• Undergraduate

An-Najah National University’s Climate Futures Exchange brings together students from An-Najah National University in the Palestinian Territories and Arizona State University in the United States to explore how virtual reality and immersive experience design can raise awareness of immediate global environmental crises – especially climate change – to effect change within participants’ communities. In binational teams, participants build on ongoing research around sustainability and the built environment (e.g. energy efficiency, renewable energy integration, climate change mitigation in buildings) to design solutions that they present in a culminating design competition. Participants from both sides gain valuable skills such as intercultural communication, global awareness, and digital literacy, which can positively impact their personal and professional growth and can contribute to building more inclusive and collaborative communities.

Activities

Participants work together to analyze existing climate change challenges, explore built environment case studies, and prototype scalable, online education assets by developing asynchronous learning modules on the relationship between climate change and the built environment. Either synchronously or asynchronously, participants watch and discuss guest lectures from invited experts. Participants engage in binational project-based learning, including a design competition, with a focus on experiential learning outcomes and central challenges of climate change.

Program Details