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On 20 January 2025 at 4:00 PM, the Societal Partnerships and Cultural Engagement Centre (SPACE Centre) will mark its official opening at the Latvian Academy of Culture’s “Gara māja” at Miera Street 58a, Riga. The event highlights a pivotal point in a four-year collaboration under the European university alliance ACE2-EU (Applied, Connected, Entrepreneurial and Engaged – European University), with LAC working together with eight European universities to address future challenges in higher education. 

“The Latvian Academy of Culture plays a crucial role in the European Universities Alliance, as the SPACE Centre bridges higher education institutions and society. Culture connects all sectors and ensures true interdisciplinarity, promoting closer cooperation, building understanding, and implementing sustainable changes. We are pleased to have the opportunity to strengthen European identity with culture at its center. The SPACE Centre is a place to meet and collaborate,” emphasizes Ieva Zemīte, the leader of the SPACE Centre.  

The opening ceremony will represent the start of renewed partnerships and mutual understanding between higher education institutions and society, bringing together representatives from participating universities, LAC staff, and external stakeholders to significantly celebrate and begin work on developing an innovative identity for European universities. 

The LAC oversees the SPACE Centre initiative, a significant element of the project, aimed at promoting societal engagement and cultural understanding. The SPACE Centre will foster collaboration with external stakeholders, enhance inclusivity, and strengthen European identity through cultural exchange. Its goal is to drive sustainable societal transformation and forge stronger connections between universities and the wider community. The SPACE Centre’s activities are directed towards implementing social solutions in areas such as well-being, inclusion, multiculturalism, respect, and gender equality, as well as creating a common cultural platform that is significant for exchanging diverse cultural experiences and expertise among alliance partners. 

The ACE2-EU alliance aims to strengthen and transform institutional cooperation among its members in higher education, research, innovation, and community service. Within the project, LAC together with 8 other European universities will work jointly on developing student-focused and challenge-based learning approaches, creating new interdisciplinary study programs, stimulating joint research and innovation activities, promoting entrepreneurship, and supporting the research community. 

The project will be implemented in collaboration with partners from FH Kaernten - Gemeinnuetzige GmbH (FH Kaernten - Gemeinnuetzige Gmbh, Austria), Lietuvos Inzinerijos Kolegija Higher Education Institution (Lietuvos inžinerijos kolegijos, Lithuania), Gdański Uniwersytet Medyczny (Gdanski Uniwersytet Medyczny, Poland), Instituto Politecnico de Santarem (Instituto Politecnico de Santarem, Portugal), Universitatea Constantin Brancusi (Universitatea Constantin Brancusi, Romania), Universidad Francisco De Vitoria (Universidad.Francisco De Vitoria, Spain), Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt (Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt, Germany), and Goce Delcev University, Stip (Goce Delcev University, Stip, North Macedonia).

The project is co-financed by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Project 101177596. 

For more information about the ACE2-EU alliance and planned activities, visit: https://ace-eu.ipsantarem.pt/