. They are a key engagement instrument of the UNIC Centre for City Futures, a transnational urban living lab. UNIC — the European University of Post-Industrial Cities — is an alliance of ten European universities, including EUR, that share the kind of industrial-transition challenges Rotterdam knows well. For EUR, the alliance is a cornerstone of its Strategy 2030: a way to build European education and research with partners while staying, "globally connected, locally embedded."
Sustainability, up close in a post-industrial city
This edition built on the award-winning Perspectives on Sustainability series — previously hosted in Cork and Bilbao, and recognised with the inaugural UNIC Best CityLab Award. In Zagreb, the question was how a post-industrial city can become greener, fairer and more resilient: one of the challenges at the heart of EUR's mission. Through lectures, workshops and field visits, participants explored green public procurement, the circular economy in construction, climate-resilient planning and the city's green projects.
From the lecture hall to the River Sava
A standout moment was the Zagreb Greenway cycling experience along the River Sava, where participants saw first-hand how green infrastructure and sustainable mobility are reshaping the riverbank. Other highlights included a workshop on building a climate-resilient city through the Horizon project JUST4CARE, and a field visit to the green courtyards of Zagreb's historic core. In an interactive session, EUR and REPIC master's students discussed their own research with professors of law and architecture — turning their studies into shared, real-world reflection.
Want to take part?
You don't have to wait for a thesis or an exchange semester to learn abroad: through UNIC, EUR students and staff can join CityLabs, summer and winter schools, joint courses, online modules and mobility across ten European cities, many of them for credit. Want to hear what's next? Sign up for the UNIC newsletter, email unic@eur.nl, or explore the UNIC partnership page on the EUR website.
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Read more about the UNIC CityLab "Perspectives on Sustainability: Case Study of the City of Zagreb".
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