In Fulda, in the heart of Europe, students and staff from our nine partner universities of the E³UDRES² alliance and associated Ukrainian partner universities gathered from April 15th to 19th, 2024. Together, they explored the limitless possibilities of the European University Alliance and broadened their understanding of the European Union in the run-up to the European elections.
From April 15th to 17th, in an effort to strengthen organizational capacity and foster cross-institutional collaboration, members of the E³UDRES² team working on the topic of "Capacity Building" participated in a series of team-building exercises, analytical sessions and strategic dialogues. The team-building exercises focused on enhancing interpersonal relationships and communication, fostering unity and collaboration. Analytical sessions tackled complex challenges, leveraging diverse perspectives for innovative solutions. Strategic dialogues aligned goals and strategies, laying the foundation for more coordinated future efforts.
At the same time, colleagues from our partner universities took part in a "European Civic Skills Training" course. Civic skills are competences that are needed to be able to actively participate in a democratic society. In view of the upcoming elections to the European Parliament from June 6 to 9, 2024, the focus of the training was on understanding how EU democracy works and how EU citizens can be involved and exercise their influence. The knowledge acquired is now being passed on to students at the partner universities in order to illustrate how they can get involved in European decision-making.
As part of the E³UDRES² Spring School "Imagine.Your.Europe!", students spent five days, from April 15th to 19th, intensively learning about the European Union. Participation in the "Future Manufactory" required a great deal of creativity. The aim was to find solutions to problems beyond the ordinary in an interactive process and to develop innovative visions for the future of Europe. While experimenting with creative tools, the students were mentored by the artists and philosophers of the "Science of Singularities" collective. With the help of literary and visual sources, an imaginary map of a Europe beyond the expected future projections was created in the form of an installation. The intensive week on-site in Fulda will be followed by a phase of online collaboration.
As a joint highlight, students and staff got to explore the historic town center of Fulda, sample regional specialties and take part in the international forum on the future of Europe "Rethinking Europe" at the Vonderaumuseum. The events were organized by Fulda University of Applied Sciences and E³UDRES² in cooperation with the Europe Direct Centre Fulda and the Lab for Artistic Research "Science of Singularities".