Stories
U!REKA Research Days 2025: Driving collaboration for societal impact
Building connections to shape the cities of tomorrow
During the Research Days, researchers pitched their ideas and discovered intersections between their projects, sparking new collaborations. U!REKA empowers researchers by providing better access to funding and resources, fostering meaningful partnerships through its Centres of Expertise.
The overarching goal of the U!REKA alliance is to contribute to climate-neutral and resilient cities. Applied research conducted by universities of applied sciences focuses on tangible applications and solutions, ensuring that academic insights are directly relevant to societal challenges. Researchers emphasised the importance of working together to find solutions and implement them effectively. As one of the key conclusions of the event highlighted, collaboration is essential to shaping the cities of tomorrow.
Exploring climate knowledge together
A standout activity during the Research Days was the Climate Exam, a 35-question test covering diverse aspects of climate change, including technological advancements, societal impacts, and psychological perspectives. This interactive exercise sparked engaging discussions and revealed surprising insights.
For instance, participants were surprised to learn that global pollution is not as straightforward as commonly assumed, challenging preconceived notions about which continents contribute most to climate change. Another key takeaway was the recognition that climate change has been a pressing issue for decades, underscoring the urgency of spreading awareness and inspiring action.
The event also highlighted the importance of diversity in education. With students from various cultural backgrounds, classrooms become hubs for global knowledge exchange. Students can take lessons learned about climate challenges back to their home countries, fostering a broader, more inclusive approach to addressing these issues.
The Climate Exam and subsequent discussions reinforced the vital role of education, dialogue, and collaboration in tackling one of the most pressing challenges of our time.
Making research possible
One of the major benefits of the U!REKA collaboration is the increased accessibility to funding. By pooling resources and expertise, partner universities can operate more efficiently, enabling researchers to carry out applied research sooner and with greater impact.
Projects such as the European partnership Driving Urban Transitions exemplify how U!REKA partners are leveraging their collective strengths to address urban challenges. This project, coordinated by EURAC, researches sustainable and resilient local energy systems. The project addresses energy poverty in Europe by developing a framework based on four energy resilience principles—Availability, Accessibility, Affordability, and Activation of Positive Energy Districts (PEDs). Living labs in four cities apply this approach, with results shared through U!REKA’s European networks and educational partnerships.
More recently, researchers in the fields of health and well-being have joined forces to apply for additional funding, allowing them to accelerate their projects. This is an example of how bottom-up initiatives are leading to greater community ownership and sustainability in applied research. The collaboration within U!REKA enables researchers to combine data sets, test their findings in diverse environments, and bundle information from various contexts.
Students as change agents
Student involvement was one of the key focuses during the Research Days. Miles Weaver, Associate Professor at Napier University, emphasised the transformative power of education:
“The biggest power that we have is in the classroom. The people who will really take action are the students.”
A possibility to fuel student action was a two-day U!REKA workshop brought together 19 students from Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences and from AUAS to explore storytelling, experimentation, and sufficiency as tools for inspiring new ways of thinking about economic growth and sustainability.
With an international mix of bachelor’s and master’s students in climate psychology and economics, the workshop fostered creativity and reflection on what it means to become change agents in a post-growth world. The energy, openness, and curiosity of the participants demonstrated how transformation begins with questioning, imagination, and collaboration.
Learning across borders
The Research Days also provided a platform for partners to learn from each other’s unique contexts and experiences. Oleksandr Litvinov, vice rector from Odesa National Economics University in Ukraine, shared insights into the resilience of Ukraine’s financial system during wartime:
“Even regions under occupation have access to Ukrainian banks. It is very important that we do not have problems with banking, so that we can work and live. It’s one of the pillars of our resistance.”
Such exchanges underscore the value of international collaboration in addressing complex challenges, from climate change to economic resilience.
Looking ahead
Participants expressed a strong desire to continue building connections based on specific research topics. They also emphasised the need for greater student involvement and proposed ideas for enhancing collaboration, such as creating an open-source joint evaluation framework and collecting shared data.
One concrete initiative discussed during the event was the idea of a weekly silent writing retreat, where researchers commit to a two-hour online session to focus on their writing.
The U!REKA Research Days demonstrated the power of collaboration, education, and innovation in driving meaningful change. As researchers, students, and partners continue to work together, the alliance is ready to make a lasting impact on universities and society alike.
