University of the Future – Pedagogical Developments in Aurora

Written by Anna Klas on . Posted in News.

AURORA is a network of European research universities working towards creating universities of the future with systematic pedagogical development and innovation to meet current societal challenges.

Aurora aims to graduate students with the competencies and mindset necessary for future generations to thrive in ever-changing communities and a dynamic labour market.  Emphasis is, furthermore, placed on students acquiring entrepreneurial and innovative skills, thus developing the mindset and drive needed to tackle the numerous societal changes the world currently faces.

Do you want to participate in the University of the future?

“The Aurora collaboration is an ambitious project that has been under development for years. The first phase of the project is been characterised by a lot of work on behalf of the universities staff; administrative and academic alike, to align processes in different institutions and find common ground for university collaboration,” says Sandra Berg Cepero, Aurora project manager at the University of Iceland’s Division of Academic Affairs and Task Team leader for Teaching for Societal Impact. Teams were formed and collaborative projects were defined. Sandra says that the next phase in the collaboration will revolve more around the substance, the actual work of creating Aurora courses, creating academic connections between the universities, and work- and pedagogical development among the teaching staff. Emphasis will also be placed on promotional material on educational vision and Aurora’s ideals. “Teaching staff is encouraged to keep abreast and can always contact me (sandra@hi.is) if they are interested in Aurora’s pedagogical development or even participate in creating Aurora courses, joint study programmes, or other exciting opportunities this collaboration entails.”

Aurora’s educational vision in teaching and learning

The collaborative platform will be digital and, first and foremost, based on a virtual campus where students and staff will have mobility in various fields in diverse forms. Teaching and learning will be executed in the platform, simplifying the design and development of joint courses and degrees in line with the Aurora ideal. To realise its ideals, Aurora has created an educational vision to follow that supports both its goals and execution.

The Aurora educational vision is based on four main pillars; the UN Sustainable Development Goals, pedagogical development, students’ competencies, and the internationalisation of study programmes, and the network universities are supposed to:

  • Tackle societal needs and challenges and find research topics across traditional academic boundaries of disciplines.
  • Implement student-centred and inclusive learning – and teaching methods
  • Strengthen students’ educational and personal competencies as well as academic ones
  • Use internationalisation in education to enhance the quality in education and student competencies

University of the future

Aurora is comprised of ten universities. Diverse institutions in design and operation see the benefits of joining forces for societal impact and making use of progress in technology to strengthen education, teaching, and research. Thus, the universities’ staff can learn about new teaching methods, participate in events abroad, attract international students to their courses, and find European collaborators in research and teaching.

The University of Iceland has been active in the network since its founding in 2016. One of its focuses has been increasing diversity in study selection and strengthening collaboration and innovation in teaching and learning. This is manifested in courses offered by some universities but open to all Aurora university students. Teaching staff at the University of Iceland has, furthermore, had the opportunity to attend Aurora workshops in pedagogical development, an important opportunity for career development. “These teaching methods and tools will provide opportunities for pedagogical development with societal changes as the driving force, using modern course design and teaching with internationalisation at the core,” concludes Sandra.

Students wrap up the Autumn semester 2022

Written by Anna Klas on . Posted in News.

Student blog written by: Alma Ágústsdóttir, Aurora Student Council President

When the Aurora Student Council, comprised of student representatives from all Aurora universities, was originally formed in the early days of the Aurora Network, Aurora immediately identified student engagement as one of its key priorities. Through the years, cross-institutional student cooperation has grown, deepened and morphed through several small and large-scale changes, such as the creation of the Aurora Alliance. Still, student engagement remains at the very core of Aurora’s identity.

Throughout the years, the Student Council has increased the number and variety of opportunities that students are offered regarding engagement within Aurora. We have hosted open workshops and participated in projects such as Design Thinking jams and seminars (which are promoted on social media and mass emails), courses at other Aurora universities where the credits gained count towards your degree at your home university, and cooperative projects spanning an entire academic year, such as the Student Schemes. In addition to all that, the Aurora Student Council is deeply ingrained into Aurora’s governance structure and works continuously on cooperative projects near and dear to students’ hearts. This last semester was no exception and was, indeed, eventful, to say the least. It is, therefore, appropriate and worthwhile to round up the memorable moments of student engagement that have occurred over this past academic year.

At the start of the Autumn semester of 2022, the Aurora Student Schemes project began, and a call was opened for students who wanted to get involved in Aurora’s work as either Ambassadors or Champions. In total, we’ve received over 100 applications from students across Aurora universities and, therefore, have the highest number of engaged students to date. These students have varied levels of engagement but can, for example, organise local Aurora events, participate in Work Packages and Task Teams, and work collaboratively with students from other Aurora universities.

When discussing the work that has taken place during this academic year, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the bid writing that has been one of Aurora’s largest projects in the past months. This was a bid for continued funding from Erasmus+ under the European Universities initiative that was the impetus for the creation of the Aurora Alliance, and students took part in that work from its beginning.

The work began last summer, and as the President of the Aurora Student Council, I had a seat on the so-called Editorial Committee that met regularly and laid the groundwork for the new application.

In September, Institutional Coordinators from all 10 Aurora universities gathered at Copenhagen Business School and spent two days discussing and forming Aurora’s project priorities for the next four years. Two student representatives took part in that work, the President and Vice President of the Aurora Student Council, Alma Ágústsdóttir from the University of Iceland and Hanus Patera from Palacký University in Olomouc.

We worked continuously on the bid proposal after that, but the next large-scale student project wasn’t until November when the Student Council met at Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam. This was the first opportunity that the Aurora Student Council had to meet in person in the 2022-23 academic year, and we spent two days discussing and collecting areas of priority and importance to students, which were then presented to the Vice Rectors of Education from all the Aurora universities.

One of the main priorities the students agreed upon was that each university would work towards guaranteeing a paid student position at the local level. This is due to the workload of those students who take on the most responsibility for Aurora exceeding what can be expected of an unpaid volunteer. Such a position would also increase equality, diversity, and inclusion within Aurora since some students’ economic situation makes them unable to take on volunteer work alongside their studies, regardless of their interest in the work. The new position of Student Coordinator would ensure that each university has a fully engaged student responsible for lending support to other students who do work on behalf of Aurora, who would also work on reaching the general student population at an institutional level, as well as sit on the Student Council.

This endeavour was successful, and the position of Student Coordinator was included in the new application for continued funding.

In November, Aurora also held a Biannual virtual conference hosted by Universität Duisburg-Essen. There, the Student Council organised a World Café event on mental health (which is the Council’s emphasis for this academic year) titled Mental Health: Sharing Best Practices. Students, professors and staff of Aurora universities gathered to identify which mental health support efforts were successful, where support is lacking and how we can improve. In addition, this event enabled people to learn from each other cross-institutionally. At the World Café’s conclusion, the Student Council gathered and compiled the results and will use this input to continue our work in the area of increased mental health support within Aurora universities.

In December, Palacký University Olomouc in the Czech Republic hosted a conference titled European Universities – Future of Higher Education Forum, where several alliances gathered to discuss the future of European universities. As the Aurora Student Council president, I spoke on student participation within governance and discussed how we might fully employ students’ power.

The rectors of all 10 Aurora universities also gathered in Amsterdam in December to discuss and provide their approval, on behalf of their institutions, of all aspects included in Aurora’s new bid. As the Student Council President, I sat at that meeting, representing all students within Aurora member universities.

Since then, the planning of Aurora’s work for the next four years has continued and culminated in the submission of the application on January 30th. Having been a part of that work since its beginning, I feel confident in saying that the future of Aurora is bright!

Aurora R&I study reveals fruitful collaboration among Aurora researchers

Written by Anna Klas on . Posted in News.

The Aurora Alliance research and innovation team, on learning and sharing with other European universities, led by URV, confirmed a high level of collaboration amongst Aurora researchers. The level of collaboration is even higher than the international average. According to the field-weighted citation impact indicator (the ratio of citations received to citations expected as a function of the average for the scientific field), the citations observed are 78% higher than expected.

In addition to the high level of collaboration amongst researchers within the Aurora Alliance, it was found that researchers within Aurora also collaborate often with researchers from other European Universities Alliances. In total, Aurora Alliance universities collaborate(d) in 25 Horizon 2020 projects in different constellations. Aurora researchers collaborated most with Epicur, 4EU+, CIVIS and UNA Europa alliances. Regarding publications (also beyond Horizon 2020 project results), Aurora universities performed above the global average. Most co-publications were done with universities in the Charm-EU, 4EU+, Neurotech-EU and Circle U alliances.

The Aurora Research and Innovation goal within the Aurora Alliance Horizon 2020 programme is to share research and innovation resources and infrastructures, identify and implement good practices and scientific policies, cooperate in open science and entrepreneurial activity, enhance human capital, and allow the general public to take part.

The working group analysed outcomes generated by other  European university alliances to determine areas where universities can establish complementary practices, both within Aurora and other European Universities Alliances, using the SciVal tool. SciVal is an online tool that offers quick, easy access to the research performance of research institutions and nations worldwide using bibliometrics. It enables you to visualise research performance, benchmark relative to peers, develop collaborative partnerships and analyse research trends.

This report will lead to the creation of an action plan supporting continued research and innovation collaboration across the Aurora University Alliance and creating a digital platform for ongoing collaboration and sharing so that researchers and students can share tools and best practices for high-quality research and innovation.

The study, led by Vanesa Ruana and with the collaboration of Dr Rorger Guimerà and Ignasi Salvadó, can be found here.

First Aurora micro-credential “Sustainability & Climate Change” awarded

Written by UIBK on . Posted in Events, News.

On 2 February 2023, Universität Innsbruck awarded the first micro-credential certificate to Giusi Merola from Università Federico II di Napoli. The micro-credential, part of the Aurora joint programme on “Sustainability & Climate Change,” was awarded for Giusi’s completion of 10 ECTS credits.

Giusi is the first student, not just at Federico II but throughout the Aurora European University Alliance, to receive a micro-credential, making her the trailblazer for a new era in higher education within Aurora. A micro-credential is a record of the learning outcomes acquired after a short course of study. The courses are designed to provide students with specific knowledge, skills, and competencies that meet societal, personal, cultural, or labour market needs. Micro-credentials are portable and can be shared with potential employers or higher education institutions.

Giusi’s experience with the micro-credential was overwhelmingly positive. She shares, “During the lessons, we learned about climate change from various perspectives: anthropological, social, cultural, and scientific. We were given the tools to identify the realities that truly care about sustainability. As a final test, we wrote a report identifying companies close to receiving the B-Corp certification and developed a social start-up project which was presented at the European Forum of Alpbach in Austria to hundreds of students and investors. The experiences enriched me as a person, added valuable skills to my CV, and created numerous online and offline connections.”

The “Sustainability & Climate Change” micro-credential is a unique and innovative approach to learning that aligns with the European Council Recommendations. The micro-credential allows participating universities to share the latest research results with students in real time through research-led teaching and challenge-based learning. The certificate not only strengthens opportunities for inclusive international learning but also engages all partners in the Aurora Alliance to provide quality education. Moreover, the micro-credential certificate represents the effort for interoperability of the Aurora universities’ IT systems and connection to common European interfaces and platforms, such as Europass and European Digital Credentials for Learning. This is a further step to help overcome recognition problems that still exist in some places, often due to national study laws.

Universität Innsbruck’s issuance of the first micro-credential certificate demonstrates the potential for a new and innovative approach to learning across Aurora universities. The “Sustainability & Climate Change” micro-credential provides students with a unique opportunity to gain specialized knowledge and competencies while simultaneously addressing the challenges posed by climate change.

Aurora submitted new EUI proposal with University of Iceland as lead

Written by Anna Klas on . Posted in News.

Aurora submitted its new EU funding proposal under the European Universities Initiative. After successfully managing the first three years of the Alliance, the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is staying on as co-lead, and the University of Iceland will take the lead role in the Aurora Alliance.

The bid will extend Aurora’s commitment to positively impact society through its main priorities: teaching and learning for societal impact, engaging and collaborating through inclusive communities, being pioneers in sustainable endeavours, and providing excellent challenge-based research and innovation support. Together, the partners will continue to deliver on the joint mission and vision of equipping students with social entrepreneurial skills and mindsets, building on the results achieved in the first phase.

Leading up to the submission were many months of intense preparation and consultation with the entire Aurora community under the lead and coordination of the Aurora Central Office. At the start of these activities, a deliberate decision was made to ask the experts in their fields to develop plans for what they hoped to achieve in the next four years of funding for Aurora. The ambitions of the experts, in close collaboration with the Institutional Coordinators of the Aurora partners, resulted in an ambitious work programme. This programme of work is based on three main objectives:

  1. Equip students and staff with the skills and mindset to become social innovators, changemakers and entrepreneurs;
  2. Foster academic collaboration and community building to build a long-term Aurora identity; and
  3. Collaborate with external stakeholders and deepen student’s engagement in education, research and outreach.

Mirjam van Praag, President of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, said:

“So far, it has been a pleasure to lead the alliance through the start-up phase of the first bid with various initiatives for Aurora staff and students that we really can be proud of. I am very confident in continuing our collaboration with the University of Iceland as the lead.”

Jón Atli Benediktsson, President of the University of Iceland and newly re-elected President of the Aurora Network, expressed how pleased he was:

“After seeing the hard work and dedication of the staff and students at our universities, I am confident that the Aurora collaboration will grow and create more opportunities for our students, faculty, and the greater community”.

From 2020-2023, Aurora has been part of the 44 European University Alliances co-funded under the Erasmus+ programme led by VU Amsterdam. The Alliance provides multiple opportunities for students, staff, and academics to engage in each other’s inclusive university communities. The project has already reached 80% of its deliverables—with only a few more to be completed before November 2023. In July 2022, the project received a glowing review from the European Commission as having made remarkable progress that can serve as a model of what is possible to achieve as a European University Alliance.

If you want to participate in Aurora, head on over to the virtual campus and, sign up for courses, events, training and read the many resources available.

Palacký University Staff participated in the Open Science Incubator

Written by Niels Hexspoor on . Posted in News.

Tereza Motalová is the first person from within the Aurora Community to have successfully completed the Open Science Incubator organized by VU Amsterdam. Completion of this Incubator plays a crucial role in the creation and further development of Open Science communities within Aurora, and at Palacký University Olomouc in particular.

Building on the renowned Open Science expertise of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, in the Open Science Incubator Dutch Open Science experts trained the participants in how to set up, develop and manage an Open Science community, over the course of a 12-week programme.

Based on the outcomes of the Open Science Incubator, a comprehensive Open Science Community strategy and action plan were created at UP, pioneering these developments in Czech Higher Education. This led to UP making a concrete plan towards the creation of the Open Science Community Olomouc, which aims is to generate interest form a core group of influencers and engage early career researchers and students informally, through a variety of methods.

According to Tereza, “participating in the Open Science Incubator was a great experience, which will be invaluable in developing Open Science at Palacký University. I look forward to putting everything we learned into practice!”

This development directly contributes to the completion of the activities in Aurora RI WP6, and ties into Aurora’s ambitions for the next phase and the activities of the proposes work package and Research and Open Science.

Aurora’s work on Eastern Partnership presented at ACAs “What’s New in Brussels?” Seminar

Written by Niels Hexspoor on . Posted in News.

On the 2nd and 3rd  of February, Selma Porobic was invited to ACA’s (Academic Cooperation Association) seminar “What’s new in Brussels? – Recent Developments in European Policies and Programmes”  to introduce Aurora’s Capacity Development Support (CDS) programme with special focus on its institutional support to the V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University in Ukraine.

After two consecutive years online, ACAs flagship seminar “What’s new in Brussels?” was this year organized in-person in Brussels, providing its speakers and participants with the full networking experience and overview of the latest developments regarding the European Higher Education Area in a global perspective.  The 2023 agenda gathered various European Commission representatives as well as a variety of policy advisers and experts in the International Education thus offering a wide range of thematic sessions and panels: from the latest policy developments and priorities such as Diversity and Inclusion, to prospective projects involving the Eastern Partnership, Western Balkans, Sub-Saharan Africa & South Mediterranean.

In her session, “Working with Global Regions – Eastern Partnership“, Selma Porobic shared the results of the Aurora’s unique CDS programme in Central & Eastern Europe, and how it was transformed into a  tailor-made support scheme to address the needs of the war-affected Aurora associate partner, V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University.  Since  March 2022, as Ukraine Support  Coordinator in Aurora, and in a close collaboration with Karazin’s leadership, she has been fully managing the emergency response as well as designing and implementing the long-term, systemic and institutional support for this partner university in Ukraine.

In this panel, Selma also introduced the continuation of this engagement in the next phase of the Aurora Alliance’s programme as part of the work package Capacity Building and Community Engagement. During the next four years, another dedicated task team, Karazin University Peace Education Hub, led by Palacký University Olomouc, plans to work  towards further strengthening of the Karazin University’s capacity for education and training in conflict transformation, and peace building within the wider Kharkiv region.

AWARD CEREMONY: Micro-credential “Sustainability & Climate Change”

Written by unina on . Posted in News.

On 2 February 2023 at 11:00 a.m., the UNINA Department of Chemical Sciences will hold the “Micro-credential “Sustainability & Climate Change” award ceremony to celebrate the outstanding achievement of the student Giusi Merola, enrolled in the “Molecular and Industrial Biotechnology” degree course at the University of Naples Federico II.

Giusi is the first student in the entire Aurora Alliance to have acquired micro-credentials (10 ECTS) as part of the Aurora Joint Programme Sustainability & Climate Change (https://aurora-universities.eu/sustainability-climate-change/).
During the ceremony, the student will be officially presented with the programme completion certificate issued by the University of Innsbruck.

It will be possible to attend the ceremony in person or online via the link on the poster.”

award ceremony_FINAL

Virtual Lecture Series and Early Career Networking Hour

Written by UIBK on . Posted in News.

The Societal Challenges Lecture Series is aimed at early career researchers with a two-fold objective: delivering cutting-edge academic analysis on the diverse problems of our times, and providing international networking opportunities for doctoral researchers and postdocs. The lecture series aims at providing an antidote to impulsive disaster talk through perceptive academic analysis.

Outstanding researchers within the Aurora European University Alliance will give engaging online lectures during the academic year 2023 within two of the Aurora priority domains:

  • Digital Society & Global Citizenship
  • Health & Wellbeing

Delivered online via Zoom, each event begins with a 30-45 minute lecture by an outstanding researcher. You can register for individual dates or the entire series. Following the talk, you will have the opportunity to discuss the lecture, formulate questions for the speaker, and network in breakout rooms for 20 minutes. Finally, the audience and speaker reconvene for a well-prepared, stimulating Q&A.

Take the opportunity to meet your peers as well as renowned researchers from the Aurora partner universities. Expand your network and maybe even start new collaborations in your research area!
Participation will be certified upon request.

Find out more information about the program and registration here.

Looking back at the European Universities Forum at Palacky University Olomouc

Written by Niels Hexspoor on . Posted in News.

On the 1st and 2nd of December, Palacký University Olomouc organised the European Universities Forum. This high-level event, organised in the light of the Czech EU presidency, provided its participants an opportunity to discuss and assess the role of European Universities Initiative pilot phase in the Czech higher education context and within the European aims of building the Higher Education Area.

This forum was opened by the Czech Deputy-Minister for Education Radka Wildova, who stressed the importance of European Universities, which is a priority for the ministry, and praised the Aurora Alliance for its excellent implementation of the initiative’s lofty ambitions.

Following the Deputy-Minister, UP Rector Martin Prochazka’s opening speech pointed in the direction of expressing the importance of European university Alliances in the national higher-education framework as well as overall progress of Aurora Alliance inseparable from institutional contributions of each dedicated member of the Aurora team working together. He noted the excellent feedback received from the Commission for Aurora results so far, who described Aurora as an Alliance that “has made remarkable progress and can serve as a model of what is possible to achieve as an alliance.”

We welcome you to take a look at the aftermovie of the event. Below you can find a detailed report of the various panels and workshops.

Day 1 – High-level Panels

Panel 1: State of Multilateral Collaboration and Support to European University Initiative

This opening panel was moderated by Michal Malacka, Vice-Rector for Strategy and Regional Affairs at Palacký University Olomouc and featured contributions from Ioana Dewandeler, Higher Education Policy Officer at the European Commission; Emmanuelle Gardan, Director of the Coimbra Group of Universities; Tilmann Märk, Rector of the University of Innsbruck; Thomas Estermann, Director of the European Universities Association; and Thomas Baumgartner, Aurora Institutional Coordinator at the University of Innsbruck.

The panel focused on the significance of the European University Initiative as a flagship program of European Higher Education with synergies concerning the European Research and Innovation Area, and its overall contribution to the European Strategy for Universities. It brought to the fore importance of a supportive multilateral environment for European University Alliances and their long-term sustainability.

European Commission representative, Ioana Dewandeler shared a long-term vision and policy support for the European University Alliances stemming from EU Council’s conclusions in May 2021, stressing both finical support until 2030 but also how being part of Alliances contributes to strong and diverse universities which are crucial to the growth of higher education institutions in Europe aligned with European University Strategy and discussed priority areas such as inclusion, student-centered approach, international cooperation, future proof skills and green and digital transition.

Rector Märk, representing both Aurora Alliance and his institution reminded us of institutional integration of the alliance results as a way forward to achieving a real transformative impact across our universities. Making alliance European level results strategically embedded within our universities as a way forward towards achieving the aimed goals of institutional relevance.

Thomas Estermann pointed out right governance models – aligning institutional governance with overarching Alliance one and mainlining enthusiastic group of people running the programme brining n board more and more academic staff as crucial to continuity needed to achieve real change (bottom-up matching the top down). Other panelists discussed EUN Alliances being role models for the entire sector, inspiring institutions who are not part of the initiative to promote the necessary changes in society.

Panel 2:  Ambitions, Challenges & Best Practices of Pioneering European University Alliances

In this second high-level panel, moderated by Roman Klepetko and Lenka Procházková of the Czech National Agency for International Education and Research, Michal Malacka, Pavel Doleček, Břetislav Dančák, Zbyněk Škvor, and Snježana Prijić-Samaržija discussed the key elements for the implementation of the joint vision, mission and strategies of the European University Alliances by zooming in on the transformative leadership, co-engagement and governance models in a transnational European context, and with a reference to regional geopolitical challenges, including the war in Ukraine.

The panel was preceded by an opening speech by Tetyana Kaganovska, Rector of V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University reminding us how political context can force institutional challenges that need situational ad hoc solutions and how the strength of Alliances already working in the region such as Aurora with Capacity building programme proved to be crucial in urgent responses needed to adapt to new working circumstances.

Rector Snježana Prijić-Samaržija from Rijeka University pointed out how a project-based approach vs an institutional-based approach (from vertical to horizontal) is important and introduced functional integration in the context of decentralised universities as relevant to the success of EUN goals. YUFE Alliance aims for alliance of faculties as well and in that way supports the institutionalisation of the EUN goals. The representatives from CVUT, Masaryk University, and Charles University focused on the Czech national context and collaboration across Alliances to create real momentum for change in Czech legislation toward facilitating more institutional internationalisation in education.

The panel concluded how strategic alignment, policy and funding and scaling up programme managerial teams and bilateral institutional partnerships as well as sending off the right signal to active stakeholders in EUN initiative at national and European level is of crucial importance for the overarching ambition of the programme.

Day 2 – Workshops

European University Alliances  – Research and Innovation

This workshop brought together representatives from all Czech alliances focusing on the most tangible results of the Science with and for Society(Horizon2020) project on the institutional level. They discussed the challenges and best practices of aligning our research resources so far across the Alliances members, and how to move ahead beyond the pilot phase.

Some conclusions of the workshop are that there are notable key differences and similarities; and that we are all tackling similar challenges: Engagement of researchers, Lack of funding, Cultural differences, and different structures: some universities have centralised bureaus for research support and infrastructures, others are decentralized, managed by individual faculties or other bodies, and National context, co-funding as well as Fragmentation of projects, described by Pavel Senderak as a “project jungle”. However, the joint   discussion of values and objectives showcased a lot of similarities in terms of priority areas such as Sustainability, climate, environment, Health and Wellbeing, Digitalisation, Democracy and citizen engagement, Equality and Inclusion and more as well as common objectives of promoting Open Science, Sharing Infrastructure, increasing Research support collaboration, and aiming towards the HR transformation across the institutions.

European University Alliances and Governance Models –Deepened Collaboration

In this workshop we had project managers from all Czech and guest Alliances engaging together in sharing the transnational cooperation models so far i.e., governance prototypes established, and how do they contribute to the implementation of the common vision, strategy, and activities of the EUN Alliances.

The focus was also on student and staff participation and inter-university campuses after the pilot phase, focusing on improvements in the next phase. Aurora, YUFE, EDUC, EUROTEQ all presented their own innovative and new, systemic, cooperation models with new ideas in moving forward. The discussion has been most fruitful and revealed how project management and governance have been overlapping greatly from the beginning of all alliance programs.

After the pilot phase, most alliances required detailed fleshing out of roles and responsibilities for key positions such as programme directors, institutional coordinators, governing board, and central offices, further defining the mandates and workflows. Daniela Trani, programme director of YUFE presented a governance model which recognised the growth of the project portfolio and with that revision of the governance too. Alma Ágústsdóttir, Aurora Student Council President reminded us of the active role of students in the governance model of Aurora which is also given more prominence in the next phase with the entire task team dedicated to this. Dr Selma Porobic, workshop moderator and Aurora Alliance UP Coordinator concluded the workshop by underlining how governance with decision-making process is a continuous effort with further elaboration needed in all Alliances and how this is in line with the very objectives of creating trans-institutional organisation that EUNs aspire to be.

European University Alliances, Challenged-based Approach and Stakeholder Engagement

The third workshop featured a high-level round table discussion. Led Otakar Fojt, research attaché at the British Embassy and chair of the Palacky University Board of Trustees, the discussion brought together various local and international stakeholders to talk about how European Universities can better collaborate with external stakeholders.

During the discussion, the group identified the three main levels of stakeholder cooperation: the global; the European; and the regional level. Moreover, the distinction between governmental and private stakeholders was highlighted.

The global level poses many complications for European Universities, having to strike a balance between institutional preferences and geopolitical developments and tensions.

On the European level, the discussion focused on the need for effective lobbying and engagement of various European stakeholders. It was concluded that in order to effectively reach the various European stakeholders, it is important to provide a unified message, using the appropriate channels, such as the ForEU-platform and established university networks. More can be done to connect European Universities to European-level industrial and business umbrella organisations.

In order to facilitate cooperation on the regional level, the importance of careful matchmaking between the most compatible regions. To facilitate this, clear regional profiles should be made, featuring among other aspects the region’s strategic plans and particular regional strengths. The sharing of such information would allow for the targeted development of cooperation between the various concerned regions, allowing them to bundle forces where relevant.

The overall conclusion was that European Universities can play an important role in connecting diverse stakeholders, by uniting and connecting various fragmented efforts. To achieve this, a clear and unified message is paramount.

For more on the European Universities forum, place take a look a the short interviews and statements below:  

Interview – Radka Wildová: https://youtu.be/cJLMPlF80Bg

Interview – Martin Procházka: https://youtu.be/pIKRn4bq1b0

Interview – Anne-May Jansen: https://youtu.be/wJiJm51rRh4

Interview – Thomas Estermann: https://youtu.be/F0hvOE0oqeM

Interview – Pavel Doleček: https://youtu.be/aqHyF2Rs2UE