The Living Smart Schools project held its Kick-off Meeting, bringing together all the partners of the European consortium for two days of reflection, alignment, and collective construction.

The project is coordinated by the Center for Research in Education at the University of Minho (CIEd-UMinho), under the scientific coordination of researcher Leonor L. Torres, taking an approach that combines research, training, and practices in a school context, in line with CIEd’s strategic priorities.

This first meeting marked the formal launch of the project and provided a privileged space for dialogue and socializing, allowing for discussion of the Work Packages, clarification of responsibilities, and analysis of the different national educational contexts from a critical and comparative perspective.

The consortium involves higher education institutions, school clusters and non-clustered schools, and innovation and citizenship entities from several European countries, including Portugal, Spain, Ireland, and Croatia, ensuring a plural, interdisciplinary, and multilevel approach to contemporary educational challenges.

The working sessions focused particularly on school management and leadership dynamics, well-being, inclusion, and innovation, understood as social processes deeply linked to issues of diversity, school democratization, and educational justice. The kick-off also highlighted the importance of participatory approaches, building communities of practice, and valuing knowledge produced in context.

We are now moving forward with a common roadmap and a strong collective ambition to contribute to the construction of fairer, more inclusive, and socially relevant schools in the European context.