A Horizon Europe project exploring how universities can strengthen democracy through civic engagement, and inclusive education, connecting 17 partners across 9 countries and 3 continents
DRU – Democratic Roles of Universities is an international project financed by Horizon Europe whose main objective is to explore new ways in which universities can strengthen the democratic fabric of society.
DRU’s consortium brings together partners from northern, southern, eastern and western Europe, as well as from South Africa and Australia. It comprises universities and non-academic organisations, all committed to collaborative action to promote democracy – from grassroots community initiatives to international policy engagement. DRU brings cross-disciplinary, cross-sectoral and international expertise to critically analyse existing knowledge on the relationship between universities and democracy.
This issue is structured in five work packages. Three of them address practical ways in which universities, academics and students engage with their local communities through research and civic action and create a thriving educational environment for refugees and all students. Two observe how these practices are fostered or hindered by institutional frameworks and systems of governance.
WP2 | Democratic values and their institutionalisation | Lead by Amélia Veiga - PI (UPORTO, Portugal)
WP3 | Governance instruments | Lead by Tim Seidenschnur (UNI-Kassel, Germany)
WP4 | Participatory research and citizen science | Lead by Zsuzsanna Géring (Budapest University of Economics and Business, Hungary)
WP5 | Education in a hospitable university | Lead by Marie-Agnès Détourbe (University of Toulouse-Jean Jaurès, France)
WP6 | Civic engagement by neighbourly university | Lead by Susan Wright (Aarhus University, Denmark)
Coordination: University of Porto
Consortium:
17 partners: 9 academic and 8 non-academic
9 countries, 3 continents: Europe, Africa and Oceania
€1,600,000 in funding
4 years: 2026–2030
Outputs (examples):
Toolkits
Policy recommendations
A handbook featuring good practices, training materials, and shared approaches to science communication and open science
Training for academic and non-academic university staff
