News

Building an Inclusive Future: The Impact and Outcomes of the Erasmus+ IDEATE Project

Oct 02, 2026

At our university, creating a campus environment where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered is a priority. We are delighted to share the remarkable outcomes of the IDEATE (Inclusion and Diversity Education through Applied Design Thinking for Equity) project—an initiative dedicated to embedding Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) deeply into European higher education.

Coordinated by Kristianstad University (HKR) alongside partner institutions including our university (UNIFE), UPB, UCLM, and Neapolis University in Cyprus, IDEATE has addressed EDI challenges through an innovative, participatory approach. By using design-thinking methodologies, the project empowered both staff and students to work as co-creators, identifying real-world barriers to inclusion and designing practical, sustainable solutions.

Collaborative Impact Across Europe

Through close collaboration with the COLOURS Alliance, of which our university is a proud member, the IDEATE project successfully reached almost 400 students across 10 European countries. This wide reach highlights the strength of alliance-wide cooperation in championing shared values. As EDI lies at the very heart of the COLOURS Alliance’s mission, this partnership has provided an invaluable platform for driving awareness and meaningful cultural change across institutions.

Key Resources and Educational Deliverables

To ensure long-term institutional transformation and transferability, the IDEATE project has developed a comprehensive suite of educational tools and learning materials:

  • Curricula & Courses: A comprehensive 10 ECTS EDI curriculum alongside a dedicated 7.5 ECTS course.

  • Stackable Micro-Credentials: Three 1 ECTS micro-credentials designed to offer flexible, targeted learning paths for participants.

  • Training-of-Trainers Programme: A specialized framework to support academic and administrative staff in facilitating EDI training.

  • Multilingual Online Course: An accessible online EDI course available in six languages, enabling institutions across Europe to adopt and integrate these practices easily.

By establishing a transferable framework for inclusive innovation, IDEATE ensures that the momentum generated by this project will continue to benefit higher education communities for years to come.

We invite all students, academic staff, and administrative team members to explore these valuable open-access materials.

Explore the full range of IDEATE resources: https://euideate.eu/en/page/resources