Interview

'We need to embrace differences'

Winners of the 2024 ECIU University Team Impact Award

‘It was wonderful to see how the learners committed to the work, and how diverse their approaches were,’ says Margarida Fardilha (University of Aveiro), one of the winners of the 2024 ECIU University Team Impact Award. She talks about the winning challenge and the importance of intercultural collaboration.

Text: Michaela Nesvarova
Photos: Kaunas Technology University

What challenge did you work on and why did you select this topic?

‘Our challenge was very different from other challenges on the ECIU University platform, which might be why people responded to it and enjoyed it. It explored ‘how lifestyle impacts reproductive health’. I was the initiator, and I chose this topic because my scientific research focuses on male reproductive health and how human reproduction is impacted by lifestyle choices and the environment.’

How did you approach working on this challenge?

‘We involved a stakeholder from reproductive clinics who gave our students insight into the main problems in the field, the state-of-the-art technology and methods available. This alone gave students a lot of different ideas. It was wonderful to see how the learners committed to the work, and how diverse their approaches were. It showed that you can take many very different people – different in terms of age, background, expertise, culture and so on – and come up with meaningful results.’  

What surprised you the most?

‘I didn’t expect it to be so valuable. The students who participated in this challenge were not from the health field. First, I thought this would be a problem, but it turned out to be an advantage. They could bring different perspectives and see things we might not. In today’s world, we need to bring people of various backgrounds together and embrace differences.’

Have you achieved the impact you were aiming for?

‘The idea behind the challenge is to produce impact in society. One of our student groups worked on introducing free STD tests into society. In only one day, they engaged fifty students at their university and provided them with free tests. This is something that could be easily implemented everywhere and help us avoid consequences of STDs.’

Why do you think you were selected as the winning team?

‘All applicants for the award had to make a short video showcasing their challenge. I think our video clearly shows the benefits of the challenge – and how good it was for all students and teachers. In the video, you can see how much happiness they get out of the work and the intercultural cooperation.’

The Team Impact Award was handed out during the ECIU University Forum held in June in Kaunas. The purpose of this award is to show the entire community the impact of challenges that the candidates completed. The winning team consisted of members from the University of Aveiro, Hamburg University of Technology and Kaunas University of Technology, and worked on a challenge focused on reproductive health.