What the students said

What students said about the course in Spring 2025: 

"Meeting in Trondheim and getting in touch with so different people from interdisciplinary places and backgrounds was very interesting, inspiring and enjoyable"

"I truly appreciated the opportunity to explore such important sustainability issues, and the approach of fostering self-directed learning and problem-solving and interdisciplinary teamwork. Thank you once again for the valuable learning experience!"

"This was a good teamwork experience and although the project was not in my primary field of interest I was very engaged at all times and learnt tools for conflict solving and effective collaboration in different settings."

"It was one of the best courses I had and I'm glad I could participate!"

Practicing interdisciplinary teamwork

An Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Program offered by NTNU

Practicing interdisciplinary teamwork

– Invitation to master students from ENHANCE+ Alliance partners
Students working with ipad smiling. Photo
Photo: Elin Iversen/NTNU

Curious about what you can do to help any team you are a part of learn, thrive and perform together? Making interdisciplinary teams work demands skillful and collaborative action from the team members.  

This course gives you the opportunity to train skills in teamwork and interdisciplinary project work in an international setting, enabling you to be a change agent in your work life. Supervisors and learning assistants will facilitate you in teams both on a week-long gathering in Trondheim, Norway, and in a virtual context, as you take an interdisciplinary approach to a project on sustainable cities. 

Intention 

Good solutions to complex challenges often depend on cooperation across boundaries. A growing number of enterprises organize their work in interdisciplinary teams to meet this need. However, differences and disagreements occur in all teamwork, and this is especially true of interdisciplinary teams. Good teamwork skills are needed to enable a team to realize the potential that lies in interdisciplinary differences, instead of getting stuck in them. As digital collaboration is increasingly a part of modern work life, team members need skills in how they can actively create well-functioning teamwork in both digital and physical working environments. 

In this course, you can develop these skills by working on projects in teams together with students from a variety of study programs and across institutions and national borders, both digitally and physically. You learn through teamwork, by reflecting on specific teamwork situations that occur as the project progresses, both individually and as a team. Each team defines their team project within the topic sustainable cities.  

“The world’s population is constantly increasing. To accommodate everyone, we need to build modern, sustainable cities. For all of us to survive and prosper, we need new, intelligent urban planning that creates safe, affordable and resilient cities with green and culturally inspiring living conditions.”
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Learning activities

The course starts with a digital introduction seminar, before the students gather in Trondheim, Norway for one week of start-up activities. Thereafter, the course is fully digital, consisting of both student-active seminars and self-directed teamwork in accordance with the course calendar. Individual work is also expected.
As this course is blended and has a special focus on team interaction, it is a prerequisite to partake using both camera and microphone in digital activities.
The course ‘Practicing interdisciplinary teamwork’ is built on the framework of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s (NTNU) signature course, Experts in Teamwork (EiT). Read more about Experts in Teamwork at What is EiT - NTNU. Hear EiT students’ reflections on digital teamwork in this video about Virtual Experts in Teamwork.
 

Course calendar

Mode What Why How When
Digital Introduction Get familiar with course intention, content and structure, and meet your team  Information and group activities  4 February
Physical 5 day gathering Build team relations, get multidisciplinary perspectives on sustainable cities, build the foundation for further digital teamwork  Exercises, lectures, group work  23-27 February
Digital Three seminars Support team learning and project work Exercises, lectures, group work, guidance 

20 March

 

8 April

 

29 April
Digital  Final assessment seminar Final assessment of team project and learning Team presentations 20 May
Digital Team meetings Experience taking advantage of the 
different competencies in an 
interdisciplinary team, taking joint responsibility for performance, good working relationships and individual well-being 		 Self-directed team meetings supported through facilitation  Weekly

Some individual work between seminars and team meetings is expected. 


Formalities 

Who can partake  

A bachelor’s degree or equivalent is required to participate in this course. Students from any study program at any of the ENHANCE partner institutions are invited to apply. The students are selected with the aim of ensuring diversity across disciplines and institutions. Students participating are required to be confident in speaking and writing English. 

Apply within 1 December 2025 by filling out this form.


Credits 

You will receive a diploma informing about the intended learning outcomes and scope of the course, based on which you can apply for 4 ECTS at your home institution 

You can access the course description in PDF format here, with detailed information on intended learning outcomes, learning activities, and formal requirements. 


ENHANCE and Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) 

This ENHANCE course is offered as an Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme (BIP), which means that accepted students might apply for financial support through Erasmus+ at their home institutions. Institutions that do not offer Erasmus+ mobility funds might have other available funds for student mobility. Please check with the international relations office, or the Enhance core officer at your university (for contact information, please see the list at the bottom of the website). 


Trondheim and NTNU 

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) is Norway’s largest university following a merger in 2016. Trondheim is Norway’s third largest city, with just over 200,000 inhabitants. Students make up about 20% of the population, making their mark on cultural life and night life.  

Read more about Trondheim and NTNU: 


Core officers ENHANCE