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.  

• Call for ENLIGHT Incubator Grants: support the development of joint programmes, joint future-proof education projects and stepping-stones for international learning across the six ENLIGHT focus areas (deadline: 30 June 2025) 

• Call for ENLIGHT Thematic Networks: support interdisciplinary academic networks for developing joint challenge-based activities linking education, research and service to society across the six ENLIGHT focus areas (deadline: 30 June 2025) 

• ENLIGHT+ call: foster new emerging joint (small-scale, inclusive and/or sustainable) initiatives across disciplines (deadline: 31 May 2025, more deadlines to be announced)  

Main changes in the 2025 call:  

• ENLIGHT Incubator Grants will have 2 strands: 1 for the development of joint Bachelor or Master programmes (50.000 €, 2 years) and 1 for the development of other joint educational initiatives. A minimum of 10 projects will be funded overall for both strands.  

• ENLIGHT Thematic networks will have a shortened duration and will receive 100.000€ for 2 years. This will be the final call for Thematic Networks, with a minimum of 15 projects funded. 

• ENLIGHT+: streamlined procedure with a single application per initiative, evaluated by each partner involved.  

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  

• Use the Partner Search tool or the ENLIGHT R&I Observatory on the website 

• Contact your institutional ENLIGHT coordinator for support 

3. Consider your budget 

• ENLIGHT Thematic Networks: maximum budget per network is 100.000 €  

• ENLIGHT Incubator Grants: maximum budget per initiative is 30.000 € for joint educational initiatives, 50.000€ for joint programmes  

• ENLIGHT+: (small) budget depends on each university (university funds). 

4. Outline your concrete plans 

• Consider quality, feasibility, output, and added value. 

5. Stay informed  

• Follow ENLIGHT communication channels: website funding page, newsletter and social media (LinkedIn, Instagram). 

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:

• Lifelong Learning University - 5-9 May (University of Tartu)
  Application deadline: 25  March 
• HR in transition / IT services / Student and academic services 13-16 May (University of Göttingen) 
  Application deadline: 15  March 
• Career Services – 10-12 June (University of Galway)
  Application deadline: 15  March
• Content marketing for university branding 11-13 June (Ghent University)
  Application deadline: 10  March

The spring courses that are not open for application anymore are following: 

• Effective Supervision of PhD Candidates 31 March - 2 April (University of Groningen)
• The Dynamics of Internationalisation 12-16 May (Comenius University Bratislava)

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!

Try the ENLIGHT Impact Toolkit now

Register for the conference.

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:

• Delphine Charles – Science Communications Officer, University of Bordeaux
• Ruth Hynes – Head of Research & Innovation Strategic Development, University of Galway
• Marlies Kluck – Grant advisor, trainer & editor, University of Groningen Central Services

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.

ENLIGHT is pleased to announce Iker Callado as a featured voice at Faces of ENLIGHT. A Psychology graduate and educator, he champions inclusion in education and sports, earning recognition at the 2024 ENLIGHT Inclusion Awards. As a coach for Bilbao’s “Athletic” lionesses, he embodies equity on and off the field.

Read the full interview on the Faces of ENLIGHT and stay stuned, more inspiring interviews are on the way!

Join us at the ENLIGHT IMPACT Conference on 27-28 March 2025 in Groningen! Registration is now open!

We look forward to connecting international impact experts with practitioners, academics and management staff to explore and exchange on how to integrate impact into all facets of our universities.

In addition to discussions, workshops and campfire sessions, the conference hosts the ENLIGHT Impact Awards 2025. Our nominees have all made outstanding contributions to advancing knowledge, research and societal impact but who has the best pitch? Who will be the 6 new IMPACT Ambassadors? Find out and vote on the spot.

Find the programme information here.
Please register here.