Sustainable Urban Futures: A Transnational Teaching Mobility Experience at EPOKA University, Tirana

This paper presents a teaching mobility developed within the framework of the European project TNE-DESK—Developing Shared Knowledge in Innovative Materials and Digital Transformation for Sustainable Economy and Green Transition (CUP H91I24000380007), funded by Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), M4C1, Inv. 3.4. The mobility was hosted by Epoka University, Tirana, Albania, in November–December 2025 and was related to Work Package 7—Green Transition of the teaching module Sustainable Urban Futures (EQF 7). The programme integrated climate literacy, place-based learning, and applied environmental design into architectural education through lectures, workshops, and collaborative design activities. Climate-sensitive practices, including sun-path and wind analysis, passive strategies, and outdoor-space retrofitting, were contextualized within Tirana’s rapidly changing urban environment. The experience highlights the pedagogical potential of short-term teaching mobility for supporting ecological awareness, green skills, and comparative learning across Mediterranean and Balkan contexts. It also contributes to the broader discussion on transnational education as a means of embedding sustainability and ecological transition within higher-education curricula.