EUniWell welcomes University of Konstanz
Today, the University of Konstanz officially joins the European University for Well-Being after signing a corresponding accession agreement with the existing EUniWell partners.
In addition to shared core values, the EUniWell member universities – now including the University of Konstanz – are united by the long-term goal to promote the well-being of all and in line with the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through research, teaching and social responsibility. “We deliberately think of ‘well-being’ from multiple perspectives and in an interdisciplinary way, since well-being is never realised in a vacuum, but is always the result of a complex interplay of individual, societal and environmental factors,” explains EUniWell Chief Development Officer Professor Beatrix Busse. “Therefore, the University of Konstanz with its interdisciplinary orientation is a great asset for our Alliance.”
Both in research and teaching as well as at the institutional level, the University of Konstanz is already strongly aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). “We are very pleased to have been asked to join this attractive Alliance that fits our university so well. Our membership in EUniWell will give us the opportunity to further strengthen our work in the areas of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, for example, in inequality research, ecological sustainability, teacher education and health, as well as to expand and advance these activities together with strong international partners,” says Professor Katharina Holzinger, Rector of the University of Konstanz.
Major overlaps on core topics
Professor Axel Freimuth, Rector of the University of Cologne, EUniWell’s coordinating institution, underlines: “The long-term goals of the Alliance are to research and implement conditions that sustainably promote well-being and quality of life at the individual, institutional and overall societal levels. Overall, there is a great deal of overlap between EUniWell’s main areas of focus and the University of Konstanz’s sphere of activity.” For example, the University of Konstanz is also strongly committed to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. In the current THE Impact Ranking, the social impact Konstanz has in the area of sustainability related to six of the SDGs was assessed as far above average. In addition to the top ranking of 15th place worldwide with regard to SDG 16, the university has strengths in two other SDGs (5 and 10) with close ties to key areas of the EUniWell initiative.
Moreover, the University of Konstanz has long-standing collaborations with several of the EUniWell partner universities. “As we join EUniWell, we are not starting over with completely new partners, but rather building on existing vibrant partnerships and strong, productive collaborations that are already in place. Our membership in EUniWell will help to strengthen and develop these relationships further,” Professor Dorothea Debus, Vice-Rector for International Affairs, Equal Opportunity and Diversity at the University of Konstanz, explains.
The University of Konstanz
Since its foundation in 1966, the University of Konstanz has distinguished itself through its top-level research, its excellence in teaching, its international presence and its interdisciplinarity. In the German ‘Excellence Strategy’ programme, the University of Konstanz is currently one of only eleven German Universities which have been awarded the status of a ‘University of Excellence’.
The University of Konstanz is comprised of thirteen departments, which are in turn grouped into three faculties: The Faculty of the Natural Sciences, the Faculty of the Humanities, and the Faculty of Politics, Law and Economics. According to its original foundation as a reform university, the University of Konstanz has flat academic hierarchies. The reform principle is also mirrored in the administration and the organisation of the University of Konstanz. Unique features are the services, standards, and achievements in the areas of equality, diversity and inclusion as well as family support: from the university’s own childcare centre to its Codes of Practice on Gender Equality and on Diversity, through which the university commits itself to equality, diversity and inclusion in all areas and on all levels.
At the international level, the University of Konstanz fosters select and sustainable partnerships with over 70 research-focused universities in order to promote scientific collaboration and student exchange.
Background: the European University for Well-Being
EUniWell was launched in 2020 in the second pilot phase of the European University Initiative. The Alliance pursues a holistic, knowledge-based and action-oriented approach to well-being, in response to the call of the Council of the European Union to the Member States to promote the ‘Economy of Wellbeing’, a virtuous cycle between society, economy and the environment, leading to greater well-being across those dimensions. The core mission of EUniWell is to understand, improve, measure, and rebalance the well-being of individuals, our own community, and society as a whole based on our joint values – democratic, inclusive, diverse, research and challenge-based, inter- and transdisciplinary, entrepreneurial, and co-creational.
As the tenth member of the European University for Well-Being, the University of Konstanz joins the Universities of Birmingham, Cologne, Florence and Murcia, Leiden University, Linnaeus University, Nantes Université, Semmelweis University, and Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.
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