The University of Kassel views itself as a European university. It has an international focus and has networks around the world. Internationalisation plays a central role in both courses and teaching, but also in research and in the transfer of knowledge. The university laid down the principles for this in its first internationalisation concept as early as 2002. The university promises to pursue and introduce the goals of Europeanisation and internationalisation in its programmes at all levels. The university launched its fourth phase for further internationalisation in 2016.In the project of 2016 (2016-1-DE01-KA107-002854) in total 60 mobilities were supported. These mobilities consisted of 39 mobilities to Israel (18 incoming and 21 outgoing), 13 mobilities to the U.S (8 incoming and 5 outgoing) and 8 mobilities (4 incoming and 4 outgoing) to New Zealand. The following universities took part in the Erasmus+ KA107 programme: Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology & Arts, University of Green Bay, University of Maryland Baltimore County, the University of Otago and the University of Canterbury. In the scheme of student mobilities (SMS), the University of Kassel recorded 17 mobilities. Of these, 11 females and 6 males took part in the Erasmus scheme. On average, students spent 3 months and 29 days at the respective partner university. In detail, 17 students went to/came from Israel, one student, Jean Marie Carey, went to New Zealand and 4 students went to/came from the U.S. No mobilities took place of students with special needs or with children. Therefore, no additional allowances were granted. Overall, proportionally some more students from abroad took part in the Erasmus+ exchange than students from the University of Kassel. In case of staff mobilities, a distinction between teaching (STA) and training (STT) purposes is made. In general, staff mobilities constituted of 43 participating staff members. These training mobilites were mostly used for jab shadowing and co-teaching. Teaching mobilities (STA) totalled in 16 exchanges with 8 mobilities each to and from the University of Kassel. Proportionally, more training mobilities (STT) than STA mobilities were realised. In particular, 12 incoming and 15 outgoing mobilities for training purposes took place. The average staff mobility had a duration of 11 days.

Grand and persistent social-ecological challenges, such as climate change, push forward a rapidly growing discourse on how sustainability science can support society in dealing with today’s global crises. Between studying change and contributing to change, sustainability science seeks both to analytically understand sustainability problems, but also to design interventions that can contribute solution-options to these problems. However, knowledge about how to intervene in order to reach a desirable vision (i.e., transformation knowledge) is typically missing. Especially how to deliberately engage with values as places of intervention (leverage points), as proposed by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, remains a critical knowledge gap. To fill these gaps, LEVER aims to critically develop and apply a transformative theory and practice to support the (co-)production of transformation knowledge, including a focus on transformation knowledge necessary to investigate and unleash values as leverage points for sustainability transformation. To this end, LEVER originally combines transdisciplinary research with the empirically rigorous methods of social science experiments. The scientific breakthrough consists in delivering an integrated theory of transformative research, capable of representing the many co-evolving links between its design principles, philosophy of science, normative assumptions, and ethical dimensions. Methodologically, LEVER opens new avenues on how to produce transformation knowledge, by experimenting with, testing and evaluating novel transformative methods. Finally, LEVER seeks to answer the globally relevant and timely question of how to unleash values. Using a treatment and control group experimental design, LEVER assesses the impact of values-targeting interventions and demonstrates the potential of values as leverage points. LEVER pioneers a salient conscious science-society relationship in Europe.

This action supports physical and blended mobility of higher education students and staff from EU Member States and third countries associated to Erasmus+ to any country in the world. Students in all study fields and cycles can take part in a study period or traineeship abroad. Higher education teaching and administrative staff can take part in professional development activities abroad, as well as staff from the field of work in order to teach and train students or staff at higher education institutions.