Student mobility has ben designed to promote international and European cultural exchange and interactions between students. It also provides the students also with the opportunity to interact with staff from different countries and environments; further to identify the area of research to which they are best suited. Likewise, students improve also their skills in English and other languages (French, Portuguese, Norwegian, German, Spanish and Basque); and interact also with students enrolled in local Master courses at each institution, providing them with a supplementary perspective.

Each student studies at least in 3 universities in at least 2 different EU countries and visits additional locations such as Stareso (Semester 1 in ULiège) or Svalbard (Semester 2 in NTNU), or Associates, during research internships individually offered in summer after Semester 2.

  • Semester 1: Students start at UBx, UPPA or ULiège for 30 ECTS providing competences for Fundamentals in Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, Biogeochemistry of Environmental Pollutants, Environmental Analytical Chemistry, Advanced Ecology and some additional competences or transferable skills specific for each of these two partners (Environmental Data Analysis and diverse optional topics).
  • Semester 2: Students stay at NTNU, UPO or EHU where they follow advanced and specialisation courses (Advanced Environmental and Analytical Chemistry, Applied Ecology and Ecophysiology, and Advanced and Applied Ecotoxicology) and may select regionally relevant profiles (e.g. ECT in the Arctic; etc.) with a cross-border multidisciplinary between chemistry, biology and environmental management. Likewise, during this semester, students may undertake a Professional practice (6 credits) in a non-academic partner
  • Semester 3: All the students stay at EHU for 30 ECTS acquiring competences and transferable skills specific for (mainly, but not exclusively, Environmental Risk Assessment and Management and the Researcher’s Career in ECT); students follow the INCyTA course in which together with academics, they may meet stakeholders.
  • Semester 4: The MSc Thesis research work can be entirely, or jointly, undertaken in UBx, UPPA, ULiège, NTNU, UPO or EHU;  or in an associated institution in Europe or overseas. Organization of the thesis work is documented in detail in the Module Description Book. All the MSc Theses are presented at Joint Viva Sessions at the end of July, in UPV/EHU, with members of all the Partner universities, staff from associates and external (invited) examiners; likewise, new students starting their induction week at these dates attending the vivas.