Polish physical education university contributing to youth mental health research and science outreach with environmental focus in the Wielkopolska region.
The Poznań University of Physical Education (AWF Poznań) is a specialized higher education institution focused on sport sciences, physical activity, and health promotion. Within H2020, their substantive research contribution centers on social-emotional learning (SEL) and mental health resilience in children and young people, drawing on their expertise in youth development and well-being. They are also a consistent regional organizer of the EU Researchers' Night in the Wielkopolska region, using edutainment formats to bring science to the public. Their applied strength lies at the intersection of physical education, youth psychology, and public engagement with science.
BOOST (2018-2023, EUR 529K) focused on building SEL skills to strengthen mental health resilience in children and young people — their only RIA project and 93% of their total EU funding.
Five consecutive Researchers' Night projects (EPICNIGHT, EVERYDAYNIGHT, UNIGHTED, NIGHTFOREARTH, SOSNIGHT) from 2014-2022 demonstrate sustained commitment to edutainment and research awareness in the Wielkopolska region.
NIGHTFOREARTH (2020) and SOSNIGHT (2021) shifted their outreach toward ecology, eco-lifestyle, and the European Green Deal, signaling a new thematic direction in their public engagement work.
In the early period (2014-2017), AWF Poznań focused on general science popularization through Researchers' Night events with broad edutainment themes. From 2018 onward, two shifts emerged: they entered substantive health research through the BOOST project on youth mental health, and their public engagement pivoted strongly toward environmental and ecological themes (eco-lifestyle, Green Deal, saving the planet). The environmental pivot in their outreach work mirrors broader EU policy priorities and suggests the institution is aligning its public engagement with sustainability agendas.
AWF Poznań is evolving from a pure science outreach participant toward applied research in youth well-being and environmentally themed public engagement, making them a potential partner for health-education or green-literacy projects.
AWF Poznań operates exclusively as a participant — they have never coordinated an H2020 project. Their network is compact: 13 unique partners across just 4 countries, suggesting they work within a stable, recurring group rather than building broad international consortia. For potential partners, this means a reliable but junior consortium member suited for national-level contributions rather than project leadership.
A small but stable network of 13 partners across 4 countries, likely concentrated in Central-Eastern Europe. The recurring Researchers' Night participation suggests a loyal regional cluster rather than a wide-reaching European network.
As a physical education academy, AWF Poznań occupies a niche that most traditional universities don't: applied expertise in physical activity, youth development, and well-being rooted in sport science. Their combination of hands-on youth engagement experience (through Researchers' Night events reaching thousands in the Wielkopolska region) and research on social-emotional learning makes them a distinctive partner for projects that need to reach young populations with health or environmental messages. They are not a large research powerhouse, but they bring direct access to youth audiences and practical engagement methodology.
