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!
From February 27 to March 2, Göttingen became a hub of ideas, discussions, and action as students from across Europe gathered for the ENLIGHT Student Conference.
This year’s focus? Sustainability and inclusivity — topics that shape our present and define our future. Both topics align with the ENLIGHT flagships of climate change and equity.
One of the hottest debates tackled greenwashing—how companies trick consumers into believing they’re more eco-friendly than they actually are. From misleading carbon offset programs to deceptive eco-labels, students explored how to recognize and combat these practices.
But it wasn’t just talk — the Recycled Runway challenged participants to create fashion from waste, proving that sustainability can be as creative as it is necessary. Meanwhile, the Potluck community kitchen project showed that sustainable living starts with simple, shared experiences.
Inclusivity took center stage as well, with a deep dive into the power of language. Through debates and hands-on exercises, students uncovered how everyday words shape social norms, reinforce biases, and influence belonging.
Workshops like Consent, Boundaries, and Autonomy, Active Bystander Training, and Inclusion Toolkits provided practical skills for making academic and social spaces more inclusive.
But the conference wasn’t just about theory. The challenges of transdisciplinary research—power dynamics, funding gaps, and collaboration struggles—sparked crucial conversations about how different fields can work together effectively.
The takeaway? Success lies in fostering collaboration, embracing openness, and recognizing both strengths and limitations across disciplines.
Beyond workshops and panel discussions, the conference provided a platform for networking, spontaneous conversations, and fresh ideas.
After days of big ideas and bold discussions, Sunday morning shifted the focus to strategy and next steps. At the ENLIGHT SN Meeting, in the beginning, students split into two groups—Community and Governance—each diving into key challenges.
The Community group focused on keeping student engagement structured and consistent. Social media strategies were also discussed, with plans for a stronger online presence and a more unified approach.
Reviewing the conference, students pushed for better leadership structure, earlier planning, and improved training on the Code of Conduct to ensure diversity and inclusion remain a priority.
Meanwhile, the Governance team focused on maintaining and expanding the SN’s presence in all Work packages.
In a joint session, the SN also voted on a new logo, aligning with the broader rebranding of ENLIGHT. The decision marks a fresh visual identity for the student network, symbolizing its evolving role and growing impact.
With momentum high, planning for ENLIGHT 2026 in Tartu is already in motion, focusing on better organization, stronger participation, and greater impact.
A huge thank you to the Conference Committee for making the event not just well-organized, but also truly welcoming. Their commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) ensured that every participant felt valued.
The ENLIGHT Student Conference 2025 wasn’t just another academic event—it was a step toward real change. And with Göttingen’s momentum, all eyes are now on Tartu 2026.
Below is the complete list of workshops and speakers.
Harm Verbeek – Groningen – Green Office Groningen: Greenwashing workshop
Dimitrios Symeonidis – Tartu – Reimagining Digital Transformation Ecosystems as Catalysts of
the Triple Transition: Build Your Dream Smart City!
Michele Iannuzzo, Helen Pérez, Vera Imhof and Marita Jäger – Bern – World Café: Transdisciplinary and Context Sensitive Research for Sustainability Transformations
Molly Hickey & Peter O'Neill – Galway-Sustainable Events: How to Get People Engaged and Excited About Sustainability
Birgit Eggink – Groningen – Active Bystander Training
Femke Beutels – Ghent – Inclusive Language and Communication
Elfi Aliyeva – Tartu – Inclusion Toolkits: Building Inclusive Communities for International Students
Shuting Yin – Uppsala – Food as a Bridge: Exploring Cultural Inclusion and Global Connections
ENLIGHT Calls 2025: What’s New?
ENLIGHT, a collaborative alliance of 10 universities, is dedicated to fostering cooperation between staff and students. Following the success of the first set of calls in 2024, which saw 80 applications and over 1,000 academics involved, ENLIGHT is excited to announce the second set of calls for 2025.
Overview of 2024 Calls
In 2024, ENLIGHT funded 10 Thematic Networks and 7 Incubator Grants. Additionally, the alliance has co-funded many ENLIGHT+ joint small initiatives. This year, the calls will again target specific types of action: ENLIGHT Incubator Grants, ENLIGHT Thematic Networks, and ENLIGHT+.
2025 Calls
As of 1 April 2025, the calls are open for teachers, researchers, students and professional staff members from all disciplines who are interested in setting up joint initiatives with peers from other ENLIGHT universities. Proposals should include minimum 3 ENLIGHT partners, with virtual exchange or micro-credentials requiring at least 2 ENLIGHT partners.
Main changes in the 2025 call:
Full details for each call will be available from 1 April onwards via the funding page on the website
Next steps to prepare for the ENLIGHT calls:
1. Determine the best call for your initiative
2. Identify ENLIGHT partners
3. Consider your budget
4. Outline your concrete plans
5. Stay informed
This spring semester ENLIGHT members can participate in six different staff training courses (Staff Weeks), four of which are still open for applications for both academic and non-academic staff.
The objective of the ENLIGHT Staff Weeks is to boost professional development and international cooperation, exchange best practices and encourage community-building between different fields. Each ENLIGHT university organises 2-5-day on-site courses every year, the topics range from marketing and funding to HR and career services.
Courses open for application:
The spring courses that are not open for application anymore are following:
See all options for staff trainings in Staff Week training calendar.
Uppsala University invites educators, students, and academic professionals to submit proposals for the fifth ENLIGHT Teaching & Learning Conference. This year’s theme, Playfulness for the Future of Higher Education, explores how playful teaching methods can enhance engagement, creativity, and learning.
We are now accepting proposals for presentations, workshops, and discussions that align with the conference theme. This is a great opportunity to share innovative ideas, connect with peers, and contribute to the future of higher education.
Join us for 2.5 days of exploration into playful teaching methodologies—from board games to role-play, puzzles to treasure hunts! Together, we'll embrace spontaneity, creativity, and curiosity to reimagine learning in higher education.
Let’s play, learn, and innovate together!
Submission Deadline: April 15, 2025
More information & how to apply: https://onlineexpo.com/en/enlight-2025/
The third edition of the European Dialogue will be hosted by the University of the Basque Country in Donostia-San Sebastián in May 21 and 22.
The goal of this event is to provide a platform for inspiration and development of bottom-up collaborations between our academics and our regional external partners and to further develop cooperation opportunities in our sixth flagship, namely Culture & Creativity.
Twice every academic year ENLIGHT publishes the joint, blended and virtual courses open for application by the student communities of all ENLIGHT universities.
Each course focusing on one of the 6 flagship areas of ENLIGHT: Health and Well-being, Digital Revolution and Impact of digitalization, Climate Change, Energy and circular economy, Culture and Creativity, Equity.
Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to gain knowledge and discover our partner universities.
Our offer is open to students from all ENLIGHT universities.
Please check with your institutional coordinator or faculty which programme will be available for your curriculum.
Registrations are open until the 15th of April 2025.
Find out more: https://enlight-eu.org/students/courses
Are you looking for a way to identify, analyze, and assess the impact of your university initiatives? The ENLIGHT Impact Toolkit is here to help! Whether you're working on education programs, research projects, mobility actions, or outreach initiatives, this free and open tool provides structured guidance, templates, and key questions to support your impact assessment journey.
But that’s not all!
Join us at the ENLIGHT Impact Conference in Groningen on 27-28 March 2025, where international impact experts, academics, and university leaders will explore how to integrate impact into all aspects of higher education. Registration is open for everyone!
What to expect?
✔ Insights into embedding impact across education, research, and societal engagement
✔ Expert discussions on impact assessment strategies and tools
✔ Showcases of impactful university initiatives
✔ Networking with ENLIGHT Impact Ambassadors and peers from across Europe
Be part of the conversation. Shape the future of impact-driven universities!
In this session, you will discover Peer Community In (PCI), a non-profit initiative offering free, transparent peer review for preprints. PCI ensures rigorous evaluation across 18 thematic communities, providing DOIs and citability without requiring journal publication. Alain Queffelec (University of Bordeaux) will present PCI’s structure, benefits, and impact on scientific publishing, followed by an open discussion. Stay tuned for details!
More inforamtion and registration link you will find here.
Louise Hannon, Head of Research Post Award, University of Galway will host an online session on Wednesday 12 March at 11 am CET aimed at staff of ENLIGHT universities who are working in the Research Support area. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear how pitch training is delivered to the research communities in the alliance.
Experts presenting are:
Registration is now open at this link https://forms.office.com/e/80K2Hb5neW – those registered will receive a MS Teams link prior to the event.
The upcoming ENLIGHT Student Network (SN) conference, hosted by the University of Göttingen, will focus on three pivotal themes: inclusivity, sustainability, and mobility. Around 100 students from 10 alliance universities are expected to participate in this exciting event, which promises a mix of lectures, workshops, and informal discussions.
The main goal of the conference is to foster an exchange of best practices among students from alliance universities. Through sharing experiences, inspiring one another, and engaging in meaningful conversations, participants will not only broaden their perspectives but may also establish valuable networks for future collaboration in these essential areas.
The ENLIGHT Student Conference offers a unique opportunity to bring together bright minds from across Europe, empowering students to drive positive change in their institutions and beyond. ENLIGHT Student Network conference will be held on 27.02.2025 - 02.03.2025
We are excited to announce that nominations are now open for the ENLIGHT Sustainability Award 2025 and the ENLIGHT Inclusion Award 2025! These awards celebrate the outstanding efforts of students who have shown exceptional dedication to promoting sustainability and inclusion through their projects and initiatives.
Eligible initiatives must be carried out between January 2024 and May 2025. To qualify, nominees must be Bachelor or Master students at an ENLIGHT partner university, and only non-profit, implemented initiatives will be considered. The selected winners will be invited to showcase their projects at the 5th ENLIGHT Teaching & Learning Conference in Uppsala, Sweden, from 8 to 10 October 2025.
We welcome submissions from across the ENLIGHT network. Applications must be submitted through your university, with each university nominating one initiative per category. To apply, please contact your university’s ENLIGHT office or reach out to your inclusion or sustainability coordinator for the application form and submission details.
