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The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași (UAIC) successfully hosted the Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) entitled Urban Heat Island: From Problem to Solutions, an initiative that transformed the city of Iași into a real-world living laboratory.
The programme combined virtual sessions (March–April 2026) with an intensive on-site week (April 20–24, 2026), bringing together a multidisciplinary group of students from the University of Coimbra (Portugal), the University of Turku (Finland), the University of Pavia (Italy), Johannes Kepler University Linz (Austria), the University of Poitiers (France), and the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (Ukraine) to explore the various methodological approaches to assess urban climate, the cities resilience in front of heat discomfort and the future of sustainable urban environments.
Marking a significant milestone, this event represents the second EC2U BIP to feature participants exclusively from the Alliance. Guided by the EC2U mission to Empower, Connect, Collaborate, and Unite, this specialised format is expected to increase in frequency as the Alliance strengthens its internal academic ties. For this edition, the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași (UAIC) served as the central hub, welcoming participants from across the EC2U Alliance, featuring an international team of experts from the Universities of Coimbra, Iași, Linz, Pavia, and Turku in tandem with the UAIC MOBCLIM research project team, providing participants with high-resolution climate data to analyse urban thermal dynamics. By blending the Alliance’s multidisciplinary expertise with cutting-edge local research, the programme proposed to the students a methodological approach to identify critical thermal areas in the city and to transform complex climate problems into actionable urban solutions.
The event served as a vital meeting point for the UAIC academic community and its international partners to address Sustainable Development Goal #11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. Prof. PhD. Nicoleta Popa, Vice-Rector for International Relations and EC2U Institutional Coordinator at UAIC, officially opened the program in the Senate Hall. Welcoming addresses were also delivered by Assist. Prof. PhD. Eugénio Rodriguez and the Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Geography and Geology, Lect. PhD. Mihai Bulai. The overall programme was led by the BIP Coordinators Assoc. Prof.PhD. Lucian Sfică and Lect. PhD. Lucian Roșu, alongside a dedicated local and international team, with contributions during online or on-site activities (Prof. Jukka Käyhkö-UTU, Assist. Prof. Eugénio Rodriguez-UC, PhD Lukas Lehner-JKU, PhD Gaia Terlicher-UP, Lect. PhD Pavel Ichim-UAIC).
Throughout the intensive week, the UAIC hosted a series of technical and field-based activities designed to bridge the gap between climate theory and urban design.
The programme's impact continues through a post-event phase (April–May 2026), where international teams perform climatic evaluations of their home cities or other cities around the world, applying the LST analysis and ENVI-met modelling learned in Iași. By empowering students to design evidence-based solutions for the Urban Heat Island effect, UAIC and the EC2U Alliance continue to lead the way in fostering resilient, sustainable, and livable European cities.