In 2017, the European Universities initiative was introduced by French President Macron in a speech given at Sorbonne University and launched by the European Commission. The initiative’s goal is to generate unprecedented levels of cooperation to foster strategic partnerships for student mobility, research and excellence; while at the same time boosting the EU’s international performance. Since then, 44 alliances involving 340 higher education institutions have been formed in 31 countries.
Four years after the launch of the first call, many first-generation European Universities are now ending the pilot phase and are starting to further roll out, while others have just recently joined the family. Success in the experimental phase of a policy instrument depends on the extent that stakeholders and policymakers exchange information on obstacles, benefits, results and challenges.
It is in this context that the Institut français NL, Studio Europa Maastricht, the YUFE Alliance and Maastricht University invite European Universities, professionals and researchers in the field of European higher education, as well as the wider public interested in European higher education to join the Strategic Dialogue on European Universities. On 10 May, participants will reflect and discuss achievements, challenges and future goals with expert speakers and facilitators. What is needed to enable increased cooperation between European universities? How can universities fulfil European ambitions while remaining strongly embedded in their region? In what ways can member states and the European Commission support this?
Programme
The programme will be divided into two parts. During the morning workshop sessions, participants will have the chance to share best practices on the common challenges identified during the pilot period (see policy brief European Universities Association). These sessions are open to professionals with working experience on the topics that will be discussed and students interested in higher education policy.
During the afternoon, the participants of the morning workshops, as well as the wider public, are warmly invited to join sessions on the regional engagement of European universities and the role of member states and the European Commission in supporting European alliances.
For the detailed programme, click here.
Register
Sign up for this programme on Wednesday 10 May. Here you can also choose which parts of the day you want to attend.
Register
