News & Events

The first ENLIGHT interdisciplinary course Designing Research on Different Dimensions of Equity

From 12 to 16 September 2022, the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences of Comenius University hosted the first ENLIGHT interdisciplinary course Designing Research on Different Dimensions of Equity.

Uppsala alumnus Svante Pääbo wins Nobel Prize in medicine

Svante Pääbo, who received his doctorate from Uppsala University in 1986, has been awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine “for his discoveries concerning the genome of extinct hominins and human evolution”.

PhD Jamie Behrendt develops website on micro electricity grids in the European Union

Microgrids are decentralised electricity systems that can, technically, operate independently of the main electricity network. This possibility could stimulate a more sustainable energy mix. Legally, however, the integration of microgrids in the EU electricity market is not regulated.

ENLIGHT Lecture: 'Health & Equity', October 12, 6 pm CET

On October 12 at 6pm, this semesters’ fourth ENLIGHT lecture will be hosted and livestreamed online. This session addresses the importance of and multifaceted challenges to equity in the context of public health care.

Human Rights Centre recognized the University of Tartu with the quality label “Respecting differences”

On 15 September, the Estonian Human Rights Centre presented the diverse workplace quality label “Respecting differences” to the University of Tartu.

University of Tartu sets out to increase climate awareness

With the new academic year, a joint project of Estonian universities was launched, aiming to increase the climate awareness of Estonian society with systematic climate education at all levels of education. In the project, education strategies are developed, learning materials for teaching climate change mitigation and adaptation are created, and teachers are supported in using them. The partners of the project "Climate awareness from school to society: empowering children, youth and teachers to reduce the effects of climate change" are the University of Tartu, the Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tallinn University and the University of Bergen in Norway.

Climate conscious person changes society, not the climate
Climate change poses high risks to many natural and human systems. An effective fight against climate change starts with climate awareness: an understanding of the causes of global warming and the skills to reduce human-induced greenhouse gas emissions and prepare for climate change.

According to Piia Post, Associate Professor in Meteorology and Climatology at the University of Tartu and the leader of the project, it is important to combine the best knowledge of climate science and education to increase climate awareness. "In Estonia, awareness of climate change mitigation and adaptation is often not based on science. Therefore, as one output of the project, we are preparing a simple "ABC of Climate Change", which every Estonian resident could use to start their journey towards climate awareness. Thus, the broader goal of the project is to include not only schools but the whole society," added Post.

The project will first develop strategies for teaching how to mitigate the effects of climate change and adapt to it. More specifically, the project team will analyse in which school subjects climate change is currently discussed and which teaching strategies are used for this purpose. It also describes new strategies to help provide knowledge about climate change, mitigation and adaptation, while considering teachers' and parents' personal opinions, confirmation bias, cultural ideologies and ethical aspects.

In addition, the project aims to develop educational programmes, create learning materials for all target groups, support their use in educational institutions, and offer recommendations for curriculum renewal. In the course of the project, training materials and continuing education courses will be produced, as well as climate awareness assessment tools to monitor the impact of using the created learning materials.

The project is financed from the open application round "Increasing Climate Awareness" of the European Economic Area's Financial Mechanism 2014−2021 Programme "Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation". The project's total budget is 588,000 euros, of which the EEA support mediated by the Estonian Environmental Investment Centre is 499,800 euros. The project deadline is 30 April 2024.

International Graduate Workshop Seeking a new Internationalism. Origins, Concepts, Ideas

Date: 10 – 12 November 2022
Venue: Stiftung Adam von Trott (Bebra-Imshausen, Germany)

UGent podcast on mental health: Unpublished

‘Unpublished’ is a podcast about mental well-being at work, created by Trustpunt, the confidential counselors' service at Ghent University. 

ENLIGHT Lecture: „Equity in Science & Technology”, September 14, 6 pm CET

On September 14th at 6pm, this semesters’ third ENLIGHT lecture will be hosted and livestreamed online. This session investigates the issue of equity in the broad context of science and technology as many people are facing unequal treatment or structural obstacles due to gender, ethnicity, or socio-economic positions. Furthermore, the unequal distribution of scientific infrastructures and data due to unequal resources is an obstacle to more equity in science. In this lecture therefore three experts of the ENLIGHT network give presentations on how different projects work to reduce inequalities in science and technology from different angles.

ENLIGHT Health & Humanities online workshops

The universities of Ghent, Groningen and Uppsala are setting up a Health and Humanities network within the context of ENLIGHT. The network aims to create possibilities for cooperation and exchange in research, teaching and outreach. Each university will present ongoing health and humanities activities in their departments during online introductory meetings.

The three online workshops will take place on Mondays from 4 to 5.30 pm CET.

  • Monday 26 September, hosted by the University of Groningen
  • Monday 24 October, hosted by Ghent University
  • Monday 28 November, hosted by Uppsala University

For more information and to register, email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ENLIGHT Mid-year Meeting, June 15-17

The National University of Ireland, Galway hosted the ENLIGHT mid-year Meeting from June 15th – 17th, 2022.  There were 100 attendees including Rectors, Directors, Student Network and the work package leading teams of academic leaders and coordinators of both the Erasmus+ and the RISE project communities.

ENLIGHT RISE – Research and Innovation Agenda with and for Society started in September 2021, and the mid-year meeting provided the opportunity to bring both Erasmus+ and RISE communities together.