Summary

ENgaged ReseArch coNnecting Community with higher Education, that’s what ENtRANCE stands for and is working towards. Through supporting students and staff to collaborate with local communities and civil society organizations (CSOs) in research projects, this Erasmus+ project (2018-2020) aims to enhance the social responsibility of and social engagement in Higher Education Institutions. Engaged research will increase competences of both students and staff, increase the position of issues of CSOs on the research agenda and contribute to knowledge transfer. In this way research and education work in a mutually reinforcing way, all the while contributing to finding solutions for local societal challenges.

ENtRANCE will aim for this through a flexible learning and training approach involving students and researchers/lecturers in collaborative work with CSOs, in partner institutions Vrije Universiteit Brussel (BE), LAB University of Applied Sciences former Lahti University of Applies Sciences LAMK (FIN), Vilnius college of Technologies & Design (LT) Wageningen University (NL) and Maiêutica (ISMAI/IPMAIA) (PT). They will design and test a training model that will strengthen existing mechanisms and networks, start and establish new Science Shops and embed and professionalize community-based research and strong connections with the local community further in institutions.

Schedule

31.12.2017— 29.6.2020

Impact study, 2018

Needs study, 2018

Training framework, 2018 – 2019

Case studies, 2019 – 2020

Handbook, 2020

Funding

Erasmus+  Strategic Partnerships

Agreement number

2017-1-BE02-KA203-034736

Project goal

Five higher education institutions (HEIs) from Belgium, Finland, Lithuania, Portugal and the Netherlands will collaborate with civil society organisations to enhance the social responsibility of HEI students and staff.

Method

ENtRANCE will facilitate students, researchers and civil society organizations (CSOs) to team up to find solutions for the actual problems faced by civil society. HEIs will assist CSOs by delivering scientific research and by offering development project support. As such societal challenges will be put on the research and cooperation agenda.

Co-actors

Civil society organizations
e.g. associations, foundations and other not-for-profit communities which seek to serve public interest and address societal problems.

Main focus

The main focus in the ENtRANCE project will be on collaboration between Civil Society Organizations (CSO) and HEIs (students and staff) at a local level.  

From the start on – through an impact study of Science Shops and a needs study of CSOs, partners will establish connections with CSOs in their own regions. These cooperations will continue throughout the whole project.  

Based on the results of the impact and needs studies a training framework for HEIs will be developed, and pilot projects will be set up. Eventually, these applied scientific research and development projects will be described in case studies. 

All work will finally be collected in a handbook which will be available for other CSOs and HEIs on this website.