SHEFCE peer-learning visit at Vrije Universiteit Brussel

March 15, 2022

The third visit of the SHEFCE project was held at the Vrije Universiteit Brussels on 9-11th March

2022, involving around 20 participants representing the different partners institutions from Ireland,

Croatia, Spain, Belgium  and Austria: Universitat de Girona, University in Rijeka, Institute for the

Development of Education, Technological University Dublin, Donau University Krems, Ghent

University and ACUP-GUNi.


The aim of the visit, hosted by the VUB Science and Outreach Office and framed as a training

activity, was for participants to learn about community engagement in higher education in specific

contexts (and its assessment). Visiting participants attended the visit as "critical friends" to ask further

questions about university"s community engagement, their institutional report and the findings of their

self-reflection.


The SHEFCE peer-learning visit included discussions in parallel thematic focus groups about

community engagement in practice and an introduction to the vision and mission of OpenLab, which is

a VUB/ULB initiative that creates an in-between, transformative open space for university and societal

actors to meet and experiment. The visit also included an introduction to La Serre, a community

project based on an hybrid space with a large shared workshop for artists and a hangar that hosts

unsold food processing activities, repair workshops and socio-cultural events.


Presentations from the visit, as well as a report (in the form of a peer reflection by the visiting team) is

available on https://www.shefce.eu/meetings

Project funding

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