BU Research Blog

Through the ERASMUS mobility fund, I shall be visiting the Universidade da Beira Interior in Portugal, in May this year. The purpose of the trip is to share best practice in relation to sustainable development, explore how attitudes to energy conservation and ‘green behaviours’ differ from the UK,  and  through collaboration, build capacity for change. 

The Univeridade da Beira is located in the North of Portugal. They have undertaken quite unique projects in relation to conserving their estates – which comprise former factories and even a monastery –  but they have done far less in terms of educating students for sustainable development. Previous collaboration with Portugal has resulted in a number of papers in relation to the green agenda; current work is focusing on energy and Fairtrade.

ERASMUS offers a great opportunity to develop relationships with European partners; it is also very useful for academics who wish to develop their langauge skills.