The City as a Laboratory: Transdisciplinary Learning for a Transformative Society [CAL:TS] is a cooperation between TU Delft, Politecnico di Milano and TU Berlin. The programme bridges academic learning with societal problem-solving in urban contexts. Cities, as dense environments of diversity and interaction, provide fertile ground for inclusive environmental, social, and economic regeneration. By engaging students, educators, practitioners, and community partners, CAL:TS fosters collaborations that are context-sensitive, methodologically diverse, and impact-driven. The project adopts an approach that integrates scientific and experiential knowledge with embodied and performative learning. Participants work on real-world challenges in Delft, Berlin, and Milan, reflect on their roles and responsibilities, and develop the capacity to collaborate across institutional and sectoral boundaries. In doing so, CAL:TS creates a learning environment where theory and practice intersect, civic engagement is strengthened, and sustainable solutions can emerge.

The programme unfolds across three interconnected tracks:

Track 1 - Cross-boundary Playbook

An open-access set of learning materials that combine concepts, methods, and real-life cases. The Playbook features transdisciplinary techniques such as storytelling, design thinking, citizen science, and service learning. These resources integrate scientific, experiential, embodied, and performative knowledge, helping learners reflect on societal responsibility while testing ideas in ever new contexts.

Track 2 - City Bootcamp

The City Bootcamps involve one-week summer schools in Delft, Berlin, and Milan, immersing students in transdisciplinary learning and comparative urban sustainability practices in collaboration with local stakeholders. Through field visits, projects, and co-creation, participants gain practical insights, reflect on real-world challenges, and learn to form impactful partnerships with societal actors. Around 20 to 25 students join each edition.

Track 3 - Knowledge Exchange Masterclass

The Knowledge Exchange Masterclass extends transdisciplinary education beyond universities, offering lifelong learning opportunities for professionals from businesses, NGOs, public administration, and cultural organizations. One-day training sessions equip participants with collaborative problem-solving strategies, enabling them to apply transdisciplinary methods in their own contexts and broadening the project’s impact beyond academia through the concluding conference Interloc Transdisciplinary Futures 2028 in Berlin.

CAL:TS is a partnership within the ENHANCE Alliance of European Universities of Technology. The three partner institutions co-design all activities and share responsibilities for content development, outreach, and evaluation across the tracks and the final conference.

The project is co-funded by the European Union under the Erasmus+ programme (Erasmus+, KA220-HED 2025–2028).