Jenny Widén
What should future education, university campuses or residential neighbourhoods look like? These are questions that concern many people, yet those most affected are not always given the opportunity to develop and express their own ideas and visions.
In the three-year Erasmus+ project Enhance, six European universities worked with future workshops. This established method invites participants to first identify existing challenges, then imagine a desirable future, and finally explore possible pathways to achieve it.
The method was developed in the 1960s to strengthen democratic dialogue and citizen participation in societal development. Within Enhance, it has been tested with different groups and across a variety of social issues.
Karin Eliasson, Research Coordinator at Linköping University, took part in the project.
"The method creates space for people to share their experiences and perspectives. Participants are first encouraged to think completely freely. They then return to present-day conditions and discuss what needs to be done to move closer to their visions," she says.
Students imagined a different teacher education programme
Jenny Widén
At Linköping University, two future workshops were conducted as part of the project. One, held by doctoral dtudent Joakim Söderström, explored how Corson (the central thoroughfare) at Campus Valla could become a more inclusive, sustainable and vibrant environment. The other focused on the ongoing reform of Swedish teacher education and was held by Amanda Norling, doctoral student.
Julia Kjellin, then a student teacher and now President of the Student Union, participated in the workshop on teacher education.
"We knew there were economic and political realities to consider. But here we were able to set those aside and ask ourselves what teacher education could look like if all possibilities and resources were available," she says.
The students' vision for the future included more practical training, greater emphasis on subject-specific pedagogy and closer connections between teacher education, classrooms and pupils. The workshop was conducted primarily to test the method rather than to implement its proposals directly in educational reform.
At the same time, Julia Kjellin saw opportunities to use the approach both in schools and within higher education.
"We immediately began thinking about how it could be used in the classroom to give pupils more influence over their subjects and learning. It could also be used to bring students' perspectives into university decision-making processes at an earlier stage."
Experiences gathered in a handbook
The participating universities compared and reflected on their experiences from the future workshops. The results have now been brought together in a handbook containing guidance, exercises and practical tools for anyone wishing to plan and facilitate their own workshop.
The material is aimed at researchers and educators, but it is also intended for schools, municipalities, libraries and non-profit organisations.
"The idea is that the handbook should be open and accessible to anyone who wants to encourage participation and work with future-focused issues together with others," says Karin Eliasson.
Jenny Widén
Meeting across academic boundaries
The project concluded in summer 2026 with the Voices in Motion festival at the University of Twente in the Netherlands. There, participants shared their experiences through discussions, crafts and other interactive activities.
At Linköping University's exhibition space, visitors could make traditional Swedish midsummer wreaths and repair clothing together with Kristin Winander, artist and regional handicrafts consultant at Hemslöjden in Östergötland.
For Julia Kjellin, these practical activities helped break down barriers between different groups.
"As a student, you could initially feel that there were researchers and professors whom you had to summon the courage to approach. But when you were doing something together, it created a natural starting point for conversation. It lowered the threshold."
The project has now ended, but its work will continue through the handbook and the international network established within Enhance. Researchers, practitioners and organisations can use the network to find new collaborators and exchange experiences. In this way, the project can support more people who want to involve students, citizens and other stakeholders in shaping education, places and communities.
