Interview with partner organisation: Accreditation Council for Entrepreneurial and Engaged Universities (ACEEU)

We are enabling educators, researchers, and students to collaborate with local communities through experiential projects that foster active citizenship and lifelong learning. 

At ACEEU, Accreditation Council for Entrepreneurial and Engaged Universities we believe universities can and should create greater social, economic, and cultural impact. Guided by the Third Mission concept, our mission is to support higher education in driving meaningful change by helping institutions become more engaged, entrepreneurial, and effective in addressing societal challenges. 

EPiCS brings this mission to life by enabling educators, researchers, and students to collaborate with local communities through experiential projects that foster active citizenship and lifelong learning. This approach aligns with our broader goal of positioning universities as active agents of change, working with communities and industry to tackle complex challenges and unlock their full potential. 

ACEEU has previously been involved in citizen science and participatory research through several completed projects.  

• CS NOW (Digital Citizen Science: Network, transfOrm, groW) focused on engaging citizens in Citizen Science (CS) and identifying the competencies and skills they need. The project promoted sustainable CS development by digitalising adult CS training and empowering citizens in the partner regions. ACEEU contributed to the Needs Assessment and Future Foresight Report on Citizen Science, an evidence-based study that informed a European framework for sustainable regional CS development. 

• Tenacity (THE THIRD MISSION: comuniTy Engagement for a kNowledge-based society), sought to create standardised learning and empowerment pathways for future deliberative practitioners (students, researchers, staff, and citizens) within the framework of Academic Third Mission Strategies. By coordinating desk and field research, ACEEU worked with partners on the development of the project’s Handbook. 

•  BETTER Life (Bringing Excellence to Transformative Engaged Research in Life Sciences through Integrated Digital Centres), which established the EU Digital Centre of Excellence for Socially Engaged Research in Life Sciences to support early career researchers in conducting socially engaged research (SER) addressing societal challenges, aiming to become a global reference for SER in life sciences;  

•  GRIT, which enhanced non-cognitive skills in young researchers and students to foster social awareness, civic engagement, and public participation using machine learning, sentiment analysis, and gamification, while supporting HEIs’ social dimension, continuing education innovation, and academic community resilience for open innovation. 

• RYR (Rock Your Research), which engages citizens as co-creators of knowledge within the higher education context. ACEEU supports the creation of a map illustrating collaborations among researchers, artists, and citizens across Europe, and leads the documentation, refinement, and implementation of the methodologies developed throughout the project. 

“Recruiting participants to take part in researchactivities requires sustained effort, clear communication, and demonstration of the value of their involvement.” 

One key lesson from past projects, and a challenge we observe as common across many initiatives, is that engaging with stakeholders can be difficult. Recruiting participants to take part in research activities requires sustained effort, clear communication, and demonstration of the value of their involvement. Another observed challenge is ensuring the long-term sustainability of results. While platforms, tools, and resources can be developed, their continued use and impact cannot be guaranteed without ongoing support, incentives, and integration into institutional practices. 

We believe these lessons were central to the design of the EPiCS project. The public engagement plan will provide a foundation for strategies that actively motivate participants and sustain their involvement. Complementing this, one of EPiCS’s objectives is to refine an existing platform rather than create a new one, ensuring usability, adaptability, and the long-term impact of the project’s outputs. Together, these activities directly address the common challenges mentioned above, encouraging participation and helping maintain the project’s value over time. 

“We want to strengthen our capacity to support universities in promoting civic responsibility, interdisciplinary learning, and community well-being". 

Through EPiCS, ACEEU aims to strengthen its capacity to support universities in promoting civic responsibility, interdisciplinary learning, and community well-being. We aim to contribute tools, strategies, and best practices that foster engagement and sustainable impact, while supporting universities in advancing knowledge and practice of the Third Mission in higher education. We believe this approach will benefit academic professionals, researchers, decision-makers, and students to adopt practices that drive lasting, positive change in local communities, higher education systems across the EU, and beyond.