EUniWell 2021: The year in review

We started the year with the results from our second Seed Funding Call. Nine inter-university and interdisciplinary projects received funding under this call for proposals. The call was launched to promote innovative projects in education, research and management and to bring together researchers, students, educators, and administrators from our seven universities. Currently, we are evaluating our third Seed Funding Call and are looking forward to even more compelling and inspiring well-being projects!

This year our summer programme kicked off with the first EUniWell Summer School, which took place at the University of Florence from 28 June to 1 July. More than 100 students from different European countries participated, 93 of them from EUniWell Alliance universities. The four-day event served as a stage for interdisciplinary reflection and a training opportunity for students to explore well-being in tourism as well as sustainability perspectives for the evaluation and design of research, projects and policies. Now, we are eagerly anticipating the first EUniWell Winter School on Migration and Diversity in European Cities, which will take place from 10 January to 4 February 2022.

On 6 September 2021, leaders from the home cities of the seven universities which form the European University for Well-Being came together online for the first ‘EUniWell Mayors' Meeting’. At this meeting, leaders of EUniWell and of the EUniWell cities agreed to work co-creatively on some of the most pressing well-being issues of urban spaces. The starting point will be the development of one concrete project, which will also provide a fantastic opportunity for students. More information coming soon - stay tuned!

On 30 September and 1 October, the virtual EUniWell Symposium on ‘Good Practices on Student Well-Being’ took place. The symposium was the result of a project from EUniWell's first Seed Funding Call, led by Leiden University, with support from the University of Florence and Semmelweis University. Over the course of two days, the symposium saw staff, students and researchers from the EUniWell universities share their knowledge and experiences in the field of student well-being in seven panel discussions. In 2022 EUniWell will offer another symposium, this time on the topic of mental health. Sign up for our newsletter and follow us on social media to stay up to date!

This year, from 19 to 20 October, the first FestiWell took place under the headline “Taking Well-Being Forward”. Over the course of two days FestiWell offered a diverse programme, which explored what well-being can mean for our partner universities, showcased ways for students, academics and staff to take EUniWell forward in the years to come and highlighted ways our universities contribute to well-being through research and education, as well as through their values and actions beyond laboratories and lecture halls. The varied events were offered virtually, with on-campus programmes also being offered at the University of Cologne, Semmelweis University and the University of Nantes. FestiWell 2021 also marked the launch of the EUniWell Open Lecture Series, which will be continued in January 2022 with a diverse programme featuring recognised scholars, scientists and educators. We thank all participants for their exciting contributions and are already looking forward to next year’s FestiWell 2022!

On October 22 of this year, the University of Florence hosted the EUniWell rectors’ assembly. Taking place almost exactly one year after the official launch of EUniWell, the assembly served as an opportunity for a joint stocktaking as well as an exchange of perspectives on important upcoming development steps for the road ahead, charting a successful path to a future with more well-being at our universities and cities. The event was also a welcome opportunity to meet each other in person, in many cases for the first time. The EUniWell team is looking forward to hopefully many more in-person meetings in 2022 and the years to come!