ENLIGHT has published new training possibilities for support staff members of the network in their Staff Week trainings calendar. The application is already open for the trainings in the Basque Country and in Göttingen.
Last week, ENLIGHT was represented at the 3rd Forum of European Universities Alliances in Wrocław, Poland, by Marcela Zubriczka (Comenius University Bratislava) and Kristi Kerge (University of Tartu). The event gathered delegates from all 65 alliances recognised under the European Universities Initiative — providing an important platform to exchange practices, reflect on progress, and explore the future of cross-border collaboration in higher education.
From 4 to 6 June 2025, 140 participants from the ten ENLIGHT universities, city representatives, Rectors and students have gathered in the beautiful city of Bordeaux (France) to share around the theme of « Stimulating Cities: How do cities and alliances move forward together? » The event was hosted by the University of Bordeaux.
This Mid Year meeting’s primary ambition has been to encourage and strenghten the collaboration between cities and universities, around some workshops and plenary sessions with round tables.
The European university alliance ENLIGHT has announced the selection of six new Impact Ambassadors during the closing ceremony of the ENLIGHT Impact Conference held on 28-29 March 2025 in Groningen.
The ENLIGHT Impact Ambassadors represent the awarded teams that have demonstrated to be exemplars in the planning for and achieving impact in the ENLIGHT's flagship areas: Health & Wellbeing, Digital Revolution, Climate Change, Energy & Circular Economy, and Equity.
We are pleased to announce that 144 proposals have been selected for inclusion in the programme of the ENLIGHT Teaching & Learning Conference 2025! This year's call attracted 172 submissions—an increase of more than 30% compared to the previous edition.
All proposals were reviewed by two independent teaching and learning professionals, and we thank all contributors for their time, effort, and thoughtful ideas. The selected contributors have been informed, and the full list of accepted sessions will be shared as part of the conference programme.
The programme is expected to be published by the end of June 2025 on the official conference website.
Frederik Verbeke, lecturer at the University of the Basque Country, has been a key academic voice in the ENLIGHT alliance, notably leading the BIP course “Connecting Cultures”, which earned a podium spot at the 2024 Teaching & Learning Awards. A passionate advocate for Challenge-Based Education, Verbeke sees ENLIGHT as a powerful platform to harness Europe’s cultural and linguistic richness. His work continues to foster transnational collaboration and innovation in higher education. Read more here.
From 1 to 4 April 2025, representatives from the ENLIGHT universities of Bern, Galway, Ghent, Göttingen, and Groningen took part in the IPORA event held in Bordeaux, France.
IPORA is an international transdisciplinary research network, funded in 2023, between four main universities: Abidjan (Ivory Coast), Addis-Adeba (Ethiopia), Bordeaux (France) and Rabat (Morocco).
ENLIGHT brings together academics, researchers and prominent cultural agents to discuss and find new cooperation paths across the alliance. The third edition of the ENLIGHT European Dialogue focused on Co-creation of knowledge together with the Cultural & Creative sectors and was hosted by the University of the Basque Country on 21-22 May 2025.
The ENLIGHT Blended Intensive Programme (BIP), Connecting Cultures Across Europe, is an established path of collaboration among ENLIGHT partners. This course is holding its onsite week during the week of 12-19 May 2025 in Vitoria-Gasteiz, with a multidisciplinary team of lecturers from four ENLIGHT institutional partners.
The second edition of this course focuses on sustainability, travel, translation and migration-related societal challenges that the students try to address from a socio-cultural perspective. The course, co-organised with local agents, is taught by academics from four ENLIGHT universities and includes Master and PhD level learners from nine partners of the alliance.
If you are passionate about AI and healthcare and have an entrepreneurial spirit, you are welcome to the AIProHealth Summer School, which offers an intensive learning experience for students, postdocs, junior specialists, and startup employees in AI, medicine, and business who focus on innovation in medical technology.
At the event you will learn about AI's technical, ethical, and legal aspects in healthcare and gain entrepreneurial experience in bringing AI solutions to the healthcare market.
Anette-Mai Pirk-Birk, student representative of ENLIGHT and former Vice President of the University of Tartu’s Student Union, believes in the transformative power of collaboration. From organizing student activities to participating in high-level governance, she has helped bridge perspectives across disciplines and borders. In this interview, she reflects on her experience with ENLIGHT, the lessons learned through international cooperation, and why she believes student voices are essential in reimagining education across Europe.
Read the full interview here.
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.
