In April 2025, Carinthia University of Applied Sciences organised two workshops for university staff and students on the Social Impactors, one of the two main components of the ACE²-EU European University Alliance’s Societal Partnerships and Cultural Engagement Centre (SPACE Centre). By January 2026, four Social Impactors will be established, serving as think tanks involving the nine alliance partners and external stakeholders from their regional environment (business, local/regional government and civil society), to collaboratively address various pre-determined socio-economic challenges.

The two CUAS workshops were held on Fridays 4 and 25 April. Marika Gruber (conceptual lead) and Melissa Pebayle (operational lead) started the workshops with a brief overview of the alliance and the SPACE Centre, followed by a series of discussions and reflections on the Social Impactors’ key topics, such as inclusion, multiculturalism, social well-being, respect, dignity and gender equality. Over twenty participants joined the workshops, including students, academic and research staff, as well as staff from various service departments (European Universities Office, Student Service Centre, Quality Management, etc.). Among the discussions, inclusion emerged as a central theme, with intersectionality and equality identified as crucial and cross-cutting aspects that need to be addressed in a holistic way.

“The insights from the first workshop results of CUAS and the other Alliance partners show not only very important suggestions for the content and theoretical grounding of the Social Impactor topics, but also the great need for discussions on these topics in "safe spaces". This underlines the importance of implementing such think tanks across the Alliance.” – Marika Gruber, Social Impactors’ conceptual lead across the Alliance

CUAS, as the responsible partner for establishing these Social Impactors within the SPACE Centre across the whole alliance, framed the workshop model and guided each partner university in replicating it. The workshops aim to engage our staff and student communities and to discuss the scope and concepts that will be explored within these think tanks. The results of each partner’s internal workshops will be analysed and compared to form a common basis of understanding for the Social Impactors’ topics across the entire alliance.

For more information on the Social Impactors, please read this article: Paving the way: Driving Societal Impact and partnerships across the ACE²-EU Alliance