The central goal of the European University Alliance EUTOPIA is to bring together the members of ten universities across Europe and to interweave three key areas of academic life — learning, teaching, and research. In “Connected Communities (CC),” partners from at least three universities involved in the EUTOPIA alliance cooperate with colleagues in the alliance who are working in similar areas. Connected Communities are cross-campus, thematic networks that, over a period of three years, aim to facilitate new learning and research opportunities by involving lecturers/researchers, students, and external stakeholders in a participatory and co-creative process. They are in line with the EUTOPIA Alliance's vision of openness and focus on three main objectives:

• Combine teaching and research: Teaching and research activities will be closely linked. Students and doctoral/postdoctoral researchers will be actively involved.
• Link science and society: The CCs will align their learning and research endeavors with societal challenges and/or additional extramural stakeholders.
• Promote inclusion: Connected Communities are open to a wide range of learning styles and potential learners, who are encouraged to participate in international networking.

Based on these criteria, the EUTOPIA partner universities identify candidates as leads for future Connected Communities. Leads are permanent members at one of the alliance universities who are involved in research and teaching and would like to work on similar topics with partners at other universities in the EUTOPIA alliance.

Funding and Support

A Connected Community is allocated a total of up to 10,000 EUR in funding over 2 years. The projects will receive additional support from local and international facilitators who help to initiate the cooperation, support in the search for partners if necessary, and actively accompany the Connected Communities throughout the entire period.

A Connected Community’s Lifecycle

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After the nomination and selection of a CC, the so-called incubation phase begins. In this phase, the selected leads and partners gradually move from sharing resources to implementing cross-campus learning and knowledge activities. They are supported by the central EUTOPIA team and a local facilitator. The CC activities will be tested and optimized over a period of 3 years and finally prepared for continuous implementation.

Output and value-added

The benefits of participating in the CCs include:

• An increase in the effectiveness and visibility of your international endeavors in teaching, learning, and research
• Significant involvement in shaping current development in the field of European higher education and research
• Wider reach when advertising (inter)national calls for proposals and grants
• Recognition of international achievements of staff and students

Connected Communities at TUD

New Technologies for Social Inclusion: Prof. Dr. Ercan Altinsoy (TUD, Lead), Prof. Dr. Sophie Sakka (CY, Partner), Prof. Dr. Heidi Ottevare (VUB, Partner), Prof. Dr. Kerstin Persson (GU, Partner), Dr. Chiao-I Tseng (GU, Partner), Prof. Bram Vanderborght (VUB, Partner), Prof. Dr. Nikos Deligiannis (VUB, Partner) 

The focus of this CC is the improvement of physical abilities through haptic, acoustic, and visual interfaces using AR/VR, robotics, machine learning, and AI technology. The aim of this CC is to train students (bachelor's, master's, and doctoral students) in special education and therapy in the use of new assistive technologies. Within the framework of the CC, students will be enabled to carry out their own research projects, exchange ideas with other EUTOPIA partners, and present and publish their research results.
As a long-term goal, the CC aims to establish a Master's degree program in "New Technologies for Social Inclusion" in cooperation with CY Cergy Paris University.

Only one Connected Community per university in the EUTOPIA alliance can be funded each year. The TUD is also supporting another CC with additional resources during the current term:

Narrativizing Mental Health: Prof. Dr. Cornelia Wächter (Lead, TUD), Prof. Dr. Carsten Junker (Lead, TUD) & Prof. Elisabeth Punzi (GU, Co-Lead), Prof. Flavio Gregori (Partner)

The Connected Community "Narrativizing Mental Health" offers Bachelor's and Master's students as well as doctoral candidates from various scientific fields the opportunity to engage with narrative negotiations of mental health and well-being. This includes representations of personal experiences, such as post-COVID mental health challenges, as well as fictional, literary, and artistic representations, e.g. narratives about the effects of migration and structural violence, combining historical, transnational, and decolonial perspectives on mental health and well-being in a methodologically innovative approach.
Students learn about different research methods as part of problem-oriented learning and carry out their own research projects on the main topic. An annual international student conference is also planned.

The TUD is involved in the following Connected Communities as a partner:

• Quantum Technologies Intitiative: Prof. Dmitry Kovrizhi (PLead, CY),  Roderich Moessner (Director of Max Planck Institute, Prof. at the Faculty of Physics), Tomaž Prosen (UL) and Jožef Stefan (UL), Rok Žitko (UL), Rudolf A. Roemer (UW), Gavin Morley (UW), Mats Granath (UW)
• Environmental Humanities: Prof. Shaul Bassi (Lead, UPF), Jun.-Prof. Moritz Ingwersen (TUD, Partner), Prof. Orit Halpern (TUD, Partner), Dr. Jonathan Skinner (UW, Partner), Prof. Graeme Macdonald (UW, Partner), Ass.-Prof. Cristina Brito (NOVA, Partner), Ass.-Prof. Nina Vieira (NOVA, Partner)

TU Dresden is also involved in the following Connected Learning Communities from the 1st phase of Eutopia:

• Managing Migration: Prof. Gregg Bucken-Knapp (GU, Lead), Prof. Dr. Thomas Köhler (TUD, Partner), Dr. Claudia Iov (UBB, Partner), Prof. Marie-Madeleine Bertucci (CY, Partner), Prof. Dr. Primož Pevcin (UL, Partner), Prof. Vicki Squire (UW, Partner)
• Urban Catastrophes: Vulnerability, Disasters, and Urban Resilience since the 19th Century: Prof. Pierre Purseigle (UW, Lead), Jun.-Prof. Maria Kondratjuk (TUD, Partner), Prof. Katarina Leppänen (GU, Partner), Dr. Mats Fridlund (GU, Partner), Prof. Wouter Ryckbosch (VUB, Partner), Prof. Nel de Muelenaere (VUB, Partner), Prof. Anne Winter (VUB, Partner), Ass.-Prof. Katarzyna Ruchel-Stockmans (VUB, Partner), Prof. Jelena Juvan (UL, Partner), Ass.-Prof. Matevž Juvančič (UL, Partner), Dr. Ion Horatiu Pavel (UBB, Partner), Daniel Woodward (UW, Partner)

Connected Communities in EUTOPIA

Information on other Connected Communities and their activities can be found on the official EUTOPIA website.

Would you like to establish a Connected Community yourself or find out more about participating in existing Connected Communities? Get in touch with us:

Contact

© TUD | Michael Kretzschmar

Coordination Connected Communities

Name

Kristin Klein

Center for interdisci­plinary Learning and Teaching

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EUTOPIA MORE Local Facilitator

Name

Kerstin Le Merdy

Center for interdisci­plinary Learning and Teaching

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