– reflections from the creation of the SEA-EU Inner Development Goals (IDG) Hub<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Co-creation is often presented as a method. My experience is that it is a way of working that allows people to shape a process together.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking back at the development of the SEA-EU IDG Hub, the most important lesson was not about building a network. Instead, it was discovering how trust, ownership and collaboration emerge when people are invited to contribute to a shared purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What began as a personal interest eventually evolved into a European community of practice involving colleagues from multiple countries, disciplines and institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Figure 1. What began as curiosity about co-creation and inner development gradually evolved into the SEA-EU IDG Hub. Looking back, the turning point was not the Staff Week itself, but the decision to invite others into an unfinished idea and allow them to co-create its direction.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The hub emerged gradually through a series of steps involving curiosity, invitation, co-creation and collective learning (see Figure 1). Four lessons stand out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the years, I have been involved in many collaborative projects and partnerships. Through practice and research, I became convinced that collaboration is only the starting point. The real transformative potential lies in co-creation, when people actively shape what they want to achieve and how they achieve it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I joined Nord University and SEA-EU in 2023, I saw the alliance as a unique opportunity to explore co-creation in a European context. European University Alliances bring together institutions with different cultures and disciplines, creating opportunities and challenges for co-creation. As a newcomer to the alliance, I initiated two co-creation projects. The first explored working across cultures. The second examined how Nord University enhances Sustainable Development Goal 17 through collaboration, partnerships and co-creation, both within and beyond SEA-EU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both projects resulted in peer-reviewed publications and deepened my interest in understanding how co-creation works in practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I simply followed my curiosity. Looking back, it proved more important than having a detailed plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In spring 2025, I joined the IDG Ambassador Programme. I had followed the IDG movement for some time and saw the programme as an opportunity to learn, connect with others and explore how these ideas might contribute to the work of a European University Alliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rather than waiting until I had completed the programme or developed a fully formed concept, I immediately began reaching out to colleagues across the SEA-EU alliance. Through e-mails, LinkedIn and existing SEA-EU networks, I shared the idea of IDGs and invited people to explore whether we could create a SEA-EU Staff Week focused on the IDGs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I did not know whether there would be enough interest. My aim was simply to find the people within SEA-EU who were interested in the IDGs and willing to explore the topic together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I circulated a first draft, colleagues from several SEA-EU universities responded positively. Some wanted to participate. Others wanted to help develop the concept. They contributed ideas, workshop proposals and perspectives that had never occurred to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A small group soon began working together to shape the Staff Week. The initiative gradually became a collective effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This became another important lesson in co-creation. Rather than presenting a finished solution, I shared an unfinished idea and invited others to shape it. By doing so, shared ownership emerged from the very beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As planning for the Staff Week progressed, something became increasingly clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What started as my idea gradually became our project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Colleagues from different universities suggested themes, designed activities, and connected the initiative to their own networks and areas of expertise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because people had helped shape the programme, they felt ownership of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By the time the Staff Week took place in Bod\u00f8 in October 2025, participants were not simply attending an event. Many had been involved in creating it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Universities often talk about engagement, but people become committed when they experience influence and see that their contributions matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Staff Week demonstrated this principle in practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Participants came from different countries, disciplines and professional backgrounds, creating an interdisciplinary and, at times, transdisciplinary space that connected academic, professional and institutional perspectives. What connected them was not a common background, but a shared willingness to explore, learn and create together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking back, I realise that my most important role was not organising the process. It was creating space for others to contribute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When outcomes are not predetermined, there is always an element of uncertainty. Yet it is precisely this uncertainty that creates room for emergence and innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the end of the Staff Week, participants wanted to continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Follow-up meetings emerged. New ideas, collaborations, relationships and visibility continued to develop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The most important outcome was everything that happened afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In December 2025, the SEA-EU IDG Hub was formally launched as an open network for people interested in inner development, sustainability and transformation in higher education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What followed exceeded my expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Regular meetings became spaces for deep and meaningful exchange across institutions, disciplines and professional backgrounds. Participants actively shared methods, tools, experiences and ideas, creating a culture of learning and collaboration that extended beyond the meetings themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/site.nord.no\/plus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/10\/Co-creation-\u2013-case-SEA-EU-IDG-hub-edited-1.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nLesson 1: Curiosity can be more powerful than a plan<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Lesson 2: Invite before you know the answer<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Lesson 3: Shared ownership creates commitment<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Lesson 4: The most important outcome was unintended<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n