The Cross-border Summer Course sailing on the Saltillo training ship becomes a unique experience for students from the Euroregion

The Cross-border Summer Course "A university that looks out to sea" ended today at the Itsasmuseum in Bilbao.

This pioneering Summer Course, whose second edition began on the 18th of July, had the Saltillo training ship and the Basque coast as its centre of knowledge, as well as several enclaves along the coast (Portugalete, Mutriku, Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Donostia/San Sebastián and Bilbao) where lectures open to all citizens were given. The participating crew, university students from the UPV/EHU and the University of Bordeaux, will take what they have learnt back to their respective universities — knowledge that covers both nautical matters and the sustainability of our seas and oceans.

At the closing ceremony of the course, they highlighted the value of the transmission of knowledge in an intercultural, multilingual and coexistence space offered by this programme.

The result could not have been more positive, as expressed by Gorka Moreno, vice rector of the University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU: "This is the second edition of an absolutely novel academic and personal experience: the UPV/EHU's training ship, the Saltillo, converted into a university classroom for one of our summer courses. For ten days, a crew made up of students from different universities has travelled the Basque coastline developing skills for collaborative learning and raising awareness of the need for sustainable exploitation of the oceans. The experience has been consolidated and will undoubtedly be continued in future editions of our summer courses".

For his part, Igor Campillo, director of Euskampus, remarked that in the two consecutive years that it has been held, the Euskampus Foundation has supported and, at the same time, participated intensely in the design, direction and development of this cross-border summer course, within the UPV/EHU - UIK Summer Courses: "we are very satisfied and proud of the way in which the crossing and the set of activities open to the public in each of the ports have been carried out”.

This course brings together key ingredients in the collaboration model of the Euroregional Campus of the University of the Basque Country and the University of Bordeaux, which we —the Euskampus Foundation— have the honour of promoting and managing.

It is a very ambitious course that begins by uniting students from both universities to form an interdisciplinary, intercultural and multilingual crew. A true reflection of the community that gives life to this inter-university alliance.

The crew of students embarked on the flagship SALTILLO is the icon of the great journey that the two universities are jointly developing. A voyage driven by the wind of collaboration between the university communities, with public and private entities, and the open participation of citizens on both sides of the border to achieve a real impact on society.

The universities have coordinated with representative agents and institutions in each of the host ports to disseminate knowledge and academic talent, talk to experts and highlight the value of maritime heritage and facilities and thus work for the enhancement, health and sustainability of the oceans as a necessary line of action to meet the challenges of the energy, ecological and social transition of our territories.

This second crossing of the Saltillo has managed to convey to society the commitment to scientific excellence, culture and the linguistic wealth of our cross-border area, the mobilisation of public and private entities, and the unequivocal vocation of service to the citizens of both universities when we embark on collaborations for the sustainability of the oceans beyond borders.

This cross-border course is part of the UPV/EHU's educational model called IKDi3, which is firmly committed to training in knowledge, skills and values that promote citizenship committed to sustainability. It is a pioneering course due to its uniqueness, because it is the students, the crew formed by students from both universities, who are the true protagonists of the course, where their training takes place both inside and outside the ship, and where their relevance can be seen at the beginning of the lectures and through the documentary record used, which is the ship’s log or field notebook.

This tool has been created in group work and using technology to simultaneously report on their learning, progress and experiences in relation to sailing, sustainability, coexistence, teamwork and multilingualism, among other topics. Three local languages, Basque, French and Spanish, together with English as the lingua franca, also converge in this peculiar context that comprises this course, and the crew has made use of them and all their communication resources to ensure that the coexistence on board would be a complete success and that they would live an unforgettable experience.

One of the great protagonists of this course that has sailed through knowledge has undoubtedly been the Saltillo training ship. These are the words of its captain, Mikel Lejarza: "just like the first experience, the second has been excellent. As is normal, these voyages involve a process in which the entire crew has to adapt both to the ship and to living together, as this is the success of sailing. We have all been adapting and synchronising and we got better and better each day. We were lucky with the weather and the sea from the 18th to the 24th of July and in San Sebastián we had to bring forward the departure time due to the bad weather forecast. Thanks to that and to the teamwork everything went smoothly. We have shared knowledge and experiences and we enriched ourselves in terms of navigation, the situation and sustainability of the oceans, culture...".

The participants of both university crews shared their own assessment of the experience.

Camille Rigolet from the University of Bordeaux is very happy with the experience. She remembers the start of the crossing as a little uncomfortable because of seasickness, but she has adapted gradually. According to her, "the whole crew was very patient and polite". They have learned how to tie all the knots, they have adapted to the tasks and habits of the boat and everything has worked out very well.

Leo Mathis from the University of Bordeaux is enthusiastic about the adventure. "From the beginning it was a big surprise as I did not expect the ship to be so big and beautiful. Moreover, it has a great history. The crew has been great, and we have discovered a bit of everything. The captain put me at the helm for manoeuvres and to sail and it was amazing. We have learned how to tie knots and also more complicated things, and there have been some very tiring moments when we have been able to find the rhythm to take ten-minute naps whenever we could. We have seen beautiful landscapes and learned very interesting things in the lectures about ammonoids, the environment and plastic. Honestly, it was great. We have gradually learnt how to crew and how to work as a team. At the beginning, there was always someone hanging around during the manoeuvres, who did not really know what to do. But as soon as we arrived in Donostia, there was not a sound on the bridge waiting for the manoeuvres. Everyone has adapted and the experience was fantastic".

For EHU/UPV student Eneko Larrarte, the trip has been better than expected: "I thought that living together would be more difficult. All the crew members speak several languages (Spanish, French and English) and this has created a bond between us. The lectures were interesting and unique. The organisation has treated us very well in general. In Saint-Jean-de-Luz, for example, we were invited to dinner. We have managed to create a very good atmosphere among all the people in the crew. In my case, I am studying the Sailing degree at the UPV/EHU and I have been able to put the teaching into practice. The experience has been excellent, the crew have shown great interest in learning and are very happy with the experience".

In addition to all of the above, a fundamental aspect has been the transfer of knowledge in four languages: in the three local languages (Basque, French and Spanish) and in English (as a lingua franca). They all made use of their linguistic repertoire to facilitate communication and coexistence as much as possible. Likewise, the speakers made a great effort to give their talks in multilingual formats. In addition, the group was provided with resources in four languages for an agile and open coexistence on the boat: all the basic terminology of the sailboat, guides and instructions/use of materials, as well as the guidelines for the logbook that they have been making throughout the trip. Linguistic diversity has been a reference point and the flexibility and tolerance towards these multilingual practices a great opportunity for the social cohesion of the group. An enriching way of maintaining one's own linguistic identity while embracing the identity of others.

A total of 253 people took part in the open activities organised at the sites where the ship called.

Given the success of the programme, work is already underway for the next edition in 2024.

This course has been organised within the framework of the Cross-Border Summer Courses programme.