News

On January 22-23, the Institute for the Development of Education hosted an inspiring training in Zagreb, organised within the ECEM (Engaging Communities Through Engaged Mobilities), an Erasmus+ project, as the third in a series of trainings and was focused on Community Engaged Learning, with a spotlight on service learning in the context of student mobilities.
Thee training started by painting the big picture, by exploring the social dimension of higher education and the concept of community engagement. Thomas Farnell from the SPACE project consortium shared the TEFCE Toolbox approach, with a special overview of the Teaching and Learning dimension, which is the focus of the SPACE project, so links and possible synergies of the two projects were discussed.

The EU-funded project Supporting Professionals and Academics for Community Engagement in Higher Education (SPACE) is organising a short trainings series to explore essential topics related to the design, implementation, and integration of community-engaged practices into academic curricula.

The YUFE Conference on University–Community Relations was held on 14-15 November 2024 and served as a dynamic platform bringing together university leaders, academics, researchers, students, and community actors. The event showcased YUFE’s achievements and opened up discussion on a variety of strategies for building socially responsible and mutually beneficial relationships between universities and their surrounding communities.

Nino S. Schmidt and Thomas Farnell (Institute for the Development of Education) presented on the essential connections between academic freedom and the civic mission and community engagement of universities at the Council of Europe’s Academic Freedom in Action conference in Strasbourg, 13-14 November. The discussions highlighted how a strong civic mission can actively reinforce public support for academic freedom—an insight resonating strongly with our audience.

The SPACE project, funded through the Erasmus+ programme, is a continuation of TECFE and SHEFCE projects, is another community engagement initiative involving four European universities from Ireland, Belgium, Spain, and Croatia. As part of this project, academic staff will integrate community engaged teaching and learning into their curricula, an approach that combines academic instruction with meaningful community engagement.