Focusing on Societal Impact: ENLIGHT Conference Brings Experts Together in Groningen
How can societal impact be placed more firmly at the centre of university activities – whether in teaching, research, knowledge transfer or civic engagement? This key question shaped the ENLIGHT Impact Conference, which brought together more than 170 experts and participants from various European universities in Groningen. Through lectures, workshops and informal roundtable discussions, the conference offered a platform for intensive exchange.
The aim of the event was to explore and share strategies for fostering a more impact-oriented culture in higher education and to contribute to shaping the future of the European education landscape.
Professor Dr Daniela Lud from the Faculty of Communication and Environment at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences participated as a member of the ENLIGHT Impact Award-winning team at the University of Gent, alongside Inge De Bo and Eudard Mauri. In this context, she introduced the Horizon Europe project EU-FarmBook, a good practice example of how universities can engage with and for society.
EU-FarmBook is an open, developing online platform that provides practice-oriented resources from the agriculture and forestry sectors to support innovation and knowledge exchange. In her presentation, Professor Lud highlighted the value of diverse teams in effectively reaching a broad range of target groups, as well as the importance of creating space for participatory approaches.