Project Acronym: SL – ICP
Erasmus + Agency involved: Education and Training, Bordeaux
Project type: Key Action 2 KA2 Cooperation Partnership – Higher Education
Project duration: 2 years (15/11/2022 – 14/11/2024)
Coordinator: Eurasia net, France
European partners:
- Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain
- Aix Marseille University, France
- National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
- Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
- University of Bucharest, Romania
Target audience and context
● students from the 5 partner universities
● higher education stakeholders including professors, educational managers, university staff and civil society actors (associations and non-governmental organisations)
The higher education system should enable students to engage in social, societal, and environmental issues and universities should promote engagement and empowerment of students + strengthen cooperation with civil society organizations and institutions within their territory.
We have identified two needs that bridge students, universities, local organizations, and civil society organizations:
- Students are looking for practical and field skills to gain professional maturity, they need communication, leadership, teamwork skills to facilitate their entry into the labour market.
- Involve students in concrete social and civic experiences in the field through SL activities to develop their autonomy and support local projects.
Building new relationships and a deeper cooperation between universities and civil society organization represents opportunities and will improve the European higher education system.
Overall objective
The project aims to support different stakeholders (students, teachers, academic and administrative staff of universities and civil society organisations) to collaborate on innovative service-learning projects, methods and implementation steps in higher education system.
We will create innovative learning and teaching practices so that students can gain the skills and knowledge needed to move in the labour market with a working and field knowledge and a spirit of initiative.
Specific objectives
- To empower partners and students in their learning process and projects
- To define and map current Service Learning (SL) projects in each country in order to promote and inspire future SL projects
- Encourage teachers and educational leaders to become familiar with the theoretical and practical aspects of the SL method in order to adapt and transfer SL innovation projects to other universities
- Making SL education visible, involving students, academic staff, university decision-makers, social and civil society organisations within universities and their local areas to create innovative SL education projects
- Long-term implementation of SL within universities
- Share practices on SL with innovative European dimension, share key steps to implement SL projects in universities (agreements, administrative process, structure, guide content) and improve visibility
- To capitalise on the information and knowledge acquired during the two years of the project and to disseminate the project results
- Transfer innovative SL methodologies within the universities and to other interested universities, share data and exchange reports from each work package in order to disseminate good practice and SL methodology
Main work packages:
- Management and coordination: Activate, support, develop, and follow up a local and European consortium
- Mapping, analysing and data design of current SL practices in each university (including assessment of SL soft skills)
- Train and share of practices with teachers and educational leaders about SL methodology
- Local and European events to promote and strengthen SL projects + working groups to support the implementation of SL projects and activities within universities
- Drafting of a European guide to facilitate the implementation of SL in European universities
- Communication, dissemination, and evaluation to promote SL teaching
Expected results:
- Enriching innovative teaching practices and methods by integrating social impact on the universities’ territories.
- Students will gain confidence to become active citizens and skills to move in the labour market: soft skills, initiative, leadership, and entrepreneurship skills.
- Quality cooperation between partner universities and civil society, as well as developing effective relationships for students teachers.
Service Learning Intersectoral Cooperation Practices Erasmus + Key Action 2 – Strategic Partnerships
I. Participants
Applicant organization: Eurasia Net
Eurasia Net is a French NGO which develops culture and educational cooperation in Europe and between Europe and Asia. It develops skills of youth people thanks to international volunteering mobility offers and intercultural exchanges. It contributes to break stereotypes and support youth to create and achieve as individuals and in groups. Eurasia Net actively works in the field of youth and non-formal education through European programs such as Erasmus +.
Partner organizations:
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM) is a public university with an outstanding international reputation for its high-quality teaching and research. Founded in 1968, it has been generally recognized as one of the best Spanish universities in both national and international rankings. UAM has the following Faculties/Schools: Science, Economics and Business Studies, Law, Art and Philosophy, Medicine, Psychology, Teachers´ Training and Education, an Engineering School for Computer Science and several affiliated centres, offering a wide range of studies in humanities and scientific and technical fields.
Aix-Marseille Université (AMU), the largest multidisciplinary French-speaking university, welcomes 80,000 students and nearly 8,000 staff on 5 large campuses of international standards. Owning 90% of its assets, the university is present in 9 cities in 4 departments of the Southern Region of France. Its A*Midex Université Foundation, which carries the excellence initiative on a long-term basis, contributes to the development of a world-class interdisciplinary higher education and research centre. Known as an “intensive research university”, it is home to 122 research structures linked to major national research organisations. Responsible University, Aix-Marseille Université makes “living well together” a priority.
The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) is a public university located in Athens, Greece. Inaugurated in 1837, it has been the first university in the newly established Modern Greek state, as well as in the Balkan and the Eastern Mediterranean area. Its role has been historically and socially decisive for education and promotion of cultural life in the country and beyond. When inaugurated, it comprised four Schools; Theology, Law, Medicine, and the School of “Philosophy and Other Fundamental Studies” (which included applied sciences and mathematics). For the academic year 2020-21, the NKUA offers 42 undergraduate programs as well as 205 postgraduate programs leading to a Master or a Doctoral degree.
With over 700 years of history, more than 115,000 total students, 3,300 professors, 2,200 officials, technicians, and librarians in addition to 1,600 employees in its university hospitals, Sapienza is the largest University in Europe. Its mission is to contribute to the development of the knowledge society through research, excellence, quality education, and international cooperation. The most influential university rankings worldwide place Sapienza among the first Italian Universities for its research, educational quality, and international dimension. In the rankings for individual subjects, our University is a reference point for many disciplines. Sapienza currently offers over 280-degree programmes (Bachelor’s and Master’s) – among which over 35 are taught in English- 200 vocational master courses and almost 80 PhDs.
The University of Bucharest (UB) is one of the most important scientific research centres nationwide. Within the University, there are 19 faculties, over 50 research institutes, departments, and centres, most of them collaborating with similar scientific centres abroad. UB is part of a reliable network of international collaboration (300 bilateral collaboration agreements have been signed with universities in 52 countries). In 2021, the UB, a member of one of the first European University Alliances – the European CIVIS Alliance, actively participated in the modernization of the European higher education area, both by strengthening transnational collaboration relations within the alliance and by direct involvement in the development of European strategic priorities in the field of higher education. CIVIS stands for a transnational collaboration of civic universities.
Project activities:
- “Improving the life of seniors II”
- “Solidarity Tamam“
- “Museums from students to students”
- “To care the taking in, to take the caring in”
- “Re-naturalization of an area affected by a forest fire”
- “Service learning guided tours with Ancient history students”
- “SDG Awareness and Behavioural Changes. Case of Sustainable Consumption”
- “ABLE. We have the power, the skills, the means and the opportunity to do something”
- “Chemistry in the garden”
- “Adaptive Reuse of Industrial Heritage for the Community”
- “Counseling of parents”
- “Green Outing Experience : Therapeutic Garden and Community”
- “Digital Writing – Content Design for a Better Future for Children”
- “Exploring Environmental Sustainability: Cultivating Knowledge and Care”
- “Expressive and theatrical activities Lab

II. Work package
- Project management
- Mapping, data design and analysis of current SL implementation practices existing in each partner university
- Training for teachers and educational managers on the implementation of innovative Service-Learning practices
- Toward the implementation of SL practices in each university
- Guide to implement SL in universities (inside and outside consortium) – promote SL practices in European universities
- Dissemination and Communication of the project
III. University of Bucharest Team
- PhD Magdalena Iordache Platis
- Senior Lecturer, PhD Delia-Laura Popescu
- Associate Prof. PhD Marilena Bratu
- PhD Otniel Ioan Bunaciu
- Associate Prof. Cristian Buică-Belciu
- Raluca Amza – ERASMUS responsible
