The international Summer School Urban Utopia
ANNOUNCEMENT
The application process is starting now. The Application deadline is: 15th of February 2026, 11:55 pm (UTC +1)
Click here or on this link https://cloud.ovgu.de/apps/forms/s/qteeTamryPNAiEqB8z72aPXi to apply.
WELCOME
This summer, Magdeburg invites you to step into a unique space where creativity, sustainability, and community come together. Our International Summer School on Sustainability and the Creation of Cultural Spaces is more than a learning program – it’s an opportunity to develop ideas, build connections, and leave a lasting mark on the city of Magdeburg.
Over the course of 11 days, you will get the opportunity to explore how art, design, and participation can transform urban spaces. From sketching the city’s streets and producing soundscapes, to reimagining public working spaces with sustainable, modular, plantable architecture, you will work side by side with professional lecturers, local residents, artists, and cultural innovators.
Your classroom will be a part of Magdeburg itself – an area of history and defunct industry called the Science Port which will become your creative laboratory.
If you’ve never been to Magdeburg, prepare to discover a place where the river Elbe meets industrial heritage, green parks, and a community shaped by the historical identities of the GDR. This is your chance to engage with an international network, contribute to real change, and experience how culture can shape the future of a city.
Join us in Magdeburg during the Summer School!
The EU GREEN BIP Summer School
From 9th-19th of August 2026, the Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg will host the Summer School #Urban Utopia?! Cities in the Making – CoCreating cultural spaces. Students from the EU Green partner universities of Sweden, Romania, Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, Poland, and Ireland are invited to join this event to support the realization of the SGDs.
Thematically, the Summer School will focus on participatory process design, inclusion, and community building, while exploring the Science Port in Magdeburg as a multifunctional living, working, and leisure space to be developed sustainably. An environment-centered perspective will be adopted, viewing the Science Port as a place of resources, public space, and the provision of common goods. Furthermore, you will work in a people-centered way, linking the local space with issues of social justice. We will also look at intercultural perspectives and how to design living environments based on people's needs and in a democratic way.
Therefore, the Summer School is divided into an academic program in the morning and workshops in the afternoon which offer the chance to transform the theoretical and analytical knowledge of the academic program into creative and hands-on practices.
The Summer School will culminate in a public cultural festival, presenting artworks, performances, and installations developed during the program. You’ll take part in one morning seminar and one afternoon workshop, giving you the chance to dive deeply into your chosen topics over the full course of the summer school.