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Portugal: University of Lisbon's ULISSES Project 2026

Take part in the sixth edition of this Unite! collaboration! For three weeks i July on-site in Lisbon, students will take part in an international multidisciplinary team, whose task will be to develop innovative techniques contributing to the solution of an important challenge raised by the sustainability of the Oceans. The three weeks of teamwork in July 2026 will be preceded by a preparatory phase (via e-learning) with the duration of 10 weeks during the spring semester.

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Apply

ULISSES' registration is free of costs. If selected, you may also apply for funding via Erasmus+. To apply, you must:

  • be enrolled in a university undergraduate or graduate programme;
  • have general interest in ocean sciences, environment, health sciences, biology, chemistry and/or engineering;
  • have the desire to work in an interdisciplinary and international team.

Since English is the language of ULISSES, we expect participants to have sufficient English skills to fully engage in the program (everyday communication, active team work, oral presentation, written reports).

Learn more and apply before 15 December 2025

The University of Lisbon Interdisciplinary Studies on Sustainable Environment

and Seas (ULISSES) is a project that provides students with a deep knowledge of ocean related problems. The participants are challenged to solve a pressing real life problem while working together in an interdisciplinary and international team. English will be language used in ULISSES.

The ULISSES Project is divided in two phases:

Preparatory phase

The Preparatory phase corresponds to a ten-week introductory course (via e-learning). In this preparatory phase, ULISSES offers a wide range of online lectures and materials via the Moodle open-source learning platform. These sum up the fundamentals and core competencies of the disciplines involved in the project, giving participating students with different academic backgrounds an overview of all the relevant fields of study. This will ensure that all participants will be able to engage in discussions during the Team Project phase.

Team Project Phase

In this phase interdisciplinary and international groups will be set up and students will be required to work together for a period of three weeks in order to solve a challenge related to ocean sustainability.

The University of Lisbon will welcome all students participating in the Team Project phase for a summer face-to-face event in Lisbon, ensuring adequate and safe sanitary conditions. To provide students with optimal guidance and didactic support, a mentor will be assigned to each team. All mentors will receive appropriate training to ensure the pedagogical leadership of their teams and to ensure that all participants will be able to share in a positive group atmosphere. To ensure the scientific support for the disciplines not covered by the mentor, each group will have access to a group of scientific advisors. During the first two weeks of the Team Project phase, all participants will also have the opportunity to meet experts (professors and senior researchers at the University of Lisbon) in the scientific areas related to the challenge they will have been asked to address. For all questions related to the tools to be used, the team will have the support of a set of IT advisors. 

At the end of the three-week Team Project event, students will present the results of their work to all participants and to a panel of jurors. Based on the jury's assessment, the winning team will be announced.