University of Göttingen: European University receives renewal funding for another four years
The European university network Enlight has been renewed: the EU has funded the Enlight Network consisting of the University of Göttingen with nine other research-oriented universities for four more years with a total of around 14.4 million euros. The Network plans to use a large part of the funds for academic initiatives, underlining its commitment to supporting researchers and students. In addition to the University of Göttingen, the Network includes the Universities of Ghent, Groningen, Uppsala and Tartu, the University of the Basque Country, the Universities of Bordeaux and Galway as well as Comenius University Bratislava; and Enlight’s tenth and newest member is the University of Bern.
“I congratulate all the partners of the Enlight Network on this great success,” said University President Professor Metin Tolan. “Networks like Enlight, in which partners can trust each other and dare to experiment together, are the basis of international collaborations in teaching and research. With this renewed funding, we can now continue and expand the initiatives and processes launched over the previous years.”
“Our ten Enlight partners in ten countries reflect Europe’s geographical, economic, social, cultural, and linguistic diversity unlike almost any other network,” says Professor Hiltraud Casper-Hehne, Enlight Project Leader at the University of Göttingen. “The dedicated and sustained commitment to our goals has paid off. With the development of new, flexible and international study opportunities and the interlinking of academic and social initiatives, we are laying the foundation for the coming generation of committed Europeans.”
The EU’s aim is to fundamentally change and continue to develop the European Higher Education Area through the “European Universities” programme. The central idea of the Enlight Network is to reshape higher education to promote sustainability, global engagement and a quality of life based on fair distribution. The ten Enlight Universities aim to provide their students with the knowledge and skills, through shared structures and innovative teaching, that will enable them to become citizens and professionals who can answer the big, complex questions of the 21st century.
Cooperation across national borders is a key component, while another central concern is a focus on the immediate environment, as the consortium will work specifically on societal challenges at the local level. Six problem areas are at the forefront: climate change, health and well-being, social inequality, the digital revolution, energy and circularity, and creativity. Based on these problem areas, students work closely with researchers and teachers as well as with citizens and professionals from their region. Together they discuss problems and solutions, examine potential innovations, and focus on promoting diversity.
In the long term, the partners want to create an open space between the Universities where readily accessible, joint teaching and exchange can take place. The model being developed here is intended to permanently change higher education on a European and global level.