On 19 and 20 November 2025, Palacký University Olomouc (UP) represented Aurora at CEEDUCON 2025, one of Central Europe’s leading conferences on the internationalisation of higher education. The seventh edition of the event, formerly known as CZEDUCON, brought more than 900 participants to Prague’s O2 Universum. Over the course of two days, they participated in expert lectures, interactive sessions, and exchange among practitioners and policy makers.
The Czech National Agency for International Education and Research organised CEEDUCON, together with several other central European Agencies such as DAAD and OEAD. It serves as a key platform for advancing dialogue on global engagement in higher education. This year’s programme featured over 50 sessions and focused on themes central to Aurora’s mission. These included Internationalisation for All, strategic Global & Regional partnerships, Smart & Sustainable International Cooperation, and Alumni, Employability & Future Skills.
Representatives of Palacký University Olomouc participated in discussions, panels, and workshops. They shared their institutional experience and achievements, contributing Aurora’s perspective to the broader European conversation on higher-education cooperation.
Strengthening Stakeholder Engagement
The UP Aurora Office prominently highlighted Aurora in two sessions, also featuring Aurora associate partner Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice (UPJS).
Selma Porobić, Aurora Institutional Coordinator at UP, chaired a panel “Advancing Strategic Global & Regional Partnerships: Insights and Lessons from European University Alliances”. It featured contributions from Silvia Ručinská (UPJS), as well as Magdalena Sikorska (EUNICE Alliance) and John Gardiner (Ulysseus Alliance). The discussion drew on experiences from the FOREU4ALL Topical Group – Internationalisation and Global Outreach, chaired by Selma, Magda and John.
The panel featured three concrete case studies of best practices:
- Aurora – a regional cooperation model focused on structured outreach and capacity-building in the CEE region;
- Ulysseus – showcasing global strategic programmes and multi-continent partnerships;
- EUNICE – presenting global gateway initiatives and innovative formats for inclusive stakeholder collaborations.
Additionally, Niels Hexspoor, Aurora Engagement and Impact Leader at UP, led an interactive workshop that explored how European university alliances can create inclusive and future-proof student communities in “Next Gen Student Communities: Futures Thinking for European Universities”. In the workshop, participants were challenged to imagine different possibilities for inclusive student engagement.
UP’s active presence at CEEDUCON 2025 was a great opportunity to demonstrate Aurora’s commitment sharing and learning with other higher education professionals to shape the future of European higher education—foregrounding openness, inclusivity, and strategic partnership building as shared priorities across Europe.
