The University of Primorska (UP) is an inspiring case of taking an innovative approach to teaching and curriculum, as well as connecting strategic international initiatives with knowledge, needs and opportunities at the local level. The New European Bauhaus Academy Pioneer Hub for Sustainable Built Environments with Renewable Materials which was established by the UP is an example of the mobilization of local expertise, the heritage of existing knowledge produced by the InnoRenew CoE research institute and the ambitious and interdisciplinary goals of the European Union within the framework of the New European Bauhaus initiative.

The University's project aims to create a HUB and a diverse educational pathway enabling the development of the necessary competences for the transformation of the construction sector – in accordance with the principles of NEB. One of the first concrete results will be an international joint bachelor program in sustainable built environment – very much needed on local and European level.

The NEB Academy Pioneer Hub at UP is focusing on the sustainable built environments that are regenerative and inclusive spaces that minimise environmental impacts through decarbonisation and lead to positive societal and economic impacts, including health and wellbeing.

 NEBAP Hub will be:

• offering off- and online trainings for the construction ecosystem,
• promoting green, digital, and inclusive transition within the construction ecosystem through the use of bio-based materials,
• uniting pre-existing learning modules for the construction eco-system,
• closely collaborating with the NEB Community.

This is also an excellent example of research-based teaching and learning and cooperation of a higher education institution with an independent research institute – InnoRenew CoE which also hosts a Living Lab, inviting all stakeholders to participate in research and experiments and thus implementing the principle of open science.

The University of Ljubljana (UL) is currently also involved in setting up and managing a comprehensive project titled UL for sustainable development (ULTRA), which, in fact, consists of 11 different inter- and multidisciplinary pilot projects. The overall project is a part of the reform of the Slovenian higher education system under the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism. Individual pilot projects are focused on the curricula renewal of 29 higher education professional study programs and in the study year 2023/24 more than 60 new courses will be provided to students at the UL inside this study programs. From the 2024 they will promote programs that support knowledge and behaviour toward achieving SDGs, especially green transition and digital transformation.

In addition, as part of a review process of the current state of alignment of UL operations and curricula with the principles and values promoted by the SDGs, the UL is also set to establish a ‘sustainability’ course inventory based on the course mapping by SDGs and by the overall level of sustainability coverage included in each course, which is to be completed in the academic year 2023/2024. The purpose of developing the inventory of sustainability-related and sustainability-focused courses (e.g., PhD programme Environmental Protection) is to back up the process of assessing and identifying strengths and weaknesses of current UL curricula, which can in turn provide an important baseline for planning future curricula transformations/upgrades. At the UL, students, for instance, can also acquire new sustainability-related skills and competencies by attending credited extracurricular activities – e.g., by attending the course on Circular Economy (Faculty of Economics, UL) or the course on The Environmental Aspects of Sustainable Development (Centre for Extracurricular Activities of the UL). Besides the course mapping, the UL is also in the midst of preparing an overview of research projects and publications, which address specific SDGs.