What happens when universities step outside their traditional boundaries to co-create solutions with societal partners, industry, and local communities?
This session delves into external stakeholder engagement: a fundamental cornerstone underpinning CHARM-EU’s educational, research, and innovation models. In the face of complex global challenges—from climate resilience to sustainable governance—academic knowledge cannot remain in isolation. Addressing real-world problems requires sustained collaboration, shared ownership, and active dialogue between universities and external actors, including NGOs, regional enterprises, policy-makers, and civic initiatives.
Drawing on concrete examples from across the Alliance, the discussion will examine how CHARM-EU embeds external stakeholders into Challenge-Based Learning curricula, transdisciplinary research, and regional innovation ecosystems. Rather than approaching collaboration as a one-way transfer of knowledge, this episode explores the practicalities of co-design, the navigation of differing institutional timelines and priorities, and the creation of lasting spaces for mutual learning. The panel will share actionable insights on how students, researchers, and professional staff can initiate, structure, and sustain meaningful partnerships that connect academic rigor with tangible societal impact.
📅 Date: Monday, 26 October
🕐 Time: 13:00–14:00 CET
📍 Format: Online panel discussion with Q&A
Dr. Annisa Triyanti is an Assistant Professor of Disaster and Climate Risk Governance for Sustainability at Utrecht University. Born in Indonesia, she earned her PhD from the University of Amsterdam. Her research connects grassroots practices with global policy, focusing on community self-governance and mangrove ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction in Asia. In her teaching, she emphasizes public engagement and promotes the role of European University Alliances in addressing societal challenges. Serving as Academic Director of CHARM-EU for Utrecht University, she supports collaborative, cross-boundary education. For three consecutive years, she has also coordinated the Capstone module for the CHARM-EU Master’s in Global Challenges for Sustainability, a transdisciplinary program where students conduct research alongside external stakeholders to tackle real-world issues. Beyond her academic roles, Dr. Triyanti has engaged in intergovernmental policy dialogues on climate change and sustainable development since 2014. As part of this work, she represented young scientists in the Global Science and Technology Advisory Group for the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) from 2017 to 2019.
Ms Pia Le Grand is actively engaged in global outreach, both within CHARM-EU and at Åbo Akademi University. In addition to her role as CHARM-EU Manager at Åbo Akademi University, she has contributed to developing CHARM-EU’s external relations strategy and laying the groundwork for a global network of academic partnerships. In this capacity, she serves as CHARM-EU’s Ambassador to the Southern African Regional Universities Association (SARUA), drawing on her experience of working with similar networks in Africa. A strong believer in the proverb “I am because you are”, which captures the essence of Ubuntu, Pia sees this African philosophy of interconnectedness, mutual respect and shared responsibility as a valuable source of inspiration for CHARM-EU’s global engagement and international collaborations.
Marvin Mendy is Strategic Partnerships Officer at the University of Montpellier and leads Work Package 14 (Worldwide Academic Partnership Network). Over the past eight years, he has worked at the intersection of international relations, diplomacy and project management across the higher education, public and private sectors. His expertise includes the design and implementation of international cooperation strategies, institutional partnerships and multi-stakeholder initiatives. Within CHARM-EU, Marvin is responsible for developing long-term partnerships beyond Europe and advancing the Alliance’s global engagement strategy, particularly with Africa and other strategic regions. His work focuses on building sustainable international cooperation frameworks that connect higher education, research and societal stakeholders.
