Community Engagement

Welcome to Community Engagement site within Ulysseus European University – a dynamic space where collaboration beyond academia drives meaningful societal impact!

At Ulysseus, Community Engagement reflects how universities connect with external communities, including citizens, NGOs, public authorities, and other societal actors. These connections contribute to the broader cultural, social, and economic development—also known as the Third Mission of universities. By fostering dialogue between academia, industry, and society, Ulysseus addresses real-world challenges and responds to pressing societal needs. Students and academic staff are encouraged to actively participate in and lead community engagement initiatives, turning knowledge into action and impact.

Across the alliance, each Innovation Hub adopts a place-based approach, implementing tailored engagement models that reflect local contexts while contributing to a shared European vision.
Together, we are building bridges between knowledge and society—empowering communities and shaping a more connected future.

Learn more!

Our initiatives

This is a dynamic space where collaboration beyond academia drives meaningful societal impact! Browse our initiatives with Living Labs, Open Classes, Science Shops, Challenge-based activities, Ulysseus Miles and much more.

Living Labs

Living Labs are open innovation ecosystems, integrated within Ulysseus Innovation Hubs, where research and innovation take place in real-life environments rather than isolated laboratory settings. By embracing a systematic co-creation approach, they place citizens and end-users at the centre of the process, ensuring that solutions are not only innovative but also closely aligned with real-world needs. Through this collaborative and adaptive methodology, Living Labs bring together diverse perspectives and continuously evolve to respond to changing challenges and opportunities.

Join us in shaping solutions that are grounded in reality, driven by collaboration, and designed to make a lasting impact.

Browse Living Labs Events

Experiential Learning on Societal Challenges

Authentic Learning through real-world challenges is a cornerstone of Ulysseus’ innovative pedagogy. By engaging students in meaningful, practice-oriented experiences, this approach strengthens critical thinking, collaboration, and innovation. It bridges the gap between theory and practice through complex problem-solving tasks that mirror professional environments. Across the alliance, a range of challenge-based initiatives bring this approach to life. One example is Entre Camp, a five-day intensive entrepreneurship training programme which combines agile methodologies such as Design Thinking with challenge-based learning, offering students hands-on experience in tackling real-world problems.

At the same time, these authentic learning environments create valuable opportunities for Ulysseus academic staff to further develop and update their professional competences, ensuring teaching remains aligned with evolving societal and industry needs.

Browse Experiential Learning

Science Shops

Science Shops are a model of the public engagement with research and innovation practices. They aim to respond to community organisations’ or other stakeholders’ needs and requests through a participative and co-creative processes, thus making the research and innovation knowledge, services and products more relevant for the society as a whole. It enables citizens, NGOs, and public organisations to access scientific knowledge, often through student projects or applied research. By fostering collaboration between academia and society, Science Shops support evidence-based solutions, promote socially relevant research, and provide students with valuable hands-on learning experiences while addressing local and societal challenges.

Browse Science Shops

Open Classes

Open Classes are designed as dynamic formats for learning and knowledge exchange in collaboration with city and regional authorities. Closely linked to the themes of the Innovation Hubs, these initiatives promote open science and innovation by creating focused, international dialogue around pressing societal challenges. Open Classes enable rapid knowledge transfer, with outcomes that can inform public sector decision-making and policy development. Notable examples include sessions on smart cities, protection of minors in the digital environment, robotics and heritage, among others.

Browse Open Classes

Ulysseus Miles

Ulysseus Miles is a pilot programme designed to recognise, value and reward the active engagement of students and staff across the Ulysseus Alliance. More than a points system, Ulysseus Miles is launched to strengthen our shared sense of belonging and celebrate the people who make our community so vibrant and dynamic! Collection of miles is done based on a commonly agreed scale while rewards are offered in line with each partner university’s policies. Learn more how you can earn miles and how you can convert them into attractive rewards. Become an Ulysseus walker!

About Ulysseus Miles