Spica is a network funded by Nordplus, with participation from Greenland University, Ilinniarfissuaq, Sámi University of Applied Sciences, University of Iceland, University of the Faroe Islands, Malmö University, University of Oulu, UCL University College and University of South-Eastern Norway (coordinating institution).
The Spica-network is an arena of professional development for student teachers and teacher educators in the key areas of sustainable development, diversity, democracy, and citizenship. The network focuses on interdisciplinary perspectives and innovative methods in education.
Together we contribute to strengthen the culture of internationalisation in teacher education across the Nordics through mobility (both virtual and physical) and the organisation of a Blended Intensive Programme (intensive course).
A central part of Spica is the implementation of a 5 ECTS Blended Intensive Programme for Nordic student teachers. Every year the intensive course changes its form and content, adapting global questions and challenges to the characteristics of a local Nordic context. In 2023, the course “Sustaining Remote Communities: Finding Enduring Ways to Flourish” took place in the Faroe Islands. An online course component with the use of flipped classroom and online group discussions preceded the course week. Taking our point of departure in both Agenda 2030 and local Faroese contexts, we explored how teacher education and schools can be part of building inclusive, safe and robust local communities by focusing on environmental, economic, cultural and social aspects of sustainability. Faculty from the participating institutions contributed with their knowledge and shared experiences online and on-site with the students. The students worked in mixed nationality groups, applying the methods and concepts they had encountered.
Spica 2024 has the title Many voices – one habitat: Linguistic and cultural heritage in flux. Together, we will encounter and contemplate Icelandic landscapes and institutions in situ to create meaningful responses to cross-cultural concerns across the Nordic countries alongside broader global challenges. Participants will explore ways in which teacher education and schools in general can contribute to inclusive, robust local communities that actively balance environmental, economic, cultural, linguistic and social dimensions of sustainability. Key themes explored during the course include:
- Rural/urban tensions & limitations to enduring sustainability
- Transitions towards plurilingual conceptualizations of language, identity learning
- Opportunity for sustainable energy, food & agricultural resources
- Varied perspectives on migration and intercultural in Nordic communities
SPICA 