Joacim and Charlotte lead projects in EUniWell
“So far, EUniWell has been very abstract and on a fluff level,” says Charlotte Silander, Associate Professor in Political Science. “Now it is time to fill it with content and do real things, concrete things.”
“Yes, I see this as an implementation phase for EUniWell,” continues Joacim Hansson, Professor of Library and Information Science.
EUniWell (European University for Wellbeing) has now entered a new phase, with new funding for the next four years. Under the new project funding, Linnaeus University will lead two new work packages, a thematic arena on social equality and well-being and a work package on civic engagement and knowledge transfer.
“The basic idea of European universities is very good and exciting. I also think that EUniWell represents an appealing idea. Research on well-being is a good idea and a good question with a broad theme. I like that," says Joacim Hansson.
"We need to become more visible and relevant to academic staff," he adds. “There is also an important student and educational dimension. We also need to create better conditions for students.”
“I also hope that the cooperation within EUniWell can strengthen certain areas of our research, give us better international contacts and provide new opportunities for internationalisation in education," Charlotte continues.
Finding new paths between society and academia
Joacim Hansson will lead a so-called "enabling work package", a work package that will create conditions, infrastructure and enable other work packages.
“We will find and develop interfaces between the university and society,” he says. “Find ways to reach out beyond academia, but also ways to bring in from society, from citizen science for example. Create meeting places between academia and people who know a lot, but who are not academics. This could be industry and companies, but also associations and online communities.”
"We will work out exactly what we will focus on in our work package during the spring. I want to invite my partners from the other universities here early in the spring, and then we will work out the ones we want to focus on. We will also collect what is already being done by our colleagues and us and take it further," says Joacim Hansson.
Internationalization is important - and fun
The work package that Charlotte Silander will lead is about creating a thematic arena for social equality and well-being. This is closely linked to goals 16, 4 and 5 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
"This is closely linked to areas that I have researched and spent a lot of time on," she says. "I couldn't resist applying when it was advertised. I also like internationalisation and have worked with it for as long as I've worked here. Internationalization of education is important, and it's also a lot of fun!”
"We will certainly face many bureaucratic obstacles in the process," explains Charlotte. "But if we are serious about internationalizing our programmes, we have to tackle it and get through it. I believe that when you work with concrete projects you can find ways forward.”
“It's an ambiguous task, but that's what's fun. Fun and difficult," concludes Charlotte Silander.
Fact box:
European University for Wellbeing (EUniWell)
EUniWell has now entered a new project period with a four-year funding until 2027. There are now twelve work packages (WP), two of which are led by Linnaeus University. They are:
Work Package 3 - Thematic Arena on Social Equality and Well-Being, led by Charlotte Silander, Associate Professor of Political Science.
Work Package 11 - Civic Engagement and Knowledge Transfer, led by Joacim Hansson, Professor of Library and Information Science.