New master course: Act Local, Think Global

This Masters course connects to the big global questions and facilitates student participation in the IFLA student competition exploring sites with local landscape prerequisites to address global challenges. The objective is collaborative working between Kenyan and Swedish students to contribute to two specific, preselected sites, one each in both countries.

The course is conducted in collaboration with Kenyan Landscape Architects through Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi in association with the IFLA World Congress that will be held in Sweden and Kenya in September 2023. Experienced teachers and professionals from Sweden and Kenya will coach the students through the design and planning process. Proposals of each team, comprising of students from both nations, will be submitted to the IFLA Congress student competition held the same month the competition will be assessed and judged by an international panel.

Highlights of this international collaboration 

Working on two sites, Nyhamnen in Malmö and Nairobi dam in Nairobi. Both sites face challenges related to water management but in distinct social, political, and climatological contexts. How do we interact with local context, understand spatial processes and handle local politics? These are a few of the challenges that will be addressed in this competition preparing the students for working cross-equatorially in their future career.

Design studio at Hyllan, SLU campus with in person critiques and studio tutoring by faculty teachers and invited practitioners. Kenyan teachers and students visiting SLU for interaction in the course in end of March. The designs at the end of the course will be submitted to the IFLA Student’s Design Competition.

Interaction with Kenyan students who also work with the same sites in a course with the same theme that started in Kenya in February. The interaction will mostly take part via zoom and forming international teams for the competition will be encouraged.  

Special workshops, seminars and events being organized at campus and in Malmö in collaboration with Architects Sweden (Sveriges Arkitekter) for insights on how architectural competitions in architecture in general can be a driving force to enhance quality in design. 

Guest speakers for lectures and workshops on UN Habitat and Konkuey Design Initiative (digital from Nairobi), and several guest lectures at Alnarp campus on topics such as:

• To work in Africa with UN Convention of Children’s rights
• Working in Africa with urban environment planning; 
• Working in different cultures, what are the challenges?
• The complex issue of water and social dimensions.
• Urban ecosystems, biodiversity and biophilia