Leiden University is deeply committed to advancing rigorous and innovative research, safeguarding academic freedom as a cornerstone of scholarly life, and fostering a dynamic culture of teaching innovation. It promotes an intellectual environment in which scholars and students are encouraged to pursue critical inquiry, engage openly with complex ideas, and contribute meaningfully to academic and public debates. At the same time, the university continues to invest in forward-looking pedagogical approaches that enrich learning, strengthen interdisciplinary exchange, and prepare students to navigate an increasingly interconnected and rapidly changing world.
Project role
Project co-ordinator.
Main Contact
Dario Fazzi is Professor of Transatlantic Environmental History at Leiden University and the Roosevelt Institute for American Studies in Middelburg, the Netherlands. His main field of research lies in environmental and transatlantic history, and his work is situated at the crossroads between diplomatic and environmental studies
Founded in 1088, the University of Bologna is widely regarded as the oldest university in the Western world and remains one of Europe’s leading centres for teaching, research, and international cooperation. With campuses in Bologna, Cesena, Forlì, Ravenna, and Rimini, as well as a branch in Buenos Aires, it offers a broad range of undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, and professional programmes across multiple disciplines.
The university has a large and international student community and is strongly committed to academic excellence, mobility, sustainability, and global engagement. It participates actively in European and international networks and projects, combining a deep historical legacy with a strong focus on innovation, interdisciplinarity, and the social challenges of the present.
Project Role
Project Partner participating in all work packages with co-leading roles in course design and VE implementation.
Main Contact
Angela Santese is a Senior Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science at the University of Bologna. She teaches History of US Foreign Policy and International History. In 2012 she was junior visiting scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center of Washington, DC. She won the SISSCO Prize awarded by Italian Society for the Study of Contemporary History for the best 2016 research monograph.
Complutense University of Madrid is strongly committed to academic excellence, critical inquiry and the advancement of knowledge through research, teaching and social engagement. With a long-standing tradition as one of Spain’s leading public universities, UCM fosters interdisciplinary collaboration, international cooperation and innovation in higher education. It provides a dynamic academic environment where students and scholars are encouraged to address contemporary social, cultural and environmental challenges from a rigorous and engaged perspective.
Project role
Project Partner leading Work Package 4: Communication, Dissemination and Knowledge Transfer.
Main Contacts
Gema Bonales is a lecturer and researcher in Applied Communication Sciences at Complutense University of Madrid. Her research focuses on advertising, corporate communication, digital media, video games and immersive environments. She studies how emerging technologies transform communication, persuasion and brand-user relationships.
Isidro Jiménez is a lecturer and researcher at Complutense University of Madrid. His work focuses on environmental communication, sustainability, climate change narratives and climate fiction. He studies how media and cultural narratives shape public understanding of the climate crisis, resilience and environmental democracy.
For nearly 400 years, University of Helsinki has united people and disciplines to create life-changing breakthroughs: from pioneering research innovations to empowering new generations as daily agents of global change. Across our four campuses and 11 faculties, we harness top-level scholarship to explore the individual, humanity, nature and the universe. The great challenges of our time can be solved only by changing the way people think and act. The changes individuals make are therefore key to changing the world and kindling hope in society. Breakthroughs for life embody what the University of Helsinki is about: a place for both personal and scholarly advances. Whether major or minor, breakthroughs may come as personal insights, enduring friendships or academic achievements that help build a better world. Together, we create breakthroughs that influence both personal paths and the world beyond. Our most important contribution to the world is nurturing individuals who are passionate about the future, seek the truth, defend freedom, reinforce Bildung and foster inclusivity.
Project Role
Project Partner participating in Work Package 3 on VE/XR Design, Production and Integration.
Main Contact
Dorota Glowacka is an associate professor at the University of Helsinki, working within the field of computer and information science. Currently, she is the leader of the Exploratory Search and Personalisation (ESP) research group, which works on the intersection of information retrieval, artificial intelligence and human-computer interaction.
The Media & Learning Association (MLA) is dedicated to advancing education through the strategic utilisation of media and digital technologies across all levels of education. Our mission is to promote and foster innovation and creativity in teaching and learning by empowering educators, students, and institutions with the necessary skills and competencies to effectively integrate media and digital tools into their daily practices. Our focus spans various critical areas, including the use of media, extended reality (XR), and artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education, digital media literacy, teacher training in digital media literacy. We aim to be at the forefront of identifying and sharing best practices, supporting the development of digital and media literacy strategies and networks, and inspiring innovative solutions to enhance pedagogical approaches through media-based tools and services. We align our objectives with the European Union’s vision of promoting a digitally enabled education approach and combating disinformation.
Project Role
Project partner responsible for the dissemination of project results
Main contact
Dovile Dudenaite is a Communications and Project Officer at Media & Learning Association. She is responsible for managing communication strategies, coordinating projects, engaging communities, creating content, organising events, and collaborating across teams to improve efficiency and impact.
The Roosevelt Institute for American Studies (RIAS) is a research institute, archive, and graduate school based in Middelburg, the Netherlands. Founded in 1986, RIAS is dedicated to the study of American history, politics, society, and transatlantic relations, with particular attention to democracy, rights, international relations, and the global role of the United States. The RIAS combines academic research, graduate training, archival resources, public engagement, and international scholarly exchange. Its collections form one of Europe’s leading research infrastructures for the study of the United States, with strengths in the Roosevelt legacy, US foreign relations, political history, civil rights, Dutch-American relations, and transatlantic history. Within TREnD, RIAS contributes expertise in environmental history, democratic cultures, transatlantic education, and innovative teaching methods. In recent years, the institute has developed an Immersive Learning Hub focused on virtual exchanges, online collaborative assignments, digital mapping, role plays, and VR/XR learning activities. Through this work, RIAS supports TREnD’s goals of strengthening intercultural communication, digital competencies, environmental awareness, and critical engagement with sustainability and democracy.
Project Role
Project partner responsible for the staff training program and academic dissemination.
Main contact
Gaetano Di Tommaso‘s research focuses on the role of natural resources in US history. He is interested in how US extraction and use of specific raw materials, especially fossil fuels, have impacted life and politics on different scales, from local environments and communities to global ecosystems.
Associated Partners
Associated partners support the project by collaborating with the core team on virtual exchanges, contributing expertise, facilitating activities, and enhancing intercultural learning and engagement.
Emory University is a leading private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, known for its strengths in public health, medicine, law, business, social sciences, and the humanities. Founded in 1836, Emory is recognized for its interdisciplinary research, global engagement, and commitment to addressing pressing societal challenges through scholarship, innovation, and community partnership.
Main Contact
Jola Ajibade is an urban political ecologist and Associate Professor at Emory University whose research examines how and why climate-related cascading disasters, resilience initiatives, managed retreat programs, and renewable energy transitions often produce unequal impacts across marginalized communities in both the Global South and Global North. Her work advances justice-centered approaches to climate adaptation, equitable resilience, and just energy transitions, with a particular focus on addressing the social, political, and environmental inequalities embedded in societal structures. As a scholar-activist, she collaborates with grassroots organizations and global partners, integrating environmental justice and decolonial approaches into policy and practice. Operating across local to global scales, Dr. Ajibade integrates feminist, decolonial, and antiracist approaches alongside care ethics to promote livable and sustainable futures. She has contributed to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report and has consulted for UNEP and WHO–UNICEF WASH. Her award-winning research is widely published in leading academic journals such as Nature, Science, and PNAS, and is featured in major media outlets. She serves as Deputy Editor for Climatic Change and on the editorial board of Nature Communications Sustainability.
Grand Valley State University is a public university based in Allendale, Michigan, with a strong emphasis on hands-on learning, interdisciplinary education, and community engagement. Offering more than 350 academic programmes, GVSU combines rigorous teaching with practical experience and serves a large student community across its Michigan campuses.
Main Contact
Ramya Swayamprakash is Assistant Professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies at Grand Valley State University. A transnational and interdisciplinary environmental scholar, her work focuses on environmental and borderlands history, infrastructure and landscape studies, urban design, and digital methods for cultural studies, with particular attention to rivers, dredging, and human relationships with nature in the Great Lakes and beyond..
The flagship institution of its state, Louisiana State University is a leading research-extensive university that challenges both undergraduate and graduate students to achieve the highest levels of intellectual and personal development. Through learning, research, and community engagement, LSU is dedicated to changing lives, whether it’s a student in the classroom or the citizens of Louisiana and the world.
Main Contact
Julia Irwin is the T. Harry Williams Professor of History at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, USA. Her research focuses on the place of humanitarian assistance in U.S. foreign relations and international history.
UTRGV stands as a transformative force in South Texas, a historically underserved region. Uniquely positioned as the only university in Texas with both a School of Medicine and a School of Podiatric Medicine, UTRGV’s expansive footprint reflects a deep commitment to accessibility, innovation, and community engagement. With campuses, teaching sites, and specialized centers located in Edinburg, Brownsville, Rio Grande City, McAllen, Weslaco, Harlingen, Laredo, Port Isabel, and South Padre Island, UTRGV brings world-class education, healthcare, and research directly to the communities it serves. As one of the country’s largest Hispanic-Serving Institutions and Seal of Excelencia certified, UTRGV has earned national recognition for its academic excellence, social mobility, and student success since opening in Fall 2015.
Main Contact
Ian Seavey is an Assistant Professor in the Department of History at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. He previously held a Brady-Johnson Fellowship in International Security Studies at Yale University. He earned his PhD in History from Texas A&M University in 2024. His research examines U.S. empire in the Caribbean through the lens of disaster relief, environmental policy, and rum production. His work is situated at the crossroads of the history of U.S. in the world and environmental studies.