Cities That Care: Flood Resilience

Lead and Host Institution: Lietuvos inzinerijos kolegija HEI — Gitana Vyčienė, Skaistė Mencevičienė, Egidijus Kasiulis, Vaiva Stravinskienė, Edita Abalikštienė

Partner Institutions: Escola Superior de Saúde de Santarém – ESSS, Portugal (Maria José Nogueira, PhD, Adjunct Professor); Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, Austria (Evan Vincent, MSc Junior Researcher)

External stakeholders: Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union, Kaunas Hydroelectric Power Plant

Cities That Care: Flood Resilience is an interdisciplinary Applied Blended Challenge bringing together approximately 45 students from nine countries to explore how cities and communities can prepare for, respond to and recover from floods.

The course connects climate change and flood processes with public health, economics, sustainable buildings, urban surface water management, green infrastructure, hydrotechnical structures, spatial planning, emergency evacuation and community safety.

During the online component, students will develop a shared understanding of flood resilience and investigate flood-related challenges in their own countries. During the physical mobility in Lithuania, they will participate in workshops, field visits, practical mapping activities and stakeholder engagement.

Working in international and interdisciplinary teams, students will compare challenges from different countries and develop practical solutions for safer, more sustainable and flood-resilient cities. No prior specialised knowledge of flood management is required.

Online sessions: The online component will prepare students for the physical mobility and establish a shared interdisciplinary foundation. Students will be introduced to the ABC learning approach, the ACE²-EU Alliance and the main course challenge. They will explore the relationships between climate change, floods, public health, economic impacts, sustainable construction and urban resilience. Participants will also begin working in international groups. As a preparatory assignment, students will identify five important flood-related problems in their country and consider possible ways to address them. Their findings will be developed into short presentations for the first day of the on-site programme.

Onsite sessions: Dates: 12–16 October 2026. Main location: Liepų St. 1, Girionys, Kaunas District, Lithuania. Additional locations: Kaunas city and the Kaunas region. The physical mobility will combine workshops, practical exercises, stakeholder engagement, challenge-based teamwork and field visits.

Students will explore: flood management and urban surface water management; climate change and changing flood risks; sustainable and flood-resilient buildings; green roofs and nature-based solutions; health and economic consequences of floods; hydrotechnical structures and hydroelectric infrastructure; spatial data and map-based flood assessment; identification of safer territories; emergency preparedness and evacuation during floods; the role of wetlands in water retention and ecosystem resilience.

Field activities will include visits to Nemunas Island, a hydroelectric power plant and the Dubrava wetland. Students will also engage with the Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union to examine community preparedness and evacuation during flood emergencies.

International teams will use the knowledge gathered during the online and on-site components to develop integrated proposals for more flood-resilient cities and communities.

Follow-up / reflection: At the end of the physical mobility, student teams will present their proposed solutions and receive feedback from lecturers, peers and participating stakeholders. Learning will be consolidated through: final interdisciplinary group presentations; peer and lecturer feedback; a short individual reflection; a final group output describing the challenge, proposed solution, expected benefits and possible implementation steps; dissemination of selected results through ACE²-EU communication channels, where appropriate.

• To analyse how climate change, urban development and land use influence flood risk.
• To examine the health, social and economic consequences of floods.
• To evaluate structural and nature-based flood resilience measures.
• To apply spatial data and maps to assess flood-prone areas and identify safer locations.
• To explore the role of sustainable buildings, green roofs, wetlands and urban surface water systems in flood resilience.
• To understand the functions and limitations of hydrotechnical structures.
• To examine emergency preparedness, community response and evacuation during flood events.
• To compare flood-related challenges and practices in different European countries.
• To design an interdisciplinary and locally relevant flood resilience solution.
• To strengthen intercultural teamwork, communication, presentation and reflective learning skills.

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• Explain the relationships between climate change, urbanisation and flood risk.
• Identify the main environmental, health, social and economic impacts of floods.
• Analyse flood-related challenges using spatial data, maps and field observations.
• Distinguish between structural, non-structural and nature-based flood management measures.
• Assess the potential contribution of sustainable buildings, green roofs, wetlands and hydrotechnical structures to flood resilience.
• Identify safer areas and consider evacuation needs during flood emergencies.
• Compare flood challenges and possible solutions from different European countries.
• Integrate engineering, environmental, economic, health and community perspectives into a proposed solution.
• Work effectively in an international and interdisciplinary team.
• Present and justify an evidence-informed flood resilience proposal.
• Reflect critically on their learning and contribution to the group challenge.

This course may be suitable for students from ACE²-EU partner universities enrolled in undergraduate or postgraduate programs in the following fields: Civil environmental and water engineering · Architecture and sustainable construction · Urban and regional planning · Geography, geoinformatics and spatial planning · Environmental sciences and ecology · Climate change and sustainability · Public health and healthcare · Economics, business and public administration · Emergency management and civil protection · Social sciences and community development.

This course may be suitable for those who have an interest in: climate adaptation, resilient cities, disaster risk reduction, interdisciplinary teamwork, international cooperation, practical field activities and the development of real-world solutions.

Recommended Language Level: English B1–B2. This is mandatory, as English is the working language of ACE²-EU courses.