DEEP CARBON SHIFT aims to transform HE and VET education by integrating deep tech, green and circular economy, and entrepreneurial skills into transdisciplinary curricula that respond to labour market needs and support inclusive, climate-neutral urban transformation across Europe.
01 – Strengthen Transdisciplinary Education for Urban Decarbonisation
Foster collaboration across architecture, urbanism, mobility, green & circular economy, inclusivity, and IoT by breaking traditional disciplinary silos in HE and VET curricula.
02 – Integrate Deep Tech Skills into HE and VET Curricula
Embed advanced digital and technological competences (e.g. AI, IoT, data analytics, digital twins, sensing technologies) into education programmes addressing urban decarbonisation challenges.
03 – Align Education with Labour Market and Societal Needs
Co-create curricula with SMEs, public authorities, and research organisations to ensure relevance to real-world challenges and emerging job profiles in decarbonised cities.
04 – Promote Green, Digital, Resilience, and Entrepreneurial Skills
Equip learners with transversal competences that support innovation, adaptability, and entrepreneurship in the context of the green and digital transitions.
05 – Support Inclusive and Human-Centred Urban Transformation
Ensure inclusivity and well-being by integrating social sciences, perception, and accessibility perspectives, including approaches tailored to vulnerable groups.
06 – Foster Innovation, Replicability, and Long-Term Impact
Establish mechanisms (incubation, acceleration, business exchange, and observatory) that enable scalability, replication, and sustainability of educational models beyond the project lifetime.
Liveable cities are urban environments that prioritise human well-being, environmental quality, and social inclusion while responding to the challenges of climate change and rapid urban transformation. Beyond infrastructure and efficiency, liveability encompasses access to healthy public spaces, sustainable mobility, affordable housing, and equitable services, ensuring that cities support quality of life for diverse communities and future generations .
Within DEEP CARBON SHIFT, liveable cities are approached as human-centred and data-informed systems. Deep tech tools, including digital twins, sensing technologies, and urban simulations, are used to understand how environmental performance, mobility patterns, and social dynamics interact at city scale. At the same time, education and skills development empower learners and professionals to design solutions that balance technological innovation with inclusivity, accessibility, and social cohesion .
Looking ahead, the creation of liveable cities is framed as a collaborative and adaptive process. Through cross-sector partnerships, participatory learning, and replication mechanisms, DEEP CARBON SHIFT supports cities in continuously improving their capacity to respond to environmental, technological, and societal change. Liveability thus becomes an evolving quality of urban life, shaped by collective knowledge, shared responsibility, and long-term commitment to sustainable and inclusive urban futures
DEEP CARBON SHIFT is implemented by a multidisciplinary European consortium bringing together higher education institutions, vocational education and training providers, research organisations, SMEs, chambers of commerce, and innovation hubs. Coordinated by the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC), the partnership spans eight European countries and combines academic excellence, applied research, and industry engagement.
The consortium includes leading universities such as Technische Universiteit Eindhoven and the National Technical University of Athens, together with VET partners including SPŠE Plzeň and Wirtschaftskammer Österreich (WKO), ensuring strong alignment with skills development and labour market needs.
Innovation and real-world implementation are reinforced by partners such as SPINUNIT Lab, MCRIT, IES R&D, and Impact Hub Barcelona, while GUDA – Give U Design Art leads sustainability, communication, dissemination, and exploitation activities, ensuring visibility and long-term impact of the project.
The DEEP CARBON SHIFT project was officially launched in November 2025 with an online kick-off meeting bringing together all project partners from across Europe. ting the transition towards climate-neutral cities through the integration of deep technologies, sustainability and entrepreneurial innovation.
Keep reading“Ideas in Motion · Deep Tech for Good · Cities in Transformation.”
This concept expresses the fundamental vision of the project: knowledge generated through education, research and collaboration moves across institutions, disciplines and sectors, enabling deep technologies to support positive societal change and the transformation of cities towards climate neutrality.
Keep readingWe refuse to accept cities that consume more than they give back. We envision urban environments that regenerate ecosystems, empower communities, and operate within planetary boundaries. The climate crisis demands more than incremental improvements—it calls for a profound transformation of how we design, build, govern, and inhabit our cities. We stand for a future where technology serves sustainability, where education ignites systemic change, and where innovation is measured not only by efficiency, but by equity, resilience, and long-term impact.
This is a collective turning point. By uniting education, deep tech, industry, and public leadership, we seek to reimagine the foundations of urban life. We aim to cultivate a generation capable of designing zero-carbon, inclusive, and intelligent cities—not as isolated projects, but as living systems in continuous evolution. The change we pursue is ambitious, collaborative, and uncompromising: cities that are cleaner, fairer, smarter, and profoundly liveable—for this generation and those to come.
Are you interested in climate-neutral cities, innovative education, deep tech, or collaborative urban solutions? The DEEP CARBON SHIFT consortium welcomes dialogue with educators, researchers, public authorities, enterprises, and civil society actors who share our commitment to sustainable and inclusive urban transformation.
Whether you would like to collaborate, replicate our educational models, participate in events, or simply learn more about the project, we invite you to get in touch. Together, we can strengthen the transition towards zero-carbon, resilient, and liveable cities across Europe.
Send your story
→
Designed with WordPress
DEEP CARBON SHIFT 