In the heart of the Indian Ocean, the engineering school of the University of La Réunion (ESIROI) is stepping up its efforts to strengthen its role in the regional innovation ecosystem. As part of the Accelerate Future HEI project (Horizon programme) and more specifically through its Institutional Transformation Acceleration Plan (ITAP), ESIROI has recently initiated a peer learning collaboration with Mid Sweden University (MIUN). This collaboration was initiated within the project’s mentoring programme by Richard Tuffs, who serves as a mentor for ESIROI and brought the two institutions together.
What happens when two universities, one located in a remote French overseas region, the other in a prominent city in central Sweden connect? Innovation begins to take root in the space between them driven by a shared ambition: to foster institutional innovation, promote sustainable development and rethink their roles within their respective regional ecosystems.
Common Challenges
ESIROI and MIUN, though geographically distant and embedded in very different ecosystems, face common challenges: how to foster entrepreneurial mindsets, how to activate cross-sectoral collaboration and how to align institutional missions with regional transformation goals.
For ESIROI, based on the remote tropical island of La Réunion, challenges include limited local industrial partnerships, geographical isolation and strong dependence on EU funding. But with initiatives like the Accelerate Future HEI project, ESIROI is piloting activities that aim to shift institutional culture, introduce new approaches to capacity building, promote student entrepreneurship and strengthen strategic collaboration.
Mid Sweden University offers a powerful model and valuable inspiration. Known for its strong focus on regional engagement and applied research, MIUN has successfully embedded innovation into its institutional DNA: it has built a dynamic ecosystem where academia, industry and public stakeholders co-produce knowledge. Shared interests include sustainable energy technologies, digital innovation, and regional smart specialisation, areas that strongly align with ESIROI’s focus on renewable energy, environmental resilience and innovation capacity building. Both institutions are also actively involved in Horizon Europe programmes and are working to increase their international outreach through collaborative research and institutional transformation.
Benchmarking and Collaboration
Benchmarking activities have now been launched to facilitate knowledge exchange and identify concrete strategies that ESIROI can adapt to its own context. These include exploring how MIUN structures its stakeholder engagement, supports staff involvement and integrates innovation into academic life. These benchmarking activities are shaped through the active collaboration of Khalid Addi, professor and deputy director of research and innovation, who is leading the project locally together with Czakó Nóra, EU project manager on behalf of ESIROI, and Hans-Erik Nilsson, Professor at Mid Sweden University and vice-rector for innovation and industry collaboration. Together, they are engaging in a constructive exchange to explore meaningful approaches to institutional change. Early conversations have opened the door to further staff exchanges (Erasmus), workshops and mutual exploration of best practices.
Beyond figures and programmes, what’s emerging is a deeper connection: a recognition that transformation is rarely a linear path, but a shared journey of reflection, experimentation and adaptation. Peer learning is about translating insights into action, in ways that respect and respond to local realities. As our partnership unfolds and La Réunion and Sweden build pathways to institutional innovation, it reinforces the spirit of Accelerate Future HEI: that true innovation begins when we learn from each other not in spite of our differences, but because of them.
