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Higher Education Research Centre
Success in three out of three! HERC becomes a partner in three successful funding proposals
Success in three out of three! HERC receives news that three EU project funding applications in which it is partner have been successful

Success in three out of three! HERC becomes a partner in three funding proposals

The Higher Education Research Centre (HERC) is delighted to receive news that three EU project funding applications in which it is partner have been successful- a 100% strike rate! These projects link HERC with European centres of excellence in research and development investigating and supporting higher education engagement with the wider community and lifelong learning. All three projects are 36-months in duration, commencing in September or October 2018. They are supported under Erasmus+ Programme, Key Action 2 - Cooperation for Innovation and the Exchange of Good Practices (KA203 - Strategic Partnerships for higher education.

EUSRExcel (Towards a European University Social Responsibility Excellence Award) is coordinated by Conexx Europe, a research and development centre of the Free University of Brussels. In this project higher education institutions and research organisations will work together to develop a framework of criteria and indicators of Social Responsibility in Higher Education. The aim is to create a network of universities with a USR ‘quality certification’ while conducting research and training to raise awareness among higher education leadership and staff of the importance and potential of a focus on social responsibility.

Partner organisations comprise: CONEXX-Europe, Belgium (coordinating partner, organisation working in International Cooperation, Research and Development); Innovate4Future, Romania (private research centre active in the field of education & training, innovation and technology); VAMK-Vaasa University of Applied Sciences, Finalnd (higher education institution); Dublin City University, Ireland (higher education institution); Innovation Training Centre, Spain (private training and research centre that provides innovative solutions regarding entrepreneurship, training and R&D+i projects); La Sapienza, Italy (higher education institution); University of Girona, Spain (higher education institution).

ENGAGE STUDENTS is an outreach project coordinated by University Politehnica of Bucharest, involving universities from six countries researching the ways in which higher education institutions engage with their local communities (local associations, NGOs etc.). Building on a previous EU project with which HERC was involved, ENGAGE will work with teachers, students and the community to promote social responsibility of students, embedding service learning within the curricula of higher education institutions.

Six partner institutions comprise: University Politehnica of Bucharest, Romania (coordinating partner); University of Vienna, Austria; DCU, Ireland; Sapienza University of Rome, Italy; Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania; and University of Porto, Portugal.

INTALL (International and Comparative Studies for Students and Practitioners in Adult Education and Lifelong Learning) is coordinated by the Julius Maximilians University of Wurzburg, Germany. This project will build a network between the two largest European adult education associations and eight European universities, for the first time bringing professionalization activities in adult education and lifelong learning from universities and practice systematically together – educating students together with practitioners in international and comparative studies in adult education and lifelong learning.

Ten partner institutions comprise: Julius Maximilians University of Wurzburg, Germany (coordinating partner); DCU, Ireland; The University of Florence, Italy; The Helmut Schmidt University, Germany; Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal; Universita Degli Studi di Padova, Italy (University of Padova); University of Pecs, Hungary; DVV International is the Institute for International Cooperation of the Deutscher Volkshochschul-Verband e.V. (DVV), the German Adult Education Association; The European Association for the Education of Adults EAEA; and The University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Expressions of interest in any or all of these projects are most welcome. Please contact maria.slowey@dcu.ie