Representatives from 32 Asian city and university partnerships will participate in a pioneering initiative that matches climate resilience and adaptation challenges in cities with local university departments and students. The upcoming virtual EPIC-Asia Workshop event (25-27 May) is the second Asia training hosted by the Educational Partnerships for Innovation in Communities – Network (EPIC-N), and signifies growing international interest in this approach. This event is being developed in collaboration with UNEP and its Global Adaptation Network (GAN), and START with the support of the Ministry of the Environment of Japan.
At the workshop, the chosen local city and university pairs will learn how the EPIC Model is unique. “Attending the workshop is so important because there is a lot to learn about launching and coordinating a program that is as large-scale as an EPIC program,” explained Jessica Barlow, EPIC-N Vice President. Participants will also review their own proposals for partnership projects throughout the event while networking with their peers and the EPIC-N trainers in interactive breakout sessions.
The EPIC-Network is a collection of more than 70 institutions currently implementing the EPIC Model approach. Network members have completed over 1,700 projects to date, consisting of hundreds of thousands of student and faculty hours pointed towards the needs of local governments and their residents.
Using the EPIC Model to match cities’ needs with learning priorities of university and college students allow for a broad spectrum of sustainability issues to be addressed in a win-win situation—students gain real-world, hands-on experience, allowing them to develop professionally, while local municipalities can leverage the often-untapped expertise of local universities to tackle their sustainability challenges at low cost.
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