On 8-9 December 2025, partners of the Erasmus+ CBHE project WE-MIND: Advancing Mental Health and Innovation in Western Balkans Higher Education Through Digital Transformation met in RIT Kosovo, for a hybrid Kickoff Meeting to launch this new three-year collaboration.
The consortium brings together seven institutions from across Europe and the Western Balkans:
• RIT Kosovo (Kosovo) – Project Coordinator
• International Business College Mitrovica, IBCM (Kosovo) - Consortium Partner
• University of Sarajevo – UNSA (Bosnia and Herzegovina) - Consortium Partner
• Sarajevo School of Science and Technology, SSST (Bosnia and Herzegovina) - Consortium Partner
• Medical University of Vienna, MUW (Austria) - Consortium Partner
• Polytechnic of Porto, P.Porto (Portugal) - Consortium Partner
• IRIS-CC, Innovation in Mental Health and Social Well-being (Spain) - Consortium Partner
The first day of the kickoff meeting opened with official greetings and welcome remarks by all consortium partners and Project Officer Dimitrios Moschos from the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), who joined online from Brussels to share important guidance on expectations for reporting, deadlines and the project visibility.
The first day of the kickoff meeting focused on project milestones and deliverables, partnership agreements, clarifying roles and responsibilities for everyone to meet the set deadlines in the Grant Agreement. The day concluded with a city walk, sightseeing and informal networking at a local café, strengthening personal and professional connections within the consortium.
The second day focused on project management and coordination, outlining financial and coordination procedures. This was followed by the first Project Management Committee meeting, attended by project managers from each partner institution, where governance structures and reporting protocols were confirmed. In the afternoon, partners were divided into three hybrid groups, initiating discussions and coordination to accomplish the most urgent milestones and deliverables. The meeting closed with a joint session on next steps, aligning immediate priorities of the project and giving all partners clear short-term timelines. The day ended with a gathering at a restaurant in Prishtina for another round of socializing.
Together, the WE-MIND partners will spend the next three years advancing mental health literacy, digital transformation, and human capital development in higher education across the Western Balkans.
