ELLIPSE

The EU co-funded project ELLIPSE aims to close the gap in suicide prevention education within higher education. Suicide remains a major public health challenge, causing immense personal loss and an estimated €9.07 billion in economic costs each year in the EU. Despite the importance of education in prevention, most universities lack systematic training on this issue. ELLIPSE seeks to change that by developing innovative and scalable online courses designed to strengthen academic resilience and equip students and staff with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to prevent suicide.

To achieve this, the project will carry out international surveys, design an online curriculum with interactive risk scenario training, and create a 12 Steps Safety Plan for Academia. It will also evaluate the program’s impact and advocate for its integration into higher education curricula. Key dissemination activities include the European Summer School of Suicidology, a dedicated workshop in Vilnius, and a high-level strategic meeting in Brussels. Through these efforts, ELLIPSE aims to deliver sustainable tools and policy recommendations that will make suicide prevention a core component of academic life across Europe.

Consortium: 

-Karlstads universitet (coordinator) 

-UNIWERSYTET JAGIELLONSKI 

-UNIVERSYTET MEDYCZNY W LODZI

-UNIVERSIDAD COMPLUTENSE DE MADRID 

-VILNIAUS UNIVERSITETAS LVIVSKYI NATIONALNYI 

-MEDYCHNYI UNIVERSYTET IMENI DANYLA HALYTSKOHO

-Communal Non-profitable Institution of Lviv Oblast Council «Lviv District Clinical Psychiatric Hospital»

-EUROPEAN STUDENTS’UNION 

-LVR-Klinik Köln

Starting date: 01/09/2025

Upcoming events: Kick Off Meeting in Krakow – 15th-16th September 2025