On April 30, 2025, the Public Defender of Rights, JUDr. Róbert Dobrovodský, PhD., LL.M. (Tübingen), gave a lecture as part of the international Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) titled Migration in Global & Local Context, held at the Faculty of Arts, Comenius University in Bratislava. His lecture was also part of the university’s Regional Academy platform.

Dr. Dobrovodský introduced students and participants to the role of the Public Defender of Rights in promoting fundamental rights and freedoms in Slovakia, including those of migrants and foreigners. He focused particularly on the practical aspects of protecting the rights of individuals held in detention centers and shared insights from unannounced inspection visits to such facilities.

He highlighted several serious findings—for instance, degrading conditions in which migrants are detained, excessive restrictions on contact with family, insufficient access to healthcare, and the absence of a legal basis for confiscating personal belongings. He also presented specific recommendations aimed at improving the situation, including the use of alternatives to detention, enhancement of material conditions, and increasing the number of trained staff. At the same time, he pointed out positive changes that have been implemented following interventions by the Public Defender.

The lecture was highly praised for its professionalism, clarity, and openness. Students appreciated the opportunity to engage in discussion with the Public Defender on current challenges in the field of migration and human rights.

Join the 9th ENLIGHT & Arqus Alliance Open Science Ambassador Webinar featuring Hildrun Walter (University of Graz) on 19th May 2025 from 10:00 - 11:30 AM (CET). This session will explore the vital role of science communication in today’s society and how Open Science practices can help strengthen trust in research—especially in times of global crises like the pandemic and climate change. Find out more and register here.

The application for the University of Groningen summer schools has opened! These interdisciplinary, research driven programmes are an opportunity to learn more about your own field or to broaden your knowledge, work on important questions and gain inspiration for your studies and/or research! 

Femke De Backere, associate professor at Ghent University and senior scientist at imec, blends software engineering with impactful healthcare research. Through ENLIGHT, she co-teaches the interdisciplinary summer school Innovation Game: Applying Serious Game Design in Health Care at Uppsala University. In this interview, she shares how ENLIGHT has helped her build international collaborations and push the boundaries of education and research in personalized, serious games. Read the full interview here.

Looking for an inspiring way to spend your summer? Join UniTartu Summer School 2025 from 28 July to 8 August in the vibrant and historic city of Tartu, Estonia! Applications are open until 30 April 2025. 

This summer, we are offering ten exciting courses across a variety of fields, including Immunology, Biology, Politics, Patient-centred Communication, Robotics, Semiotics, Material Science, Diagnostic Techniques, and Machine Learning. Whether you’re looking to deepen your knowledge, gain international experience, or connect with like-minded peers, there’s a course for you! 

How to Apply 

To secure your place, submit a scanned transcript of academic records, a copy of your passport, a motivation letter and an online application. The application fee is €25, which allows you to apply for up to two courses. You’ll receive your admission decision by 14 May. 

Scholarships & Discounts 

A range of scholarships is available, including Estonian National Scholarships, scholarships for students from ENLIGHT partner universities, and full tuition fee scholarships for three medical courses. Applicants must submit separate applications for both the summer course and the scholarship. Apply by 7 April for Early Bird Discount of 10%! Returning students also receive a 10% discount!  

More Than Just Studies! 

UniTartu Summer School is not just about academics – it’s an unforgettable cultural experience! Enjoy exciting social events, explore Estonian culture, and make lifelong friends from around the world. Some activities are included in your course fee, and for extra cost you’ll also have the chance to join a special excursion to South Estonia to discover the country’s breathtaking landscapes. 

Don’t miss this chance for an unforgettable summer of learning and cultural exchange. Apply now to the UniTartu Summer School 2025! 

Join University of Galway, University of Groningen/UMCG and Uppsala University on April 8^th  for a dynamic pan-European forum exploring Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) in research. This event brings together distinguished speakers from Sweden, the Netherlands, and Ireland who will share insights from case studies, highlighting both the commonalities and differences in PPI practices across diverse European contexts. There will be opportunities to hear perspectives from other ENLIGHT colleagues across Europe.  

This event will take place in University of Galway, Ireland from 10am-4pm (GMT) and will also be available online to international colleagues, ensuring ample opportunity for engagement and participation for virtual attendees. This event is kindly funded by ENLIGHT.

Additional details and registration available here.

Throughout the session, speakers with audience participation will discuss innovative strategies, collaborative approaches, and the nuanced challenges of integrating public and patient voices into research. Attendees will gain valuable perspectives on how these varied experiences contribute to shaping inclusive research across Europe. 

Whether you are a researcher, member of the public, PPI contributor, student, policymaker, or stakeholder passionate about PPI, this event offers a unique opportunity to learn from real-world case studies, engage in cross-border dialogue, and be inspired by the evolving landscape of public and patient involvement in research. 

To stimulate and support the bottom-up cooperation between the ENLIGHT university communities, ENLIGHT launched a first set of calls for joint initiatives in April 2024 . A second set of calls is launched in April 2025. 

Each call targets joint proposals for specific types of actions involving at least three ENLIGHT instutions. 

1. Call for ENLIGHT Incubator Grants: to support joint programmes, joint future-proof education projects and stepping-stones for international learning across the six ENLIGHT focus areas. A 3rd call will be launched in Spring 2026.
2. Call for ENLIGHT Thematic Networks: to support interdisciplinary academic networks for developing joint challenge-based activities linking education, research and outreach across the six ENLIGHT focus areas. The current call is the last one, no further calls will be launched before November 2027.
3. (ongoing) ENLIGHT+ call: to foster new emerging joint (small-scale, inclusive and/or sustainable) initiatives across disciplines. This is a call with several deadlines per year, to be continued until November 2027.

Find out more HERE.

180 participants from 18 different countries, 55 different organizations and a total of 50 universities/ universities of applied sciences. We look back on a very inspiring ENLIGHT IMPACT Conference, hosted by the University of Groningen. We engaged with inspiring keynote speakers Marthe Walvoort, Thomas Alslev Christensen and Igor Campillo. We have had thought-provoking discussions with Maria Hägglund, Daniela Lud, Frederik Verbeke, Natalie Walsh, Iona Dewandeler and Jorge Molina Martinez. Engaging campfire sessions by Julie Bayley, Maristela do Nascimento Rocha, Nele Bracke, Jacqueline Drost, Lorenzo Squintani and Balzhan Orazbayeva and inspring workshops from Emma Siddall, Ailsa Cook, Saskia Walcott, Giovanna Lima, Anabel Sánchez Plaza. Anja Smykowski, Esther de Smet and Zuzana Lisonová. Thank you all for your input on how to bring about meaningful impact and break down the walls between science and society.

Thank you to students Manon Colombo from EC2U, Niloofar Hashemi from ENHANCE and Karami Setaye    sh from CIRCLE U for sharing your experiences with IMPACT in your respective alliances.

We warmly congratulate our new ENLIGHT IMPACT Ambassadors (and teams) with their winning projects and pitches:
Ane Eguren Ikazuriaga (University of the Basque Country), Cassandra Alighieri (Ghent University), Muriel Grenon (University of Galway), Nahia Idoiaga Mondragon (University of the Basque Country), Pádraig MacNeela (University of Galway), Sara Lambrechts (Ghent University) and Jan Trachet (Ghent University).

And lastly, a very special thank you to the ENLIGHT IMPACT Conference Committee and to the University of Groningen team for hosting this event.

We hope to see you all again at Comenius University Bratislava for the next ENLIGHT IMPACT Conference in March 2027.

The ENLIGHT Knowledge Exchange Session, State Aid Considerations in Research and Innovation at our Universities will take place online on Thursday 3^rd April 13.30 CET 

The session is aimed at staff of ENLIGHT universities who are working in the Research Offices, Technology Transfer and Innovation Offices, Compliance Offices, Research Legal, Research Finance also others who support externally funded research.  

Registration is now open at this link https://forms.office.com/e/xrDgVLCLYB  

The event will be hosted by Louise Hannon – Head of Research, Post Award, University of Galway. 

The experts presenting are: 

• Karen Curé, Business development Advisor Technology Transfer, Department of Research Affairs, University of Ghent 

• Declan McGrath, Director Research Accounting Office, University of Galway 

• Zuzana Lisoňová, Head of Research Project Office, Rectorate, Comenius University, Bratislava  

Pelin Koyuncu, psychology student at the University of Bern, attended the ENLIGHT summer school Game Design in Health Care and Education. She developed an app that motivates people to exercise and stay physically active. In this interview, she discusses how she combines her passion for gaming with her psychology studies at the University of Bern, and explains why an ENLIGHT hybrid course offers a unique experience. Read the full interview here

We are excited to announce that 18 new bottom-up initiatives by academic and non-academic staff from our ENLIGHT partner universities have been selected in the first application round of 2025!

Supported by national and institutional funding, these initiatives focus on community and cooperation building, inclusion, and sustainability, strengthening collaboration across our alliance. We look forward to seeing these projects grow and make an impact!

You can find out more about the selected projects HERE.

The next application deadline is 31 May 2025 – stay tuned for more details!

A last-minute application led Adrián Binka, a General Medicine student at Comenius University, to an eye-opening journey with ENLIGHT. From tackling global neurohealth challenges to shaping the student voice in academia, ENLIGHT fueled his passion for research, sustainability, and collaboration across Europe. Now, he’s on a mission to share this life-changing experience with others.

Read the full interview to discover his story!