Scientists from the IOER honored with AESOP Excellence in Teaching Award 2026

The Award Committee was particularly impressed by the course's outstanding and highly innovative pedagogical design. It explains its choice with the following words: "The strong alignment between learning objectives, inquiry-based teaching methods and assessment strategies creates a stimulating learning environment in which students actively engage as critical 'spatial investigators' addressing real-world socio-ecological conflicts." According to the Award Committee, the course represents an outstanding contribution to contemporary planning education, driven by its close integration of theory and practice, its international and inclusive learning environment, and its focus on major global challenges such as spatial justice and sustainability transitions.

The course "Global Perspectives in Spatial Development" is part of the Master's degree programme "Spatial Development and Natural Resource Management" at TU Dresden, which is conducted in close cooperation with the IOER. In this course, students examine locations where conflicts over available space arise due to various development projects  –  such as the planned expansion of renewable energy, urban green infrastructure, the concept of viewing cities as closed systems (circular cities), or injustices emerging within the urban-rural dynamic and along global supply chains.

"At its core, the course addresses the question: Can spatial planning prevent the negative environmental and social impacts of development without causing unintended 'collateral damage'?," explains Alejandro de Castro Mazarro. "Our aim is to transform students from passive learners into investigative and critical researchers." To achieve this, students are tasked with conducting a "spatial investigation" based on a development-related conflict of their choice. They analyse the spatial conflicts in three phases: first, they describe the conflict and the current situation; next, they reconstruct the historical development; and finally, they evaluate responsibilities and potential solutions.

At the end, students' work culminates in a piece in the style of investigative journalism that synthesizes their analytical findings. This highlights another distinctive feature of the course: the reflective use of generative AI. For each selected case study, Neelakshi Joshi und Alejandro de Castro Mazarro provide students with an "AI-prompted baseline", which the students must then enrich based on their own analyses. "The goal is for students to phrase their texts much more concisely, consistently, complexly, and persuasively than the AI-generated texts. They are expected to consider multiple perspectives in their texts and critically engage with various sustainability narratives. Thus, we encouraged the use of AI as a source of creating the first draft; however discouraged students from outsourcing critical thinking to AI," explains Neelakshi Joshi.

The AESOP Excellence in Teaching Award 2026 was presented at the 6th World Planning Schools Congress in Helsinki in early July. A detailed description of the teaching concept can be found on the AESOP website.

About the award winners
Alejandro de Castro Mazarro and Neelakshi Joshi work at the Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IOER) in Dresden, Germany in the “Landscape, Ecosystems, and Biodiversity” Research Area. 

Alejandro de Castro Mazarro has been conducting research as a postdoc at the IOER since 2019. Originally from Spain, the architect investigates, among other things, local and spatial dimensions of globally produced inequalities. Through his research, he aims to identify pathways towards a just transition to greater sustainability.

Neelakshi Joshi is an alumna of the Dresden Leibniz Graduate School (DLGS). Since 2021, she has also been conducting research as a postdoc at the IOER, focusing primarily on issues surrounding the energy transition and climate justice in urban areas. In her postdoctoral project, she examines the relationship between the energy transition and landscape change, including in her home country of India.

About the AESOP 
The Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP) is a network of European universities, their departments and affiliated schools that are engaged in teaching and research in the fields of urban and regional planning. Established in 1987, the network comprises more than 150 members. It is part of the Global Planning Education Association Network (GPEAN), a worldwide alliance of eleven planning schools associations. AESOP organizes various academic conferences annually, including the AESOP Annual Congress – the most important and largest gathering of the planning academic community in Europe. This schedule changes every five years, when the GPEAN World Planning Schools Congress takes place instead.

Scientific contact at the IOER
Dr. Neelakshi Joshi, e-mail: n.joshiioer@ioer.de
Dr. Alejandro De Castro Mazarro, e-mail: a.decastroioer@ioer.de