News & Events

📢 CIVENHANCE WORKSHOP SERIES

The University Meets the Local Communities: Innovative Teaching and Rural e-Service Learning! Two series of free 45-minute European workshop s to connect university faculty, students, and local authorities through the e-Service Learning (e-SL) methodology.

🎓 CIVENHANCE Academic Series

For Faculty, Researchers, and Higher Education Institution (HEI) Staff: Discover how to integrate civic engagement into your teaching, use the e-SL Framework, and connect your students with real-world local challenges through the Matchmaking Platform

️🏞️ Connected Communities & Regions:

A series designed specifically for local organizations, third-sector entities, Local Action Groups (GALs), cooperatives, NGOs, and local governments to discover how to collaborate remotely with university students and faculty!

• ⏱️ Format: Workshop
• 📜 Certificate of Participation

💡 What you’ll learn in the sessions:

🎓 CIVENHANCE Academic Series

• Methodologies & Frameworks: How to design, integrate, and evaluate rural e-SL pathways in your teaching.
• Civic Engagement for Students: Practical tools and guidance to prepare students for digital civic engagement.
• Matchmaking Platform (WP4): Preview and learn how to use the smart digital platform to connect your university with rural institutions and organizations!

️️🏞️ Connected Realities & Territories:

• University Resources at Your Fingertips: How to design, integrate, and evaluate rural e-SL pathways in your teaching.
• Solutions to Local Challenges: Practical examples of e-SL projects applied to rural and remote communities.
• Matchmaking Platform (WP4): How to sign up and submit your region’s challenges to find the best-suited university.

📅 Calendar

The calendar will be available soon.

📢 Manual for Teacher Trainers on e-Service Learning
Now Available in German

We are pleased to share that the Manual for Teacher Trainers on Service Learning has been successfully translated into German and is now available for dissemination, together with the online course for Teacher Trainers. The manual has been developed specifically to support the implementation of the online course on e-Service Learning (e-SL), available at 👉https://mod.srce.hr/course/view.php?id=667, with a particular focus on training delivery with communities and support of technology in mind.

Why?

The primary aim of the manual is to provide structured guidance for trainers who wish to deliver training in e-Service Learning, either as a complement to the online course or as a face-to-face training programme. It serves as a practical supplement to the course, explaining its overall structure, learning outcomes, content modules, and pedagogical approach. In doing so, it helps trainers better understand how the course is designed and how its components can be translated into interactive, in-person learning activities.

While the online course offers a comprehensive introduction to e-Service Learning concepts and practices, the manual supports trainers in adapting this content to real training contexts. It includes methodological guidance, suggestions for training delivery, and recommendations for facilitating participant engagement, particularly in rural and community-based settings.

How?

A key principle of the manual is flexibility. Trainers are encouraged to adapt the training structure, content, and methods according to their own experience, the needs and abilities of participants, and local conditions. This approach ensures that the training remains relevant, inclusive, and responsive across different educational environments.

• To download the Manual in German please click here
• To download the Manual in English please click here
• To download the Manual in Spanish please click here
• To download the Manual in Italian please click here
• To download the Manual in Croatian please click here
• To enroll in the online Course for Teacher Trainers, please follow the instructions here

📢Save the date!

The European Association of Service-Learning in Higher Education (EASLHE) invites you to its annual gathering on October 16 and 17, 2025 at Utrecht University!

Over the years, EASLHE has been a focal point for practitioners and researchers of service-learning in European higher education, providing an international platform to share progress and initiate collaborations.

Recognizing the necessary commitment to the annual conference, EASLHE is introducing a new format to keep our network alive. We will alternate the traditional biennial conference with a more agile annual meeting.

This year, let's focus on collaboration and growth:

• 🗓️Thursday, October 16, 2025: Strategic Collaboration Sessions for EASLHE members. An opportunity to discuss future challenges and strategies for service-learning in Europe.
• 🗓️Friday, October 17, 2025: European capacity-building event on service-learning. An opportunity to train, explore issues and present workshops!

📢 Great news from Vienna!

We will have the pleasure of presenting our project summary and first results at ICFTE (9th International Conference on Future of Teaching and Education) on March 7, 2025. A truly inspiring and insightful international experience!

📌 Where & When: Vienna, 07/03/2025

More Info

📢We have started mapping community engagement activities at UMB!

📌 Where & When: Univerzita Mateja Bela, Banská Bystrica, 19/03/2025

First meeting to map the activities our university is doing in collaboration with partners in solving current social challenges! This meeting was full of positive examples, but also highlighted what we could improve! Our approach to mapping community engagement activities is based on:

• - a bottom-up participatory approach;
• - on the principle of mutual learning, evaluation of strengths, and critical reflection on what we could improve and where we could move forward;
• - on meaningful and authentic engagement and mutual benefit.

Points of view have also emerged that offer completely different perspectives on what and how we operate in this area!

CIVICENHANCE Kick-off Meeting

E-Service Learning for Boosting Academic Civic Engagement in Rural Areas

The CIVICENHANCE Erasmus+ project successfully launched its first transnational meeting on October 14–15, 2024, hosted by LUMSA University in Rome, Italy. This milestone event brought together representatives from six European partner organizations to align on the project’s goals and strategies.

The two-day agenda included introductory sessions, project management discussions, and the initiation of key work packages (WPs). Highlights included:

• - Strategies for implementing e-service learning to enhance civic engagement in rural areas.
• - Plans for developing an innovative matchmaking platform connecting academic institutions with civic engagement opportunities.
• - Discussions on integrating civic engagement into higher education curricula and creating a Community of Practice.

The meeting concluded with evaluations and plans for the next phases of the project, aiming to foster innovation in higher education and empower rural communities through academic engagement.

Participating Organizations:

• 1. Matej Bel University (Coordinator, Slovakia)
• 2. Sveuciliste u Zagrebu (Croatia)
• 3. Libera Universita Maria SS. Assunta di Roma (Italy)
• 4. Universitat de les Illes Balears (Spain)
• 5. Universitat Ramon Llull Fundació (Spain)
• 6. Pädagogische Hochschule Wien (Austria)