Cities in Transition Investigated by European Students, short CITIES, is a three-year school partnership between five secondary schools from five European countries. The project partners from Germany, Norway, Poland, Spain and The Netherlands form this network to enable students from the upper secondary years, teachers and the schools as a whole as well as other relevant stakeholders and project partners (e.g. town administrations, energy suppliers, homes for the elderly, experts from universities) to develop central basic and transversal skills (the project's major objective), enhance digital learning and contribute to a European area of skills and qualifications. During the project students investigate the past, present and future of the European city and focus on the communities they live in as case studies: Amersfoort, Ibiza, Nesodden, Poznán and Rees. Through comparing and contrasting these cities spread all over Europe they recognise and analyse the cities' present and future problems and discuss what challenges major problems like an aging population, migration and a changing climate pose to our societies. In multinational groups and supported by experts from within and outside schools they work on solutions to these challenges via the eTwinning platform and during six project conferences or transnational learning activities. Their goal for the third project year is to organise a public meeting, hearing or debate in each of the five participating cities tackling one of the city's problems or encouraging its development potential thus making an actual impact on their local communities. Through this CITIES wants to raise the awareness of current challenges but also of the development potential of the European city and promote the idea of an active European citizenship and entrepreneurship within the schools and beyond. During the work process students do many activities which develop central basic and transversal competences, such as debating, organisation, language and ICT skills. These activities are designed by teachers to follow innovative principles like CLIL, digital learning and a focus on learning outcomes so that not only the students but also teachers and thus the schools profit from CITIES: Teachers develop their methodological skills and schools benefit on a long-term basis from enhanced CLIL and ICT methodology and knowledge of task design as well as from the raised European awareness and internationalisation within the schools and the local communties, which is also achieved through the project, for example as a consequence of the six project conferences involving many participants from the schools and beyond. The project results are made available to both the school communities and the wider public and are disseminated through the project website and its TwinSpace, the schools' websites, public debates, exhibitions, newspaper articles and on conferences for teachers. At the end of the project two brochures, one with project results and one with "best practice" examples of innovative methodolgy, are published. Through CITIES the five partners aim to develop basic and transversal skills essential for living successful and meaningful lives as active citizens in future European cities worth living in. At the same time they intend to promote a spirit of European cooperation.