ENHANCING Blended Intensive Programmes: co-creation of sustainable learning experiences in the AI era
Universitat Politècnica de València
Abstract
Blended Intensive Programmes (BIPs) have emerged as a strategic approach within the Erasmus+ framework to promote internationalisation, intercultural collaboration, and innovation in European higher education. This presentation provides an overview of the design and implementation of the Erasmus+ BIP titled “ENHANCING Sustainable Communication, Professional Competences and AI”, hosted by Universitat Politècnica de València in 2026. This programme supported collaboration among students from technical universities in Spain, Germany, Poland, and Ukraine through a mix of virtual engagement, action-oriented learning, and short-term physical mobility.
Specifically, our BIP initiative followed a three-phase training model. It comprised an initial online phase, followed by an intensive five-day in-person experience across the UPV campuses (Valencia, Gandía, and Alcoy), and concluded with a post-mobility virtual phase. Participants engaged in international teamwork, virtual collaboration, sustainability-oriented challenges, and AI-supported learning tasks, fostering the development of professional communication, intercultural competence, and digital literacy. Notable attention was paid to co-creation, reflective practice, and responsible AI usage.
This presentation discusses the pedagogical foundations of the programme, its alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the EU ENHANCE Alliance’s educational framework. Additionally, it shares lessons learned from implementing collaborative, technology-enhanced, and sustainability-driven learning experiences. The session concludes by proposing a transferable model for designing future BIPs that aim to strengthen international collaboration, enhance the development of professional competencies, and promote student digital agency in increasingly complex and globalised educational environments.
Biography
Oksana Polyakova-Nesterenko is a Lecturer in the Department of Applied Linguistics at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), where she earned her PhD in Applied Linguistics (Excellent Cum Laude). She holds a Master’s degree in Languages and New Technologies as well as graduate qualifications in Translation. An active researcher with the Research Group for the Analysis of Specialised Languages (GALE), she focuses her scholarly work on applied linguistics, second language acquisition, terminology, higher education, virtual exchanges, and active digital pedagogies. She also coordinates the iPLUS Educational Innovation Team (Innovation, Plurilingualism, Universities, and Sustainability), leading university-level didactic projects centred on UPV transversal competencies, European university cooperation, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Within this framework, she leads UPV educational innovation initiatives such as “IncludED: virtual collaboration for global and diverse STEM learners”. Additionally, within the ENHANCE European University Alliance, she organises international hybrid mobility initiatives and microcredential courses.