NEWS & EVENTS

How can universities and cities develop their collaborations to address complex societal challenges? This question was at the heart of the ENLIGHT Regional Academy event, co-created by Region Gotland and Uppsala University at Campus Gotland, where participants from across Europe gathered to explore how challenge-based collaboration and gamification can support sustainable regional development.

The event brought together academics from six ENLIGHT universities, representatives from three ENLIGHT cities, and local stakeholders. Inspired by gamification, the Regional Academy aimed to create a shared space for dialogue, knowledge exchange and the identification of future collaboration opportunities.

Connecting local challenges with international expertise

The programme was built around a common ambition: to place local and regional challenges at the centre of discussions and connect them with the expertise available across the ENLIGHT alliance.

Participants were introduced to Region Gotland's vision for the future and discussed how international collaboration can contribute to regional development and societal impact.

"Through the ENLIGHT Regional Academy, we are strengthening our long-term strategic partnership with Uppsala University and the wider European university network. For Region Gotland, this is not only about one event, but about building shared capacity to act in new ways on complex regional challenges.

The event combined different forms of knowledge, helping us create better conditions for sustainable, innovative and place-based solutions. Gotland's development depends on our ability to attract talent, create meaningful professional opportunities, and address challenges linked to housing, skills, climate, resources, transport and local resilience in more integrated ways.

Our vision for Gotland 2040 is 'Gotland – a creative island with room for a full life.' The Regional Academy could be a good step towards our vision by using creativity, game design and cross-sector collaboration as tools for learning, experimentation and societal impact."

— Susanna Palomaa, Head of the Regional Development Department, Region Gotland

Drawing on expertise from Uppsala University's Department of Game Design and ENLIGHT initiatives such as ROCKET and TOGETHER, participants explored how games can be used to engage stakeholders, visualise future scenarios and address complex societal challenges.

Reflecting on the discussions, Liis Sokk, Service Development Manager at the City of Tartu, highlighted the potential value of gamification for local authorities:

” Gamification can be helpful for local authorities as a model for approaching a problem more collaboratively instead of working in silos limited to a specific perspective. Let’s include our citizens in a more interactive way to help us create different scenarios.”

— Liis Sokk, Service Development Manager, City of Tartu

From ideas to future action

The event was not only about exchanging experiences. Participants also explored how local challenges could be addressed through closer collaboration between universities and cities.

One workshop, organized by the ENLIGHT Thematic Network TOGETHER, focused on collecting challenges that can be integrated into a serious simulation game on future-proof cities.

The discussions also highlighted the importance of understanding the needs of public authorities and regional organizations.

"The event provided a valuable opportunity to connect directly with representatives from public authorities and regional stakeholders, turning email contacts into meaningful dialogue. We gained valuable insights, access to relevant data, and a better understanding of both societal needs and how our work can create value for the local authorities and the wider community."

— NAMN NAMN,  ENLIGHT Thematic Networks- ETN TOGETHER.

The team representing ETN TOGETHER consisted of representatives from three ENLIGHT partner universities: Dr. Daniel Vullings, Lecturer, Faculty of Economics and Business, Department of Economics, Econometrics and Finance, University of Groningen; Dr. Aleksandra Halaim, Lecturer, Centre for Health and Sustainability, Uppsala University; Prof. Dr. Ir. Femke De Backere, Department of Information Technology – IDLab, Ghent University; and Dr. Alvin O'Sullivan, Lecturer, Department of Game Design, Uppsala University.

The event demonstrated how valuable it is to create opportunities for universities, cities and regional actors to come together around shared challenges and future solutions.

Building lasting partnerships

One of the clearest outcomes of the Regional Academy was the creation of new connections between cities, universities and regional stakeholders.

Stephanie Van Hove from Comon in the City of Ghent emphasized the value of identifying common challenges across different regions:

"We know that local challenges differ from region to region, but there are also commonalities. If we build our collaborations on those commonalities, we can create stronger collaboration structures by learning from methods that already work, such as the living lab model we've developed in Comon"

— Stephanie Van Hove, Coordinator, Comon, City of Ghent

Several follow-up activities have already been identified, including future collaboration around local challenges in Gotland, contributions to the TOGETHER simulation game, and continued exchanges between partners from Gotland, Ghent and Tartu.

The Regional Academy demonstrated how local challenges can become a starting point for international collaboration. More importantly, it showed that meaningful societal impact begins with dialogue, trust and long-term partnerships—core principles at the heart of the ENLIGHT alliance.