NEWS & EVENTS

ENLIGHT was proud to participate in the 4th European Universities Initiative (EUI) Forum, hosted by the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union at Maynooth University on 10 July. The forum brought together university leaders, policymakers, European Commission representatives and members of the European Universities alliances to discuss the future of the initiative and the conditions needed for its long-term success.

The call for nominations for the ENLIGHT Impact Awards 2026 is now open, inviting ENLIGHT partner universities to nominate collaborative initiatives that demonstrate outstanding planning for, contribution to and achievement of societal impact.

This spring, the University of Göttingen welcomed students from across the ENLIGHT network for a Blended Intensive Programme on Artificial Intelligence for Forest and Landscape Remote Sensing. Over one intensive week, participants from Bordeaux, Bratislava, Groningen, Göttingen, and beyond came together to tackle a real research problem: detecting individual tree crowns in high-resolution aerial imagery.

How can universities and cities develop their collaborations to address complex societal challenges? This question was at the heart of the ENLIGHT Regional Academy event, co-created by Region Gotland and Uppsala University at Campus Gotland, where participants from across Europe gathered to explore how challenge-based collaboration and gamification can support sustainable regional development.

The ENLIGHT alliance is built on connecting universities, regions and wider society to address real-world challenges. A compelling example of this approach can be seen in the collaboration between Uppsala University, Region Gotland, and the wider ENLIGHT alliance network, where an existing regional initiative was transformed into an international platform for dialogue and collaboration.

At the heart of the ENLIGHT alliance lies a commitment to challenge-based learning and collaboration across borders. The GroUp initiative is a one of the examples of this approach in practice—bringing together universities, public institutions and industry partners to co-create solutions to pressing societal issues.

The cooperation with Clowndoctors exemplifies the ENLIGHT spirit: combining academic expertise with external partners’ experience to generate real societal impact. What began as a challenge has grown into an international collaboration that connects universities, medical professionals, and artists across Europe.

On Saturday, 13 June, the first joint ENLIGHT micro-credential, “Humor as a Communication Tool in Healthcare,” was successfully completed. The programme was developed through the collaboration of Comenius University Bratislava (Slovakia), the University of Groningen (the Netherlands), Uppsala University (Sweden), the University of Göttingen (Germany), and the University of Galway (Ireland), together with ČERVENÝ NOS Clowndoctors (Slovakia), Clowns on Call (Sweden), and the Teddy Bear Hospital initiative, which uses experiential learning to help children overcome fears associated with hospitals and healthcare settings.

Doctoral studies in Europe are becoming more international and accessible through new initiatives developed within the ENLIGHT university alliance.