Deep Blue is a 14-week course coinciding with the 2026 entry into force of the High Seas Treaty. The course addresses deep-sea mineral extraction, coastal livelihoods, biodiversity loss, microplastics, acoustic disruption, and the uneven vulnerabilities produced by climate change.
The course is structured in three phases: Phase 1 (Weeks 1-4) builds shared theoretical and methodological foundations through sessions on hydrocitizenship, art-science frameworks, and artivism; Phase 2 (Weeks 5-9) moves into intensive co-creation, with teams developing prototypes, fieldwork, and material experiments via COIL studios and local labs; Phase 3 (Weeks 10-14) turns toward public dissemination, digital archiving, biennale preparation. It includes a physical workshop in Berlin on 6 August.
Students work in interdisciplinary teams across Circle U. partner universities, drawing from their own disciplines and cultural contexts. By the end of the course, each team will produce an artwork, with guidance and resource support provided throughout the making process.
The course is offered by Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin in collaboration with the University of Vienna. It takes place within the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) initiative.
Learning outcomes
- Students critically analyse the ocean as a hydrocommons, situating it within frameworks of political ecology, governance, and ecological justice, with specific reference to the High Seas Treaty and deep-sea extraction.
- Students design and execute a collaborative research-creation project in cross-university teams.
Admission to the course
The course is open to students from environmental science, area studies, political ecology, arts and design, geography, and digital media.
Interested students are invited to send an email to the organisers by 15 June 2026.
Participation in the course is limited to 21 students. Places are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
Assessment
Assessment for this course takes the form of an oral exam, a portfolio (research-creation portfolio) and a short critical reflection (approx. 2,000–3,000 words).
Contact
For questions related to funding, ECTS recognition, mobility, or other course-related matters, please contact the Circle U. office at your home university:
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Aarhus University: aarhus@circle-u.eu
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University of Belgrade: Miloš Bojičić - milos.bojicic@rect.bg.ac.rs Nikola Savić – nikola.savic@rect.bg.ac.rs
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Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin: circle-u.mobility@hu-berlin.de
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King’s College London: circle-u@kcl.ac.uk (Erasmus+ funding not available; internal funding may apply)
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UCLouvain: infocircleu@uclouvain.be
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University of Oslo: oslo@circle-u.eu
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Université Paris Cité: circleu.iro@u-paris.fr
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University of Pisa: circleU.erasmus@unipi.it
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University of Vienna: circle-u@univie.ac.at
