Five third-year Visual Arts students from the University of Madeira (UMa) participated in the institution's first outgoing BIP - Blended Intensive Programme, which took place from 10 to 14 June at the Academy of Creative and Performing Arts (ACPA) of the Leiden University in the Netherlands.

Six students from the University of Potsdam and four from the Berlin University of the Arts, Germany, also participated in this intensive learning programme on artistic research “Connected by Water”. The transnational teaching team included Anke Haarmann (ACPA), Christiane Brohl (Universität der Künste Berlin), Katharina Brönnecke (Universität Potsdam) and Teresa Norton Dias (UMa). The programme was curated by Anika van de Wijngaard (VLOED, Gemeente Leiden.

The working week was intense. Participants had the opportunity to interact with local artists and get to know another reality that shares a common relationship with water, in addition to attending seminars and visiting exhibitions. The aim was to explore the element of water from an artistic perspective in four different locations (Madeira, Berlin, Leiden and Potsdam) in collaboration with VLOED, a multidisciplinary artistic project based in Leiden, the Netherlands, which reflects on the relationship between people, the sea and nature.

BIPs are short-term, intensive programmes funded by the Erasmus+ mobility programme, which combine face-to-face and online components, to promote innovative ways of learning and teaching. Blended Intensive Programmes are developed and implemented by at least three higher education institutions (HEIs) coming from at least three EU Member States and third countries associated with the Programme.

In May this year, the University of Madeira organised its first two incoming BIPs, on the topics of How to Develop a Scientific/Research Article (Civil Engineering)? and Intercultural Competences and Communication Strategies for International Students.