Project Overview
BELONG@HEI – Building Inclusive Communities in Higher Education is an Erasmus+ project focused on strengthening belonging, inclusion, and diversity within higher education institutions.
Objectives
The main objective is strengthening a sense of belonging and inclusion in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), particularly for women and students from disadvantaged backgrounds, through an evidence-based and gender-sensitive institutional framework.
The project aims to co-create a Belonging Framework, build staff and educator capacity, develop practical tools for institutional self-assessment, and support HEIs in embedding inclusive practices into policies, teaching, and campus culture.
Target groups
BELONG@HEI focuses on women and students from disadvantaged backgrounds as its primary target groups and supports the institutions working to improve inclusion.
Primary target groups
Women and students from disadvantaged backgrounds, including migrants, refugees, low-income students, students with different abilities, and those experiencing social or academic exclusion.
Institutional audiences
HEI educators, administrative staff, institutional leaders, student support services, and decision-makers.
Wider stakeholders
Partner organisations, HEI networks, NGOs, policy stakeholders, and education and inclusion organisations.
Belonging in practice
Project imagery should show real academic communities, peer support, diverse learner identities, and everyday higher education spaces.
Work packages
Five work packages move from coordination and research through tools, training, and institutional uptake.
WP1 – Project management
Coordination, quality assurance, communication, budget control, risk management, accessibility, and sustainability planning.
WP2 – Belonging Framework
Participatory research and framework development based on student, staff, educator, and stakeholder experiences.
WP3 – Training and OERs
Capacity building, training activities, open educational resources, and a pedagogical guide for HEIs.
WP4 – Self-Assessment Toolkit
Assessment tools to help HEIs identify gaps and improve belonging practices.
WP5 – Guidebook and sustainability
Institutional uptake, long-term adoption, guidebook development, and sustainability workshop materials.
Timeline and impact
BELONG@HEI runs from 01.12.2025–01.12.2028. Its impact will be achieved through research, pilot activities, training, open-access resources, institutional engagement, and long-term adoption of project results by higher education institutions.
Project start
Coordination, research setup, partner alignment, accessibility, and shared delivery structures.
Tools and pilots
Participatory research, training, open resources, pilot activities, and institutional engagement.
Long-term uptake
Guidebook, sustainability workshop materials, institutional adoption, and continued use by HEIs.