About
From Ideas to Impact
The EngageSDGs Story
Building the Engaged University for Sustainable Development
As EngageSDGs enters its final chapter, we celebrate a journey that has brought universities, researchers, communities and partners together to strengthen higher education’s contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals. Across Southern Africa and Europe, EngageSDGs has advanced participatory approaches to community engagement through research, pilot projects, capacity development, interregional dialogue, and practical tools and resources.
This video celebrates the people, partnerships and achievements that have shaped the EngageSDGs journey — and the foundations created for a more engaged, responsive and transformative university.
The project may be approaching its conclusion. The impact is only beginning.
Watch the project overview video here:
About EngageSDGs
Aims and objectives of the project
Funded by the European Commission in terms of the Erasmus Plus Programme, the overall objective of EngageSDGs is to build capacity in SADC universities to contribute to the achievement of the SDGs in their local environments using participatory approaches (PAs). The project intends to promote the engaged university model by focusing on the use of PAs for the production of knowledge, and their potential to create innovative relationships between SADC universities and the communities within which they are embedded, in addressing the SDGs.
The project targets HEIs in South Africa, Mauritius and Zambia. It includes 6 SADC institutions, 5 EU HEIs, and 2 associations, SARUA and OBREAL Global. Beneficiaries include university leaders, academic staff, administrative and technical staff, and role-players in communities across the SADC region. The project which will commence in 2024 and run till 2027 aims to provide a sustainable set of capacity-building tools that will support our network members in the use of participatory approaches. We intend to embed the results of this project into our community of practice for engagement.
Specific Objectives
- To develop a report on the State of Play relating to the use PAs in HE in three SADC countries.
- To develop a conceptual framework, and supporting digital ecosystem, to support decision-making, capacity development and collaboration amongst HEIs in the SADC in the use of PAs for local engagement.
- To develop the capacity of HEIs in South Africa, Mauritius and Zambia, and in the SADC more widely, to adopt PAs for local engagement.
- To create a sustainable SARUA community of practice for the use of PAs in community-oriented knowledge production.
SARUA’s Vision and Mission
The power of the network