NEWS & EVENTS

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.

How it began

The story started in 2020 with a challenge. Through ENLIGHT’s Regional Academies, external partners highlighted a growing societal concern: ageing populations and the need to deliver more personalized health and welfare services.

This challenge brought together key actors from the Netherlands and Sweden, including Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Sweden, University of Groningen, Uppsala University, and Samenwerking Noord, alongside innovative companies active in e-health and other public and private partners.

What followed was the co-creation of GroUp—a challenge-driven collaboration designed to engage students directly in tackling real-world problems.

Building a cross-border learning experience

In 2021, the partners co-created a challenge-based programme that combined digital preparation with in-person collaboration. Teachers and partners worked closely together to design the learning journey, ensuring that students from a wide range of disciplines could contribute.

Bachelor’s and Master’s students from both universities were invited to take part, forming multidisciplinary teams to explore the challenge from different perspectives. Ahead of the physical meeting, participants attended two webinars, where they were introduced to the context, stakeholders and key questions related to the challenge.

To deepen their understanding, students also conducted digital interviews with relevant organisations, following a structured field research format. This preparatory phase enabled them to arrive well-informed and ready to engage.

From preparation to practice

A key strength of the GroUp initiative was the close collaboration between teachers and representatives from all participating organisations in the preparation phase. Together, they defined the challenge, aligned expectations, and co-designed the overall learning process to ensure it reflected real-world needs.

This joint effort included developing webinar content, designing the field research approach, planning the workshop structure, and coordinating how students would engage with stakeholders. By combining academic expertise with practical insights from partners, the initiative created a well-integrated learning experience that connected preparation directly to the on-site collaboration.

The collaboration culminated in a two-day, in-person workshop hosted at the Innovation House of the Royal Dutch Embassy in Stockholm. There, students, academics and partner organisations came together to further develop ideas and solutions.

Participants also visited relevant organisations connected to the challenge, gaining first-hand insight into real-world contexts and needs. Guided by academics and representatives from the partner organisations, student teams refined their concepts and prepared to present their ideas.

A competitive element added further motivation: a prize was awarded to the team presenting the most promising solution, recognising both innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration.

A model for challenge-based collaboration

Since its initial launch, the GroUp format has been successfully implemented on three occasions, each time addressing a new societal challenge. These have included ageing populations and personalised health and welfare services, supporting students in identifying their future professional paths, and exploring how a museum can become a key space for communicating evidence-based knowledge on climate change.

This development demonstrates how the GroUp model can be adapted to different contexts and needs, while maintaining its core strength: bringing together students, academia and external partners to co-create solutions with real societal relevance.

As part of the wider ENLIGHT framework, GroUp serves as a model for how universities and partners can co-create impactful learning experiences. It shows that when students are given the opportunity to work on real challenges, supported by a diverse network of expertise, they can contribute with innovative ideas that have the potential to make a real difference.