Launching Interdisciplinary Dialogue Around “One Health”
HEPL, University-College of the Province of Liège (Belgium) hosted its first official UNIgreen Cluster event on April 17th, 2025, within the framework of the “Nourrir Liège” Festival. The event marked a significant milestone as the first cluster implemented in the UNIgreen Alliance, dedicated to fostering collaboration among academia, students, researchers, and civil society around sustainability themes.
Context and Objectives
The cluster was strategically organized around the theme of “One Health”, an integrated approach recognizing the interdependence of human, animal, and environmental health. The event capitalized on the timing of the annual “Nourrir Liège” Festival, which emphasizes local food systems and sustainable agronomy practices. By aligning with a broader public initiative, HEPL aimed to foster real-world dialogue and synergies.
This initiative was part of UNIgreen’s WP6, focused on the “Knowledge Triangle program”, which connects education, research, and industry. HEPL’s goal was to test a cluster format that could serve as a model for future UNIgreen activities, while exploring how the One Health paradigm could inform both research initiatives and curricular development.
Participants and Format
The roundtable was held at the Erasmus House in Liège and gathered 16 engaged participants, including:
- Two department directors (Health and Agronomy)
- Five HEPL academic staff
- Two students in health sciences
- Seven external stakeholders: representatives from the B2Health cluster (organisation that aims to facilitate coordination between the various players in the life sciences ecosystem in Liège), Celabor (a multi-skilled scientific and technical partner to support companies in the field of agri-food, the environment, packaging, paper/cardboard and textiles), Belgian Fairtrade Federation, EFDD (Education and Training for Sustainable Development), and independent experts in environmental health and veterinary sciences.
The event began with presentations introducing the UNIgreen Alliance, WP6 goals, and the cluster concept. This was followed by a showcase of ongoing research and thesis projects by students and faculty of the Health Department, specifically in dietetics—an area naturally connected to One Health.
Discussion Highlights
The roundtable quickly evolved into a lively, solution-oriented exchange. Key topics included:
- How to encourage synergy between academia, industry, and civil actors
- Challenges in research: lack of infrastructure, funding, and institutional culture
- Integrating One Health and sustainability more structurally into curricula
- Intellectual property, ownership of student thesis results, and visibility
- The need for interdisciplinary language and mutual understanding between sectors
Participants shared inspiring examples of research and mobility projects, including collaborations with African partners, thesis work on sustainable food practices, and reflections on green transition challenges in both the global North and South.
Crucially, several participants called for concrete next steps: launching interdisciplinary projects, creating One Health-related study tracks, and developing applied research relevant to regional food ecosystems. The notion of moving “from discussion to implementation” emerged as a unifying theme.
Impact and Next Steps
Feedback was overwhelmingly positive. All participants expressed interest in continuing the dialogue, and a memorandum of understanding was circulated following the event. The cluster format was appreciated for its openness, transversality, and ability to bring diverse actors into constructive conversation.
The HEPL cluster serves as a pilot within UNIgreen, demonstrating how local institutional initiatives can feed into broader European collaboration. It directly contributes to WP6’s KPIs in terms of stakeholder engagement, knowledge exchange, and curricular innovation.
Looking forward, HEPL plans to:
- Renew and specialize future clusters (e.g., focused on curriculum reform or applied research)
- Leverage Job Days or existing improvement committees as UNIgreen-compatible events
- Involve more students and industry representatives in discussions
- Strengthen alignment with the UNIgreen Green Transition Strategy
Conclusion
HEPL’s first UNIgreen Cluster illustrates the potential of the Knowledge Triangle when anchored in local context and sustainability-driven goals. The success of this event lays the foundation for continued engagement, and it positions HEPL as a proactive contributor within the UNIgreen Alliance, committed to building bridges between knowledge, practice, and purpose.
