Blended Intensive Programme: Social Work in an International Context

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Upcoming BIP

The institutions take turns to host the BIP and the last course was delivered in Kokkola in Finland. The upcoming BIP on the topic Sexuality and intimacy in the context of care and social work will be in Zwolle in the Netherlands hosted by Windesheim University of Applied Sciences in Autumn 2026.

The course starts with a digital seminar on the 10^th of November, the second on the 25^th November and has a physical week in Zwolle, in the Netherlands from 7^th  to 11^th December. The final seminar of the course is digital and will be held on the 16^th of December. The digital seminars will be organised in the evenings. If you want to read about the last time we conducted a BIP in Zwolle in 2024 you can look here. 

In Spring 2027 Nord University in Norway will be the hosts and the physical week will be in week 19 in May. 

Apply for the next BIP. Deadline: September 8

Blended Intensive Programmes already carried out

Through this collaboration we have already delivered seven BIP’s. Here you can find more information about the topics of the BIP’s, how they were organised and videos about the experience of the students who took part.

Read more about the completed BIP´s

Topic: International Social work: Exploring Health Promotion in Universal Services

The course aimed to provide students with knowledge about Health Promotion in Universal Services, while encouraging them to reflect in groups on the processes, methods, and challenges of health promotion in an international context. During the physical project week, students combined field visits to different services with lectures and group work, exploring how universal services contribute to health promotion. The week focused on a variety of children and youth settings, including kindergartens, lower secondary schools, high schools, and youth clubs. Working in international groups, students designed innovative health promotion interventions tailored to different categories of children and young people. In addition to the academic program, the week also included social and cultural activities, creating opportunities for informal exchange and shared experiences across cultures.

Campus Levanger by Christmas
Topic: Children in the context of Justice

Participating students broadened their professional and personal perspectives on the international challenges and wicked problems relating to how the justice system impacts on children and youth. The physical week offered a diverse program of presentations, group work, social gatherings, and field visits, all of which inspired meaningful reflections and sparked discussions on both the differences and shared experiences across countries.

Working in international groups Finnish, Norwegian, Belgium and Dutch social work students explored the different national justice systems and the diverse consequences on children, youth including the impacts on families of a member being in the justice system.

Video:
Topic: Sexuality and intimacy in the context of care and social work

We met in Zwolle for a week of lectures, field visits, group work, and social activities. Working in international group participating students discussed different aspects with the topic. We visited various centers in both Zwolle and Amsterdam that work with different aspects of the course theme. One example was a crisis center that supports women and children who had experienced sexual abuse or had been subjected to trafficking; another was a center for sex workers in Amsterdam. The week concluded with an oral exam. Where the student groups presented their projects where they had developed an innovative approach to address a challenging aspect of sexuality and intimacy in the context of care and social work.
Topic: International Social work: Exploring Health Promotion in Universal Services

The course aimed to give students knowledge about Health Promotion in Universal Services, and in groups considered the processes, methods and challenges related to health promotion in an international context. The physical week focused on different children and youth settings including kindergartens, youth schools, high schools and youth clubs. Working in international groups students developed an innovative health promotion interventions for different categories of children and youth.
Topic: What challenges does the Ukraine-Russia war bring for young people?

During this BIP students in international groups worked together to find evidence from their different countries the challenges of the Ukraine-Russia war for young people. They also developed approaches to addressing these challenges and shared their research and experiences.
Topic: Children in the context of justice.

Participating students broadened their professional and personal perspectives on the international challenges and wicked problems relating to how the justice system impacts on children and youth.

Working in international groups Finnish, Norwegian, Belgium and Dutch social work students explored the different national justice systems and the diverse consequences on children, youth including the impacts on families of a member being in the justice system.

Article about students experience of attending (Norwegian language): Belgisk utveksling gir nye perspektiv: Anbefaler andre studentar å søke (nord.no)
Topic: International Perspectives on Child and Youth Health and Wellbeing

Working in international group participating students explored the different approaches to health and wellbeing internationally and gained a broader professional and personal perspective on common challenges relating to the wicked problems of child and youth health and wellbeing.

Participating students not only learned from their student peers but also from international academics and different organizations working in the Dutch context. Each team developed and presented an innovate approach to address a challenging aspect of child and youth health and wellbeing.