The value of building strong European research communities: Lessons from ECIU SMART-ER

Solving current global challenges such as climate change or social inequalities demands the involvement of all actors in our societies. An education, research and innovation system which values and integrates the knowledge and views from science and society is thus essential. ECIU University is the first European university where learners, teachers and researchers cooperate with societal stakeholders to solve real-life challenges. To leverage ECIU's transformational capacity in the Research and Innovation (R&I) system, the HORIZON 2020 SwafS programme European Universities granted funding for the creation of a research alliance within ECIU. As a result, the ECIU University Research Institute for Smart European Regions (SMART-ER) became a reality from 2021 until 2024.