Call for participants
UNESCO Studio Cairo
Towards the Nile River — June 2027
This is a call for master’s students in architecture, landscape architecture, urban design and urban planning at the Studio’s partner universities.
Spend two weeks in Cairo designing pilot projects for the public spaces that lead to the Nile, alongside students, faculty and experts from Egypt, Canada, Europe, Asia and the United States.
The Studio
The UNESCO Studio is the international intensive design studio of the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape at the Université de Montréal, and the only university course carrying the UNESCO label. It continues the Chair’s international workshops, held since 2003 in Morocco, Brazil, Italy, Spain, Japan and elsewhere, and more recently in Hanoi (2023), Phnom Penh (2024) and New Orleans (2025). Each edition looks at how a great river city can rethink its relationship with its river.
In 2027, the Studio goes to Cairo, one of the largest and oldest cities in Africa and the Arab world. Millions of people use its streets, squares, gardens and riverside promenades every day. The Studio looks at how these spaces can support the health of both people and the environment, following a One Health approach.
In mixed teams bringing together urban planning, landscape architecture, architecture and urban design, you will work on a site in the urbanized areas of Greater Cairo along the Nile. Each team develops a design-based pilot project that addresses one or more of these themes:
- Physical activity and urban sports: public spaces where people of all ages and abilities can move and play
- Walkability: safe, comfortable routes for walking and cycling to and from the river
- Biodiversity: riverside habitats, shade and planting that support flora and fauna
- Heritage: historic urban forms and buildings, intangible and natural heritage, and how the public can enjoy them
- Local economy: uses that support local businesses and livelihoods
- Community engagement: proposals developed with and for the people who live and work in each area
Sites will be chosen with our Cairo partners and announced during the preparatory phase.
Why take part
- Work across disciplines. Planners, landscape architects, architects and designers rarely train together, but they always work together in practice.
- Learn on site, with local students. You will spend two weeks in the field with Egyptian students and experts.
- Build international experience. More and more firms work with partners in the Global South and look for people who can collaborate across cultures.
- Work with international organizations. The Studio is developed with UNESCO, UN-Habitat and university partners in Egypt and abroad.
- See your work exhibited. Projects are shown in an exhibition in Cairo, later brought to Montréal, and published in a Studio booklet.
- Discover Egypt. Many participants travel in Egypt or the region before or after the Studio.
Program
The core Studio runs for two weeks in the second half of June 2027 (exact dates to be confirmed). In Egypt, the working week starts on Sunday, and the Studio schedule follows the local calendar.
Before the Studio (January – May 2027). About one online or in-person activity per month: lectures on Egypt, Cairo and the Nile (history, culture, society, ecology), meetings to get to know your team, and logistics check-ins on passports, visas, housing and travel.
Optional preparatory week. In the days before the Studio, participants who are available can join trips along the Nile.
Week 1: in the field. After a welcome on Saturday, the Studio opens on Sunday on campus. Most of the week is spent on site with Egyptian students and experts, discovering the city and its riverbanks, with a group debrief at the end of each day. On Thursday, teams present what they have observed. The weekend is set aside for visits: the Giza pyramids, Coptic Cairo and Old Cairo, then residential districts such as Maadi, New Cairo, Heliopolis and the New Administrative Capital.
Week 2: design. An intensive design week. Each team develops its pilot project in response to the issues identified in week 1. Projects are presented at the opening of the exhibition.
After the Studio. The exhibition stays open for two weeks in Cairo, and the results are published jointly by the partners.
Who can apply
The Studio is open to master’s students in architecture, landscape architecture, urban design and urban planning at the participating universities. There are no other prerequisites. Eligibility and the number of places are set by each university, so check with your contact person (see below).
All teaching is in English, with facilitation in French and Arabic. The cohort will include about 40 to 50 students and around 10 faculty and experts from Egypt and abroad.
How to apply
- Contact your university’s contact person (list below) to confirm that you are eligible and how the Studio counts in your program.
- Send your application to your contact person by your university’s deadline December 4, as one PDF file (5 MB max.) containing:
- a cover letter explaining why you want to take part
- your CV
- examples of your work: studio projects, essays, reports or articles (simple images are enough; no polished layout needed)
- your undergraduate transcript
- Selection. Applications are assessed on how well the Studio fits your experience and goals, the quality of the work you submit and, as a guide, your grades. We also aim for a balanced cohort.
- Confirm your place once you are accepted, by sending a copy of your passport.
Places are limited. Once you confirm, your place cannot easily be given to someone else: the list of participants is sent to the Egyptian authorities in early December to arrange access to university campuses. Please confirm only if you are committed to taking part.
Credits
For students at the University of Montreal, the Studio is a 3-credit course. For students at other universities, please check with your local contact person to see how it counts in your program (elective, studio or other).
Logistics
- Venue: a university campus in downtown Cairo (venue to be announced)
- Travel and accommodation: you arrange and pay for your own return flight and your accommodation in Cairo. Accepted participants will be able to look for affordable options together, with help from our local partners.
- Getting around Cairo: mostly on foot and by ride-hailing (Uber), at your own cost.
- Passport: must be valid at least six months after you leave Egypt (that is, until early 2028). If yours expires sooner, start the renewal now.
- Visa: you are responsible for your own entry visa. For Canadian citizens it is an online e-visa (about US$30, around two days). Requirements vary by nationality, so check early.
- Insurance: you must have health and accident insurance covering your whole stay in Egypt.
- Weather: June in Cairo is very hot. Plan for heat during field days.
Costs
There is no separate fee to take part in the Studio; you register for the course at your home university under its usual conditions.
Indicative budget for two weeks (in US dollars, departing from Montréal):
| Item | Estimate |
|---|---|
| Return flight to Cairo | $860 – $1,300 |
| Accommodation (14 nights) | from about $300 |
| Meals | about $300 |
| Local transportation | up to about $320 (generous estimate) |
| Visa | about $30 |
| Total (minimum) | about $1,800 |
Costs depend on where you travel from and on your choices for flights, housing and meals.
Funding. Ask your contact person about mobility grants at your university. At the Université de Montréal, eligible students can apply for a UdeM International mobility grant (about US$860, with a supplement for students facing financial hardship) and a LOJIQ grant (about US$360), which would bring the cost down to about US$590. Student associations may also offer support.
Contact persons by university
| University | Contact person |
|---|---|
| Université de Montréal (Canada) — lead institution | Prof. Shin Koseki |
| Cairo University, Faculty of Urban and Regional Planning (Egypt) | Prof. Khalid El Adli |
| Cairo University, Faculty of Engineering (Egypt) | Prof. Sahar Imam |
| The American University in Cairo (Egypt) | Prof. Anastasia Gkoliomyti |
| Hanoi University of Architecture (Vietnam) | Prof. Thai Huyen Nguyen |
| Hanoi University of Civil Engineering (Vietnam) | Prof. Hoa Ta Quynh |
| Royal University of Fine Arts, Phnom Penh (Cambodia) | Prof. Kong Kosal |
| Royal University of Law and Economics, Phnom Penh (Cambodia) | Laurent Messmann |
| National University of Singapore (Singapore) | Prof. Victoria Marshall |
| Tulane University (United States) | Prof. Elizabeth Camuti |
| Louisiana State University (United States) | Prof. Kurt Culbertson |
| ENSA Paris Val-de-Seine (France) | Prof. Mathieu Mercuriali |
| McGill University (Canada) | Prof. Nik Lukas |
Is your university not on the list? Write to us, and we will let you know whether you can take part.
Partners
The Studio is led by the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape at the Université de Montréal. Its steering committee brings together UNESCO Headquarters, the UNESCO Office in Cairo, UN-Habitat Egypt, UN-Habitat Canada, Cairo University, the American University in Cairo and the Université de Montréal School of Public Health (ESPUM).
Previous editions
Questions? Write to Prof. Shin Koseki, UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape, Université de Montréal · shin.koseki@umontreal.ca