Redesigning the Post-Industrial City (MSc)

Calling future urban thinkers who are curious and interested in how we can revitalise
post-industrial cities!

Koç University is a partner in this exciting and unique Master’s programme that wants to create an educational experience which recognizes and responds critically to issues of cities in different forms and stages of post-industrial transition. We aim to educate the next generation of specialists with the 21st century skills and knowledge needed to address the challenges and opportunities of cities in transition and superdiverse societies.

It is the ideal program for professionals involved in the design, planning, management or evaluation of the city who want to join a vibrant knowledge and innovation community committed to the rethinking of more sustainable urban futures. RePIC fosters transformative modes of teaching, research, and learning – responding to the specific challenges and characteristics of post-industrial cities.

The RePIC Joint Master Programme comprises 4 semesters and is delivered over a period of 2 years, accounting for a total of 120 ECTS credit points. During these two years, you will encounter different cultures, languages and distinct learning environments, and profit from cutting-edge expertise from each of the eight universities. The program is offered annually and starts in the fall semester and the general language of instruction is English.

What will I study?

The focus of the research-led RePIC 2 year (120 credit) curriculum is the contemporary challenges posed in industrial heritage settings. Viewing the city as an experimental living laboratory, RePIC understands the post-industrial city as a complex system that is characterised by physical, political, and historical development paths, limits, and dynamic social, economic, ecological, and cultural vectors. The program is interested in finding new learning and action practices in reconceptualising the civic, cultural, and socio-urban fabric of the post-industrial city.

It will adopt participatory approaches and methods – such as CityLabs, Urban Field-Classes and Engaged Research Practices – and foster public-private-academic-societal partnerships in innovative learning activities that include structured project collaboration, social design studios, digital storytelling, and immersive design fictions.

The course is divided into four semesters within which students are offered several mobility options. RePIC students start together in the first Semester at Ruhr University Bochum in Bochum, Germany and take part during the semester in a City Lab in University College Cork in Ireland.

In the second Semester, you will decide on one of four tracks – where each track is jointly delivered by two partners. Depending on the track chosen, you may move to another university.

Koç University will be the host university of the “”Diversity and Social Justice“” track during the second semester and is looking forward to welcoming students in its beautiful campus in Istanbul, Turkey.

In the third semester you can decide between in-depth studies and practical training in a profession or in research at another host university.

In the fourth and final semester, and considering the multidisciplinary nature of the programme, you can choose among three forms of dissertation/thesis: a traditional dissertation, or research manuscript aiming at publication, or a practical project accompanied by documentation. The dissertation will be jointly supervised by two of the Partner Universities.

Each semester and each mandatory mobility period must result in the completion of 30 ECTS credit points at one of the partner institutions. Virtual teaching activities are part of the learning experience, but physical mobility of students cannot be replaced by virtual mobility unless force majeure (e.g., a pandemic) necessitates different temporary solutions.

Throughout the programme, there will be several collaborations involving community groups, academia, and specialist researchers. This will involve team-based practices and co-design approaches – and align the curriculum with specific City Lab challenge areas in different European cities. Thanks to this, you can acquire important intercultural and multilingual skills while gaining valuable experience of different European cultures during your studies.

Track Options

Students must complete a full semester in at least two of the eight partner universities in one of the following track options:

Urban Transformations and Resilience (University College Cork/University of Liège)
Diversity and Social Justice (Koç University/Erasmus University Rotterdam)
Urban Analysis: Smart, Sustainable and Resilient Cities (Ruhr Universitat Bochum/University of Oulu)
Governance of Post-Industrial Cities (University of Zagreb/University of Deusto)

Entry requirements

We invite candidates from diverse backgrounds, preferably with a dissertation, or an equivalent degree, that gives them access to a Master degree programme and demonstrable experience in themes related to redesigning of post-industrial cities and design-related backgrounds, including but not limited to the following fields:

• Architecture
• Urban Design, Urban Planning, Urban Development
• Geography
• Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Geoinformatics
• Sociology
• Public Administration, Business Studies
• Culture, Media and Visual Arts Studies, and related fields of study

All applications must be made online via the RePIC website in accordance with its instructions and before the deadlines stated on the website. Please see more details on the programme website https://unic.eu/en/repic

Selected applicants will receive an admission notification with the relevant dates for the enrolment in RePIC and the terms of payment and time limits for the payment of the participation fees. Applicants who have accepted the study offer, receive additionally the Student Agreement (covering the academic, financial, administrative, behavioural, and other relevant aspects related to the degree programme as, in case of availability of scholarships, the scholarship management) and the Student Handbook containing practical information on the programme. After confirmation from the candidates, who must return the Student Agreement signed, administrative registration is concluded at the university of the first semester (Ruhr Universitat Bochum).

It is the responsibility of the students to check that the authorisations required for visa and residence permits are in order before the Partner Institution permits the student’s activities in the RePIC degree programme to take place for students with or without a scholarship. The Partner Institutions will make every effort to aid students in obtaining any necessary visa and residence permits before their studies commence.

RePIC’s vision is to develop a new network of urban thinkers with the capacity to contribute to future-oriented, avant-garde thinking on the revitalisation of the post-industrial city. If you are curious and interested in the questions about how we can revitalise post-industrial cities, this might be the programme for you.

The RePIC programme provides high quality academic education and professional competencies for excellent students, who are eager to specialize in subdisciplines of Urban Studies in a wider sense and who intend to build bridges into neighbouring disciplines, e.g., Law, Civil Engineering, Business, Sociology, Data Science, or Psychology.

After graduation, RePIC Graduates:

• have knowledge of urban transformations and urban design in a global perspective; are able to apply this knowledge in practice, and across different jurisdictions,
• serve as curators of interdisciplinary transformation processes and have a broad understanding of the interdependent human and environmental urban systems,
• are able to critically analyse and evaluate data found in the digital space and have insights into the foundation needed to apply data analytics to real-world post industrial urban transformation,
• have gained the ability to critically analyse factors influencing different spaces within urban settings but also an ability to compare between different cities,
• have acquired a sociological and cultural approach towards urban dynamics and actors, understanding major local and global historical developments influencing
urban settings,
• understand different dynamics and processes involved in the revitalization of post industrial cities from social science, sustainability, and circular economy perspectives,
• are able to communicate and translate between different professional orientations and cultures, have learned to build up empathy, work with different social groups, to bring together different perspectives and to work in transnational teams,
• can deal with modern geospatial data resources (acquisition, maintenance, analysis, and cartographic visualization of spatio-temporal transformation
processes in urban areas),
• possess advanced research, professional, digital design, and spatial analysis skills, can mediate between the spheres of experts and laypersons, academia, and citizens, equipped with broad knowledge in the various sub-disciplines of the field,
• are capable to think beyond boundaries and to explore and generate new ideas that can be applied to current and emergent needs.

RePIC graduates can find employment in the public sector in areas such as:

• Public Urban Planning / Quarter Management;
• Community Development;
• Cities’ administrations;
• Geospatial Data Analysis and Visualization; B24

There are also opportunities for RePIC graduates at

• Governmental organizations at local, national, European, and international levels;
• Social work organizations;
• Third sector, NGOs engaged in Neighbourhood Development;
• Foundations and organizations dealing with Urban Development and Transformation;
• Companies and organizations focused on metropolitan transitions, e.g., in sectors such as energy, data management, mobility,
health, housing, and education;
• Consultancies with a focus on Innovation and Change Management;
• Design agencies/businesses, development agencies, architecture/construction firms;
• Property developers, consultancies in Architecture, and Urban or Regional Planning

Scholarships

Please see more details on the programme website https://unic.eu/en/repic

Apart from using your savings or a sponsor’s support, there are other ways to finance your studies in the RePIC programme. Applying for a scholarship, grant or educational loan that you are eligible in your own country of citizenship or residence are possible ways too.

Costs Linked to the Participation in the RePIC Programme

In addition to the annual tuition fees, other administrative and social fees (such as stamp and certification fees, library and laboratory costs, social contribution fees, examination fees) and any other mandatory costs charged by the Partner institutions are to be paid by the students. Students also must cover sustenance, accommodation, travel to and from partner universities, visa costs, etc. Any costs arising from unjustified prolongation of studies beyond the standard duration of the programme (four semesters) shall be charged at the publicly published standard rates of the partner institution involved.

You can find estimated costs of living for international students in Turkey from our International Admissions website at https://international.ku.edu.tr/discover-koc/living-in-istanbul/

About UNIC

The European University of Cities in Post-Industrial Transition (UNIC) was established in 2020 with the aim of offering an inclusive education for a new generation of students. An alliance of 10 European universities based in post-industrial cities and funded by the European Commission, work hand-in-hand with city institutions to ensure that urban issues feed into teaching and research in a manner that is accessible and inclusive for all learners. The alliance is looking for students who will advance the post-industrial transformations of their cities and become highly-skilled graduates in new scientific disciplines that respond to the needs of the changing economy in Europe and around the world.