Higher education institutions are more than mere locations for imparting knowledge – they provide an arena for encounter, discussion and innovation. A lively community can enable this potential to unfold by bringing people together: students and researchers from different faculties, professors and early career academics, current and former HEI members, as well as international cooperation partners and funding organisations. But how can you succeed in developing an active community from loose connections?

Why academic communities are indispensable

The systematic establishment and maintenance of communities offers three key advantages:

• Sustainable knowledge transfer: an active community enables expertise and experience to remain fresh in an academic environment. Theoretical and practical knowledge can for instance be augmented when doctoral candidates and postdocs interact with professors, students from different faculties collaborate or international academics and researchers introduce their points of view. This is particularly valuable when funded projects come to an end – the established networks and the shared knowledge continue to exist and exert an impact beyond institutional and national borders.

• Networking effects: the members in a functioning community support one another. Experienced academics and researchers become mentors for the next generation, students from different disciplines introduce fresh perspectives to research projects and international funding organisations enable valuable exchange programmes. Active members function as experts in their field who pass on their knowledge and build bridges between different academic cultures.

• Innovation potential: New ideas emerge whenever different points of view collide – including those of students from different disciplines, doctoral candidates and established researchers. Such interdisciplinary interaction creates valuable networks and provides innovative impetus to research and teaching. Albeit the emergence of these advantages is not automatic. The decisive step is for this disparate group of people to be formed into a true community.

From throng to community: what constitutes a true community

A large number of students, staff or alumni provide the potential for a community – although the pathway from a ‘passive audience’ that merely consumes information to an active community takes time and targeted fostering. The decisive difference: connections in a true community emerge among the members themselves, not just to the institution.

Imagine a large symposium: hundreds of participants listen to interesting presentations and exchange views in the breaks. But it’s only when more develops from these initial encounters – when working groups are formed, when participants launch their own projects or when regular discussion groups emerge – that a true community can arise.

A community is in essence a living organism: people with similar interests and experience come together, hold regular discussions and work towards common objectives. They don’t just share knowledge, but also the enthusiasm for their topics – whether in research, teaching or interdisciplinary projects.

A well thought out structure is necessary for such a living organism to develop and flourish. Four key elements form the basic framework.

The four pillars of a successful community – your checklist

A lively community doesn’t originate on its own. It needs four key elements that are interlinked and reinforce each other:

Strategy: laying the foundation
A well thought out strategy forms the basis for every successful community. Don’t just define your objectives and target groups. Also ask yourself: what tangible added value does the community offer its members? How does the community fit into the HEI’s broader objectives? This strategy steers the community’s growth and ensures that all activities serve the common purpose.

Culture: creating a sense of belonging
A strong community culture requires more than just a common interest in research or teaching. Create an environment in which all members feel welcome and happy to contribute – irrespective of academic grade or position. This culture reveals itself in the way that members communicate with each other, how knowledge is shared and how new ideas are absorbed.

Platform: providing the right milieu
Select the right milieu for interaction – be it digital in an online forum, hybrid in a blended learning format or physical in regular meetings. What is decisive is that the selected platform enables low-threshold interaction and meets the members’ needs.

Community manager: accompanying and developing
Nominate a committed individual to act as community manager. Their role is to make links among members, provide impetus and actively shape the community's development. They ensure that a living, breathing entity originates from individual activities.

You can now use this structural foundation to actively establish and maintain your community. The following six strategies have proven to be especially successful in practice.

Six strategies for lively interaction

Being a niche is a strength
Many communities fail because they are too broadly based. The attempt to address everyone results in nobody feeling addressed. Focus instead on specific fields of interest: a discussion format for early career researchers in climate research generates greater commitment that a general scientific forum. People connect through shared passions – also and especially in academia and research.

Quality ahead of quantity
Less is more. Concentrate first on optimising existing formats rather than constantly introducing new ones:

• A series of web seminars isn’t popular? Perhaps it’s due to the frequency, or it’s being held at the wrong time.
• Is your content not reaching the target group? Experiment with different formats – including podcasts, workshops and brief impetus gatherings.
• Find the right balance between too many (overload), and too few (loss of momentum).

Create low entry thresholds
The first step towards active participation is often the most difficult. Create a ‘safer space’ in which all members are confident to ask questions and share ideas:

• Make it clear that there’s no such thing as a ‘dumb question’
• Demonstrate by personal example the type of interaction that is desirable
• Create safe spaces for discussion

Focus on active members
A frequent mistake in community building is to invest too much energy in activating reluctant members. Concentrate instead on those who already exhibit commitment:

• Assist active members to launch their own initiatives
• Publicly acknowledge outstanding commitment
• Use the experiences of committed members to exemplify best practice
• Create opportunities for active members to assume greater responsibility

Exploit initial momentum
The motivation to participate is highest when members first join the community. Exploit this decisive moment:

• Greet new members personally
• Create direct connections to other members with similar interests
• Provide low-threshold opportunities for their first participation
• Demonstrate the community’s tangible added value from the outset

Think beyond digital interaction
A successful community lives by its combination of different forms of interaction:

• Augment online interaction with personal meetings
• Create space for informal conversations
• Promote discussion among different faculties by means of joint activities
• Support members’ initiatives regarding hybrid or face-to-face formats These six strategies form a practical guide for the establishment and maintenance of your community. But never forget: community building isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon.

Conclusion: community building is a process

Establishing and maintaining a lively community is a continuous process that requires time, patience and strategic action – especially when it involves creating and fostering international connections that may involve multiple institutions.

Albeit the effort is worthwhile: an active community generates added value for all involved –including students, early career academics, established researchers and international partner organisations.

The key to success isn’t the size of the community or the number of activities, but rather the quality of the connections that emerge. A well managed community develops its own dynamism over time: individuals become active members, loose connections form strong networks and an impetus grows into joint initiatives.

Start with a clear focus and gradually build from there. Create arenas for discussion, promote active commitment and keep an open mind regarding the ideas proposed by your community members. Little by little, you’ll have originated a vibrant ecosystem of knowledge and innovation.