The present proposal is a critical reflection on the impact of a partnership, forged in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, on individual practitioners, the partner institutions and the university communities, beyond the project lifetime.

The project eBelong. Sense of belonging in online learning environments (2020-1-RO01-KA226-HE-095475) is an Erasmus+ funded project during a special call in 2020 determined by particular conditions of the pandemic, which proposed building and supporting activities where partners could exchange ideas and build capacities in the field of HE at a time of great challenges. The “forced digitalization” of HE came with many provocations, the key being to ensure continuity of the teaching and learning process under the unexpected conditions imposed by social interaction restrictions.

The University of Bucharest took up the challenge and was coordinating a partnership of 7 European universities from CIVIS A European Civic University (AMU, NKUA, UB, AUM, UniRoma 1, SU and EKTU) which joined forces in this project aiming at a central dilemma that needed to be addressed at that time, namely ensuring social-emotional conditions of learning in HE, as successful learning was not just about the quality of knowledge and skills to be trained, but was very much related to quality of social interactions among key stakeholders in the process, as well as to the emotional engagement of academics and students with teaching and learning experiences.

The eBelong project aimed at:

-        IDENTIFYING the best practices that could enhance teaching and learning when using digital tools and create conditions for social and emotional engagement of students in online learning.

-        PROVIDING a framework for transforming and adapting learning support services, with a special focus on vulnerable groups.

-        CREATING the tools to develop student’s sense of belonging in the context of virtual learning communities.

The target groups were the academics from partner universities, teaching online courses, with a focus on those with reduced digital literacy and limited capacity to transfer all teaching in online environment in an effective way, and the students studying at the partner universities and learning online, who need to develop a sense of belonging, with a focus on those from vulnerable groups.

Challenges were turned into opportunities as collaborative groups of academics from the seven partner universities collected and analysed data to co-create knowledge, support mechanisms and services to be offered across all universities. Activities in the project included:

• Analytical selection of the vulnerabilities in the education system, with a specific attention for the emotional and social impact of the pandemic and the identification of new categories of vulnerable people, 
• Mapping of existing digital media used by partner universities for teaching and learning and evaluate their effect on sense of belonging, 
• Design thinking as a method to add knowledge about possibilities to enhance the sense of belonging among different categories of students in order to assist course design, support services and creation of digital tools.

The project proposed CoP (communities of practice) as an endless support resource, capable to respond to a diversity of needs, irrespective of the context, and at the same time it raised awareness on the efficiency of CoP in fostering social and emotional engagement with impact on learning productivity.

The last intellectual output of the project was a document summarizing the endeavors of the team, proposing a new mindset in HE which focuses on social and emotional aspects of the learning experiences universities offer to their students in order to reach academic success. It redefined teaching practices in the context of online education and development of new academic skills, in an effort to generate inclusion. Although based on all data obtained, it was also a critical reflection writing, which involved a structured and thoughtful analysis of the experience, in which all partners made reference to: • The experience they had during the project, initial reactions and expectations. • The main themes, issues and concepts that emerged from the experience. • The challenges when working with an international team. • Their perspective on the experiences in the project. • Reflections on new insights, skills, or knowledge gained. • Connecting the experience to relevant theories or concepts • The overall outcome of the project experience. • Actionable goals for future situations. • The significance of the experience and its impact on personal or professional development. For the purpose of this presentation we used the critical reflections on the project experience, taking into consideration their contributions on the following topics: • A culture based on cooperation and support (UB) • Early warning systems. Instruments for identification and needs monitoring (AMU and UniRoma) • Online communication and support. Online teaching and learning platforms/instruments (NKUA and UAM) • Forms of cooperation- Open Lab and Peer Learning (SU and EKUT) • Support services – Couching, Counselling and Academic Writing (UB)

eBelong still represents one of CIVIS achievements in terms of collaboration that was made possible between leading HE partners across Europe, that shared a common vision on: inclusiveness, equity and co-creation of knowledge and skills, digital and technological transformation, innovative pedagogical tools and training methodologies, resource and knowledge sharing. eBelong offered knowledge based solutions to pandemic challenges for students and academics in HE. Although in synergy with CIVIS objectives, eBelong project is standing out as a responding to present particular issues raised by unusual circumstances, but at the same time made use of the creative force that was made possible by the partnership cooperation of European educational specialists, building and supporting activities where individuals could exchange ideas and build capacities in the field of HE. The project ended in May 2023, concluding that we need to consider the learning experiences of the students as part of a community that fosters a sense of belonging (identification of common values, needs, purposes, visions for career/life), as well as the experiences of the academics who contribute to the creation and the maintenance of these communities of learning. It continued in 2023 with eBelong 2: Sense of belonging in the context of new EU alliances, which built on the findings of the previous endeavor and continues exploring issues of diversity, equity and inclusion within academic communities, in particular in the context of the CIVIS alliance, as the partner universities in the project are part of it. What can say more about the nature and the impact of this partnership is not only the fact that the same partners wished to continue working together, but the project team members are with very small exceptions the same.

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