An Ulster University Business School project that brings students from across Europe together to tackle sustainability challenges has won a top international award for academics, Professor Sandra Moffett and Dr Andrea Reid.
The Four Nations Project (4NP) won the Knowledge Management Excellence Award at the 2026 European Conference on Knowledge Management (ECKM) in Rome.
Since 2016, 4NP has connected postgraduate students from Ulster University and four partner institutions in Germany, Finland and Romania. Working in cross-border teams, online and in person, they take on real-world problems linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, from sustainable business innovation to digital entrepreneurship.
The students come from very different backgrounds, including engineering, tourism, humanities and business. They use design thinking and digital collaboration tools to come up with practical ideas together. More than 600 students have taken part over the past ten years.
Orla, MSc Sustainable Management Student, said:
"It has been a privilege to be part of the 4 Nations programme.
"A big thank you to Dr Andrea Reid, Professor Sandra Moffett and Nick Read for the opportunity to participate in this year's programme. DfE funded this opportunity for which I am most grateful. The experience was outstanding.
"The German academics hosting the week-long residential event were our hard-working hosts and made the week a huge success. Using design led thinking I worked with a wonderful group of students from Lapland University of Applied Sciences, Kempten University and Universitatea Româno-Americană din București, SELEM Eya, Filip Příhoda and Marie Kappler.
"Our challenge was to identify solutions to increase visitor mobility and sustainability in Füssen. Füssen is a beautiful city in Bavaria and gateway to the famous Neuschwanstein Castle. Disney used the castle as inspiration for sleeping beauty's castle and it has featured in several movies including the Great Escape. Visiting the city gave our group valuable insight into the issues surrounding overtourism.
"Our group was fortunate to have a fantastic mentor (Teresa Chen, Lapland University of Applied Sciences) who brought exactly the right balance of guidance, encouragement, and challenge throughout the programme. Lots of laughs and excellent food along the way as well!"
Dr Andrea Reid, Senior Lecturer in Business Communication leads the project with Professor Sandra Moffett, Professor of Business Analytics and Nick Read, Head of UUBS Business Engagement Unit.
Dr Nick Read, Head of UUBS Business Engagement Unit, said:
"We are absolutely delighted at winning this award. The Four Nations Project demonstrates the strategic value of collaborative pedagogies for graduate employability, global citizenship and societal impact. We've seen first-hand how internationalisation strengthens knowledge management by unlocking innovation and supporting experiential tacit development.
"Knowing that students who undertake this programme go on to secure key innovation and management roles makes this recognition from the international knowledge management community all the more rewarding."
ECKM judges described 4NP as:
"An excellent example of an international best practice, knowledge exchange programme; an outstanding living knowledge management in action."
The partner institutions are Ulster University, Kempten University of Applied Sciences, Lapland University of Applied Sciences, Kajaani University of Applied Sciences and the Romanian-American University in Bucharest.
