The ENLIGHT Academic Leadership Programme (ALP) officially began this autumn with its first session hosted by Uppsala University from 16 to 18 September 2025. Designed for senior leaders across the ten ENLIGHT universities, the programme strengthens strategic leadership capacity, builds cross-institutional relationships and creates space to reflect on the challenges universities face in an increasingly complex world.

Over one academic year, the participants are meeting in Uppsala, Bratislava, Galway and Ghent, where each session is dedicated to a specific theme: Strategic Challenges and Academic Culture, The Future of Internationalisation in Europe and the World, Managing Change and Identity in Higher Education.

What drives people and societies apart? How does polarisation affect democracy and what can we do to rebuild dialogue and trust?

From 17 November to 17 December, ENLIGHT is hosting the MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) “Growing Apart: What Is Polarisation and What Can We Do About It?”, where you will explore the causes and consequences of polarisation, learn to identify its mechanisms, reflect on its democratic impact, and develop practical strategies for navigating divisions in your own environment.

Developed by ENLIGHT partners — the University of Tartu and the University of Groningen — in collaboration with the University of Warsaw and the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society, this MOOC bridges academic insights with practical approaches to foster dialogue, empathy, and societal resilience.

The course is free of charge, fully online, and offers a digital certificate and 2 ECTS credits upon completion.

Registration is open until 13 November 2025.

Tuition language: English
Study format: Online (pre-recorded video lectures & Moodle activities)
Duration: 17.11.2025 – 17.12.2025

Register to the MOOC from here.

Find more information about the MOOC:
Join the new MOOC “Growing Apart: What Is Polarisation and What Can We Do About It?”

For additional questions, please contact:
Anna Beitane – Head of Digital Education Projects, Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies, University of Tartu via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

From 8 to 10 October 2025 at Uppsala University:Our fifth Teaching & Learning Conference brought 301 educators, students and innovators from across our ten partner universities and beyond to explore how playful methods can open up learning without losing rigour. The three-day programme mixed idea generating sessions, oral presentations, interactive workshops, poster sessions and a few surprises.

Discover how Yaël De Rocker’s involvement in ENLIGHT helped her grow academically, professionally, and personally, proving the power of cross-border learning and collaboration.

Assoc. Prof. Peter Hanajík, PhD, member of the ENLIGHT Green Network at Comenius University Bratislava recently visited the St. Francis of Assisi School in Bratislava, where he led an engaging and interactive session for second-grade pupils.

This December, Ghent University invites ENLIGHT academics to take part in two major international events exploring the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Health Care — bringing together researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and innovators from across Europe. 

On 5 December 2025, the spotlight turns to the HINT Innovator Summit on AI in Health Care, organised by Ghent University within the framework of the ENLIGHT Regional Academy. The event will showcase leading innovations, ethical perspectives, and real-world applications of AI in health, with opportunities for ENLIGHT academics to connect with the Health Intelligence Network Ghent (HINT.Ghent) community.

The ENLIGHT Staff Training week taking place in Bilbao from 21 to 23 October tackles mobility management of digital platforms, Master admission procedures and Technology Transfer matters.

The results of this year’s ENLIGHT Thematic Network and Incubator Grant Calls are in, and the engagement across our ten universities has increased significantly. With 104 proposals and more than 1,400 academics involved, the 2025 calls mark a new record for collaboration within our community.

How can humour heal, and how can understanding one’s rights empower? This October, the Regional Academy of Comenius University, part of the ENLIGHT university alliance, explored these themes through two engaging events — one focused on empathy in medicine, the other on civic awareness and rights protection.

From 14 to 16 October, around 70 African and European colleagues are gathering in Mauritius for the final conference of the Erasmus+ Capacity Building in Higher Education project PoMiSA – Potential of Microcredentials in Southern Africa.

Between 29 September and 2 October teaching academics from the ENLIGHT alliance met in Göttingen for networking and the development of joint teaching and learning initiatives.

As two ENLIGHT partner universities step into a new academic year, both Ghent University and the University of Galway begin fresh leadership chapters marked by vision, inclusion, and a shared commitment to global collaboration.