Call for Applications
Digital Badge(s) and/or Micro-credential in Community Engaged Research Theories and Practice.
DO YOU WANT TO BUILD YOUR SKILLS TO COLLABORATE, CO-CREATE AND DRIVE MEANINGFUL SOCIETAL CHANGE THROUGH RESEARCH?
Community Engaged Research (CER) brings researchers and communities together to address real societal challenges, from shaping research questions collaboratively to co‑designing projects that support the Sustainable Development Goals. Community Engaged Research involves processes like co‑design and participatory research, which focus on working together, sharing decisions, and valuing different types of knowledge.
We are inviting you to apply to participate in new continuing professional development opportunities in Community Engaged Research, including up to 5 digital badge(s)/short courses, or a 5 ECTS credit postgraduate Micro-credential. Both offer the opportunity to join an international learning community committed to collaborative, ethical, and socially impactful research – including university staff, PhD students and community organisations.
Designed for and by university staff, research students, and community partners, these digital badges will help you to rethink and enhance your research by working meaningfully with collaborative partners.
Through these digital badges, you will explore how to co‑design research that addresses societal challenges, build strong and inclusive partnerships, and develop practical skills that benefit you, your collaborators, and the wider communities you engage with.
Note: At this time, interested participants can apply for digital badges 3, 4 and/or 5, or the full Micro-credential (which is made up of all 5 badges plus a final reflective assignment). Digital badges 1 and 2 will be advertised in spring 2027, and will run in autumn 2027.
In this round of applications (October 2026), we have only a few places available for those coming new to the digital badges. This is because most people who are already undertaking badges 1 and/or 2 are planning to apply for badges 3-5. We expect to have more places available to new entrants in September 2027 for the second run of digital badges 1 and 2. Please do apply now if you’re interested. We will roll over (or defer) to June 2027 any applications for the micro-credential which meet the necessary standard in all the criteria but which do not receive offers in this round. We will then check in with these applicants in summer 2027 to make sure they still are eligible and still want to undertake the micro-credential in 2027/8.
These badges are for people based in, or working in close collaboration with, TU Dublin, ULB and UNISS, who are committed to research that is collaborative, inclusive, and impactful:
- University staff
- Postgraduate research students
- Collaborating community partners (NGOs, civic society groups, public sector, enterprise)
Whether you are new to CER or already working collaboratively, these badges offer a structured space to deepen your knowledge, and enhance your skills and attitudes.
The course costs are fully covered by the TOGETHERNESS Erasmus+ project funding in 2026/7 and 2027/8.
Digital Badge 3. Identifying and supporting collaborative research partners.
This badge will help participants to identify, map and prioritise the potential partners for Community Engaged Research (CER). It will also support them to build and sustain strong research partnerships. CER projects can be quite different from other kinds of research and collaboration.
Through this badge, participants will be supported to recognise, respect and include the variety of knowledges, voices and perspectives needed for effective CER. They will explore who the potential partners are, what roles they can play, and what affects their involvement. They will explore the elements needed for sustaining strong research partnerships, including open discussion of goals, shared ownership, transparency and effective communication, and adapting and managing changes over time.
At the end of this digital badge, participants will be able to:
- Map and prioritise the potential partners for their own community engaged research
- Choose suitable methods to support key partner(s) to collaborate, to help build a sustainable research partnership
- Propose practical steps to ethically care for and sustain a collaborative team that incorporates different kinds of knowledge and skills, and different levels of authority and power
Digital Badge 4. Collaboratively Designing Research.
This badge will help participants to work with partners to collaboratively develop research questions and projects. Close collaboration is essential to Community Engaged Research (CER), starting by shaping the research question together.
Through this digital badge participants will develop knowledge and skills to help in this process, such as how to carefully design inclusive meetings where everyone can identify shared priorities and agree a vision for the social impact of their research. Participants will develop their understanding of ways to explore and agree a vision for change, including what’s involved in making change happen, and possible barriers to change. They will develop tools to help collaboratively set expectations, define success, bring different kinds of knowledge together, and develop proposals for ethical review. They will practice some of the essential skills for CER, such as transparent communication, sharing power and ownership, and actively caring for collaborators.
At the end of this digital badge, participants will be able to:
- Plan a meeting involving community and academic partners (and potentially others) to support the group to identify and agree common goals, and to collaboratively develop a research question.
- Organise relevant documentation required for a formal ethical review of a CER proposal, in their own context.
Digital Badge 5. Communicating and Sharing Engaged Research.
This badge will help participants to achieve their communication goals and those of their research partners, from producing summaries to persuade organisations and policymakers to make change happen, to publishing academic papers for the research community. During and after a CER project, communication with a range of stakeholders is vital, to make sure that the research has societal impact and creates positive change. It can be challenging to know how to communicate research to diverse groups, who may have different goals and different types of knowledge.
Through this badge, participants will develop their ability to make information clear and accessible for different groups, thinking about people and context to make messages easy to understand. Instead of one-way communication, they will develop an understanding of “knowledge-sharing ecosystems”, where knowledge is co-created and shared. Participants will also practice some of the essential skills for CER, such as using plain, non-technical language, to help everyone to understand and use the research, and tailoring messages for different audiences, to give them the power to apply new knowledge in their own context, to increase its impact.
At the end of this digital badge, participants will be able to:
- Address challenges they may experience in communicating and creating dialogue around their research to a range of stakeholder groups.
- Assess the most effective means of communication and dialogue to achieve the desired social impact from their community engaged research.
Micro-credential (5 ECTS credit postgraduate course)
This micro-credential will build capacity among university staff, research students and community partners to collaborate on Community Engaged Research (CER) projects to address societal challenges and Sustainable Development Goals. CER is complex, and this micro-credential will supporting upskilling and continuing professional development in this area, at postgraduate level.
The 5 main topics are:
- Understanding Community Engaged Research
- Understanding ourselves and our research collaborators
- Identifying and supporting collaborative research partners
- Collaboratively designing research
- Communicating and sharing engaged research
At the end of this micro-credential, participants will be able to:
- Plan their next steps in relation to collaboration on community engaged research.
- Design a group process to increase their and their partners’ understanding of each other, to implement in their own community engaged research practice.
- Develop a map of potential partners to collaborate with on community engaged research (considering a diversity of sectors, disciplines, demographics, experiences, etc).
- Develop a concrete plan to engage with one key partner through the different stages of research collaboration, as part of caring for and sustaining an inclusive collaborative team that incorporates diverse expectations, knowledge and skills, and different levels of authority and power, in their specific role and context.
- Plan a meeting involving community and university partners (and potentially others) to support the group to identify and agree common goals and expectations, and collaboratively develop an initial research question.
- Assemble a list and sample of relevant documentation required for a formal ethical review of a CER proposal, in their own context.
- Assess the most effective means of communication and dialogue to achieve the desired societal impact from their community engaged research, with a range of stakeholder groups, at different stages in the research process.
- Critically reflect on their learning experiences and to what extent these have supported them with CER.
General
In each of the digital badges, participants will participate in 2 interactive online workshops involving group activities. They will also collaborate in two self-directed small-group meetings/triads to develop and present useful resources to support their CER work.
The group activities may range from developing action plans based on exploring case studies of real life CER projects, to applying relevant theories to their own CER plans or practices, to developing CER-related activities to try out with their peers, to developing resources for CER practitioners on different topics.
Participants will be required to individually reflect on their practice and learning on each of the topics, to develop their skills as reflective practitioners.
Expected Learner Effort for each Digital Badge
20-25 hours, combining online workshops, group activities and independent learning.
Learning Activities
3 hours of online workshops, which will be scheduled as 2 x 1.5-hour workshops.
2 hours of synchronous online group work, which will be scheduled as 2 x 1-hour meetings. This will result in submission of a group assignment.
15-20 hours of independent learning, including submission of an individual reflection-based assignment.
Supports provided to learners
3 hours of facilitated online workshops.
3 hours of on-line drop-in support sessions.
Prompts and instructions for group work meetings
Reading/viewing lists and key questions for independent learning
Clear briefs for individual and group assignments, including marking rubrics.
Course schedule
- Webinars: Tuesdays 1-2.30pm UTC (Irish time)/ 2-3.30pm CET.
- Small group meetings will be scheduled by group members at a time that suits everyone.
Those who successfully complete all 5 digital badges can decide to submit an additional final reflective assignment, to exchange the digital badges for a micro-credential worth 5 ECTS credits at postgraduate level. This new ‘Micro-credential in Community Engaged Research theories and practices’ has been validated by TU Dublin.
Participants will be supported by their local TOGETHERNESS partner to identify and make connections with suitable CER partners.
Digital badge 3. Identifying and supporting collaborative research partners.
Participants will be required to participate in online workshops and in small-group meetings.
You will be required to submit 2 assignments:
- 1 individual reflective assignment where you map and prioritise potential partners to collaborate with on community engaged research (considering a diversity of sectors, disciplines, demographics, experiences, etc). You will also reflect on how you can contribute to caring for and sustaining an inclusive collaborative team that incorporates diverse expectations, knowledge and skills, and different levels of authority and power, in your specific role and context.
- 1 group work assignment where the group develops and presents a concrete plan to engage with one key partner through the different stages of research, including adaptations for each of their different contexts, to build a sustainable research partnership.
Digital Badge 4. Collaboratively Designing Research.
Participants will be required to participate in online workshops and in small-group meetings.
You will be required to submit 2 assignments:
- 1 group work assignment where the group will develop a detailed facilitation plan for a meeting involving community and university partners (and potentially others) to support them to identify and agree common expectations and goals for positive change and societal impact, and to collaboratively develop an initial research question. This plan should include variations to reflect the role and specific context of each team member.
- 1 individual reflective assignment to compose a fictional letter of support which you would like a CER partner to write about you as part of a formal ethical review process. The letter will reflect how the collaborative partner perceives your contribution to inclusive and ethical research design processes, with a focus on your specific role and context.
Digital Badge 5. Communicating and Sharing Engaged Research.
Participants will be required to participate in online workshops and in small-group meetings.
You will be required to submit 2 assignments:
- 1 group work assignment where the group will assess their key target groups and present to their peers the most effective, creative and engaging means of communication and dialogue with each, to achieve each partner’s desired societal impact for their involvement in CER.
- 1 individual reflective assignment where you reflect on challenges you may experience in communicating and creating dialogue around the outcomes of CER projects with a range of groups (e.g. university staff, policymakers, community groups, industry bodies), and how you can address these.
Micro-credential – (following successful completion of 5 digital badges)
Participants will submit a portfolio of learning. This will include:
- Outputs from 5 x team tasks relating to understanding and planning for the different stages of CER, from identifying and prioritising stakeholders to building understanding and sustainable relationships with them, to creating inclusive and diverse research teams, collaboratively developing research goals and questions (including ethical review processes), and communicating and dialoguing with different stakeholders to turn the research into positive societal change.
- The portfolio will include a final reflection on learning across the digital badges, as well as smaller reflection exercises completed during the course of the badges. Participants will be expected to develop and include in the portfolio a set of touchstones to guide them in the future as practitioners of CER.
Digital badge participants will receive digital badges on successful completion of all badge assignments, issued by TU Dublin.
Micro-credential participants who successfully complete all digital badges and the reflective assignments will receive 5 ECTS credits at postgraduate level, accredited by TU Dublin.
- All 5 digital badges need to be completed if you want to apply to trade them in for the Micro-credential (with an additional assignment).
- Suitable level of spoken and written English. If you are planning to take all 5 digital badges and then apply for the Micro-credential, please see a description of TU Dublin. English language requirements here:
https://www.tudublin.ie/study/international/how-to-apply/entry-requirements/english-language-requirements/.
Note that applicants may be invited to a brief online meeting in the weeks of 23 and 30 November, for a chat with the facilitators to establish their level of English or address any other questions emerging from their application form. We want to ensure that the digital badges match participants’ interests and current level of English, so they can participate with confidence and learn effectively from the experience.
- Drop-in information webinar: Friday 6 November 2026 1.30-2.30pm Irish time, 2.30-3.30pm CET, using the following link:
https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/3294783067826429?p=zeXvQS2KFpF23YeoFZ - Closing date for applications: Thursday 12 November 2026.
Note that applicants may be invited to a brief online meeting, in the weeks of 23 and 30 November, for a chat with the facilitators to establish their level of English or address any other questions emerging from their application form. We want to ensure that the digital badges match participants’ interests and current level of English, so they can participate with confidence and learn effectively from the experience. - Notification of outcome of applications: no later than Tuesday 8 December 2026.
- Deadline to confirm acceptance of place: Tuesday 15 December 2026. We will operate a waiting list, and places that are not accepted will be offered to the next person on the list.
- Digital badge 3: webinar 1 on Tuesday 12 January 2027, webinar 2 on Tuesday 26 January 2027. 1-2.30pm UTC (Irish time)/ 2-3.30pm CET.
- Digital badge 4: webinar 1 on Tuesday 9 March 2027, webinar 2 on Tuesday 23 March 2027. 1-2.30pm UTC (Irish time)/ 2-3.30pm CET.
- Digital badge 5: webinar 1 on Tuesday 4 May 2027, webinar 2 on Tuesday 18 May 2027. 1-2.30pm UTC (Irish time)/ 2-3.30pm CET.
- Full micro-credential submission date (for those who have successfully completed digital badges 1-5): Monday 16 August 2027.
- For those starting digital badges in January 2027, the final micro-credential submission date will be in early 2028, to allow time for them to apply for and complete badges 1 and 2 in autumn 2027.
- I am interested in community engaged research (CER) as a collaborative approach to address real world challenges, to work towards solutions with partners as co-creators of research.
- I am a university staff member or PhD student in TU Dublin, UNISS or ULB who would like to learn more about CER, to engage communities, NGOs or public bodies to co-develop research that addresses issues experienced by communities, that improves peoples lives and that contributes towards achieving the UN SDGs.
- OR
- I am a member of a community organisation, NGO, social enterprise or public body which is already engaged with TU Dublin, UNISS, ULB, that would like to collaborate with researchers on research to address community ideas or challenges, to create positive social change.
- I have a high level of English (written and spoken) to enable me to participate in the digital badges
- I am prepared to make a time commitment and actively participate in collaborative working in a Digital Badge (20-25 hours) or Micro-credential (approximately 100-125 learning hours).
Please fill in the application form here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/5NY70V8EYk
The TU Dublin TOGETHERNESS coordination team will first shortlist applications and then where required the TOGETHERNESS international coordination team will review and agree final decisions on applications. To support this process, data you provide in the application form will be made available to the TOGETHERNESS local and international coordination teams.
Evaluation Criteria (see the table below for more detail):
- Interest and/or experience in CER
- Potential to co-develop and collaborate on a CER project
- Clear personal goals for the digital badge/ micro-credential
- Awareness of strengths and potential challenges (reflexivity).
- Ability to commit to the work required for the digital badge(s)/micro-credential
- English language ability
| Not yet at level required | At level required | Above level required | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Relevant experience/interest in CER | No interest | Quite interested | Very interested |
| Potential to develop/collaborate on a CER project | No time available, no contacts at all with potential partners, and/or retiring/leaving role/organisation within 1 year. Insufficient potential for CER. | Some available time, at least one initial contact made. Not retiring/leaving organisation within 1 year. Some potential for CER. | Significant time available, relationship(s) already established, and 3+ years ahead in role, with clear potential for CER |
| Clear personal goals for the digital badge/ micro-credential | No clear goals, and/or clear goals not related to the digital badge/ micro-credential | Clear goals, related to the digital badge/ micro-credential | Very clear goals, very closely related to the digital badge/ micro-credential |
| Awareness of strengths and potential challenges. | Little or no articulation of strengths and potential challenges, and/or strengths and challenges given but unrelated to the digital badge/ micro-credential | Clear articulation of strengths and potential challenges, related to the digital badge/ micro-credential | Very clear articulation of strengths and potential challenges, very closely related to the digital badge/ micro-credential |
| Ability to commit to doing the work required | No clear plan for how to create the time, or manage other commitments | General plan for how to create time and manage other commitments | Specific, achievable plan for how to create time and manage other commitments. |
| English language ability | Not adequate for the digital badge/ micro-credential | Suitable for the digital badge/ micro-credential requirements | Fluent |
We are looking for a diversity of participants, to enhance your learning and support you to practice collaborating with a wide variety of people across sectors. We welcome a range of participants in different organisations and roles, with different levels of experience of Community Engaged Research, from beginner to experienced practitioner. By ‘diversity’ we also mean gender, mix of disciplines, mix of levels of research experience, and mix of organisation types.
We need to recruit a minimum number of participants interested in the full Micro-credential (5 digital badges plus overall reflection on learning), and we also want to recruit people who are only interested in doing one or more digital badges. We also need to recruit a minimum number of participants of each type (PhD student, community partner, university staff). These are both requirements of our funding.
Each digital badge has a cap of 25 participants, which will be spread across the 4 partner countries and 3 participant groups.
Note that in this round of applications (October 2026), we have only a few places available for those coming new to the digital badges. This is because most people who are already undertaking badges 1 and/or 2 are planning to apply for badges 3-5. We expect to have more places available to new entrants in September 2027 for the second run of digital badges 1 and 2. Please do apply now if you’re interested. We will roll over (or defer) to June 2027 any applications for the micro-credential which meet the necessary standard in all the criteria but which do not receive offers in this round. We will then check in with these applicants in summer 2027 to make sure they still are eligible and still want to undertake the micro-credential in 2027/8.
To ensure the sustainability of the project outcomes, we may prioritise applicants who demonstrate the most potential to co-develop/collaborate on CER projects.
How can I find out more?
Come to our information event
- Join our online drop-in information webinar to ask questions about the Digital Badges or Micro-credential: Friday 6 November 2026, 1.30-2.30pm Irish time, 2.30-3.30pm CET, using the following link: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/3294783067826429?p=zeXvQS2KFpF23YeoFZ
Contact us
- You can email the course facilitators: Dr Catherine Bates and Ms Zoryana Pshyk in TU Dublin – catherine.bates[at]@tudublin.ie or zoryana.pshyk[at]tudublin.ie
What is TOGETHERNESS?
TOGETHERNESS (‘Training and Opportunities for Growing Engagement in Teaching and Higher Education Research – a New Engine for Societal Solidarity’) is an Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnership. You can find more information here: https://togetherness-project.eu/
Who are the people in the TOGETHERNESS co-ordinating team?
See contact details listed under each partner’s description here: https://togetherness-project.eu/
What is Community Engaged Research (CER)?
CER is research that is designed collaboratively by researchers and the people who will be most affected by and interested in the issues it addresses, not by researchers alone. It is not research on society. It is co-designed by researchers and societal representatives, for society, usually in response to questions from society. CER focuses on societal challenges, and UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Do I need to be experienced in CER?
No, we are looking for a range of participants, from those completely new to CER to those with extensive experience of it.
Do I need to be experienced in reflection?
Not formally. We will provide templates, supports etc.
Can I withdraw?
We would ask that once you have confirmed the offer of a place, you honour that commitment. As this is a competitive process, if you withdraw it means you have taken a place that someone else might have used to the full.
Where will I find partner(s) for my research?
Your local TOGETHERNESS partner will facilitate events where you can meet potential research partners.
What happens if something goes wrong during the course?
Please contact the course facilitators: Dr Catherine Bates and Ms Zoryana Pshyk in TU Dublin – https://togetherness-project.eu/about/tud/
Acknowledgements:
This information for applicants, and the application form, build on work done as part of the Erasmus+ CIRCLET project (2019-22) by Queen’s University Belfast, TU Dublin, Corvinus University Budapest, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. We would like to thank the other partners for permission to adapt their work.
Our thanks to the TOGETHERNESS project funder, the European Union through the AEF (Agence Francophone pour l’Education et la Formation Tout au Long de la Vie).