July ENLIGHT University Alliance successfully secures funding of €14.4 million

The European Commission has awarded ENLIGHT €14.4 million in funding over the next four years by the European Commission as part of the 2023 Erasmus+ call for proposals for European Universities. 

ENLIGHT, a European University now consisting of 10 universities from 10 European countries with the recent announcement of the University of Bern becoming the newest alliance member, intend to allocate a significant portion of the funding towards academic initiatives, emphasizing its commitment to supporting scholars.

Professor Becky Whay, Vice President International at University of Galway, said: “The ENLIGHT network has grown from strength to strength over the past three years, and we at University of Galway are delighted to be part of having secured this further financial support which both acknowledges the previous success and the future potential of ENLIGHT.” 

Gijs Coucke, Project Coordinator, University of Ghent, said: “This allows ENLIGHT to expand and enhance the initiatives that were developed during the pilot phase. The ambition remains firm: to create an open space for our students and staff to learn, teach, cooperate, create and innovate. ENLIGHT wants to empower learners with the skills they need to address the complex global societal challenges. Across various learning formats, students will actively engage with sustainable development, global engagement and societal change. But besides high-quality education ENLIGHT will adopt a holistic approach integrating research and innovation into the knowledge creation process.’’ 

Anders Hagfeldt, Rector of Uppsala University and Chair of the ENLIGHT Governing Board, said: “The selection reaffirms our commitment to further deepen and intensify the cooperation. ENLIGHT’s success relies on the dedication of its community, including students, staff, and academics. We look forward to taking the next steps with all our partners to develop an open and inclusive European University.”   

ENLIGHT has introduced new elements as part of its strategic direction, including the launch of bottom-up calls for interdisciplinary thematic networks and starter grants to promote the development of future-proof education. Additionally, the alliance has expanded its focus areas and added ‘culture and creativity’ to the existing areas of health and well-being, digitalization, climate change, energy and circular economy, and equity.

The ENLIGHT alliance includes: University of Galway; Comenius University, Bratislava (Slovakia); University of Groningen (Netherlands); University of Bordeaux (France); Gent University (Belgium); University of Tartu (Estonia); University of Gottingen (Germany); University of the Basque Country (Spain); Uppsala University (Sweden); and University of Bern (Switzerland).

Further information on ENLIGHT is available at https://enlight-eu.org/.

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