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Aurora Showcased at Conference on the Impact of European University Alliances in Prague

Collaboration and open exchange are central to progress in European higher education. Opportunities for alliances to share experiences, both nationally and internationally, help strengthen their collective impact. Engaging with governmental bodies together also enables more constructive and aligned dialogue about the future of education and research in Europe.

On Tuesday 7 October, Aurora presented at the Conference on the Impact of European University Alliances, organised in Prague by the Czech National Agency for International Education and Research. The event brought together speakers from several European University Alliances with members in the Czech Republic. Each speaker highlighted the unique strengths and best practices of their alliance.


Marie Jadrnickova, Aurora Research Officer from Palacký University Olomouc, presenting best practices from the Aurora Research and Innovation project. ©Photo credit: Petr Zewlakk Vrabec

Representing Aurora, Marie Jadrnickova, Aurora Research Officer from Palacký University Olomouc was asked to present the alliance’s strong commitment to supporting scientific and research collaboration. Pleased with the recognition for Aurora’s contribution to research and innovation, Marie shared, “It was a pleasure to present Aurora’s best practices and achievements in research collaboration with colleagues from across the Czech Republic and European university alliances.”

Czech governmental representatives — including the Ministry of Education and Youth and the National Accreditation Agency — emphasised the vital role of European university alliances as drivers of change. They also reaffirmed their continued support for these initiatives at both national and European levels.

During the closing panel, representatives agreed that “the European university alliances are changing the perception of international cooperation in the Czech academic sphere — thanks to alliances, for example, there is growing demand for support for joint study programmes, greater flexibility within standard study programmes, and innovative approaches to teaching.”

Events like this conference show the power of shared learning and joint engagement with policymakers. By presenting a unified voice and exchanging practical insights, alliances such as Aurora help shape a more connected, innovative, and forward-looking European higher education area.

Universität Innsbruck Awards Honorary Senatorship to Professor Dr. Jón Atli Benediktsson

On 17 October 2025, during the “Dies Academicus” celebration at Universität Innsbruck, Professor Dr. Jón Atli Benediktsson, former Rector of the University of Iceland, was awarded the title of Honorary Senator. The distinction recognises his outstanding contributions to academic cooperation and his strong commitment to Aurora. 

Beyond his remarkable academic career, Professor Benediktsson has been a leading voice in shaping the European Higher Education Area. As President of the Aurora network (2020–2024), he played a pivotal role in defining the alliance’s strategic direction. During his presidency, Universität Innsbruck joined the Aurora alliance, greatly enhancing its European and international visibility.

Born in Reykjavik in 1960, Professor Benediktsson earned his PhD in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University (USA) in 1990. He began his career at the University of Iceland in 1991 and became Full Professor in 1996. From 2009 until his appointment as Rector in 2015, he served as Pro-Rector for Science and Academic Affairs.

One of Iceland’s most productive researchers, Professor Benediktsson has published over 400 scientific papers in the fields of remote sensing, image analysis, pattern recognition, machine learning, and biomedical signal processing. He is a Fellow of the IEEE (since 2004) and SPIE (since 2013) and has received numerous awards, including the IEEE Millennium Medal and the Highest Impact Paper Award of the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society.

Driving Force Behind Collaborative Initiatives in Aurora

Within Aurora, he has been a driving force behind the creation of joint European teaching and study programs, collaborative research initiatives, and higher education policy positions. Under his leadership, the University of Iceland took on the consortium leadership of Aurora 2030 funded by the European Commission with approximately €15 million, and led the Horizon Europe project Aurora Research & Innovation.

A memorable moment in his collaboration with Universität Innsbruck was his participation in the Aurora Spring Biannual 2022, held in Innsbruck from 10 to 12 May 2022. Together with the then Rector of Innsbruck, he opened the event that brought together over 200 participants from across Europe to shape the future of the alliance.

During his presidency, he also championed Aurora’s solidarity with Ukraine, notably with V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. He played a central role in a fundraising campaign that raised €51,000 to support the continuation of the university’s operations during the war and in establishing the Aurora Karazin University Peace Hub – a platform for peace education and conflict transformation.

This collaboration culminated in the Aurora International Peace Conference, hosted by Universität Innsbruck in February 2025. The high-level event gathered international experts from academia, politics, and civil society to advance dialogue on peacebuilding and further strengthened Innsbruck’s international profile.

Aurora Student Council President Simona Gibalová Represents Aurora at EUSAF 2025 Meeting

From 4 to 6 September, Aurora Student Council President Simona Gibalová from Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, represented Aurora during the EUSAF 2025 meeting at Warsaw SGH School of Economics.


EUSAF 2025 gathering of student representatives from European Universities Alliances across Europe

EUSAF (European Universities Student Ambassador Forum) meetings are all about connection and collaboration. They bring together students, alumni, and young professionals from across Europe to swap ideas, share experiences, and spark new projects. More than just formal sessions, these gatherings create a lively space for networking, learning, and building friendships that last well beyond the event.

Each European Universities alliance sends one representative to share good practices with students who may experience the same issues and create solutions to the problems that alliances may face together. By enabling students to create a unique space to exchange different perspectives, these in-person meetings are vital moments in ensuring a better collaboration on a European level.

Setting the Stage on International Student Engagement

EUSAF sessions were opened by the following engaging keynote speakers:

  • Constance Chevalier-Govers, Erasmus Project Coordinator from EUC Voices
  • Katarzyna Aleksy, Director of Higher Education Programmes Department from National Agency for the Erasmus+ and ESC Programmes
  • Malgorzara Chromy, Director of SGH International Centre.

They brought the students a professional perspective on international student engagement and how these roles function from the perspective of national agencies.

EUSAF 2025 poster pitch session and presentation

During the workshop, the first session focused on students’ journey from election to action and about what it means for student council members to represent their peers. The workshop zoomed in on the organisation of activities on a local level, and how to make such opportunities attractive for a large pool of students. They also discussed collaboration with stakeholders and how student representation can lead to meaningful partnerships.

Overall, these few days sparked many new ideas, which will continue to fruition during this year’s follow-up EUSAF meetings. Furthermore, these ideas will be brought to life through the Aurora Student Council Board.

A Conversation with Zuzana Hunkova & Lolita Rubens: Future of Sustainability & Social Responsibility

Sustainability and social responsibility are essential priorities for higher education institutions. In this insightful conversation, Lorenzo Rieg, Zuzana Hunkova and Lolita Rubens shared their perspectives on what sustainable and socially responsible campuses look like today, the challenges that must be addressed, and their expectations for the future.

This discussion was led by Lorenzo Rieg, Sustainability Coordinator at Universität Innsbruck and Lead for Aurora 2030 Task 6.2 Aurora Sustainable Campus. He interviewed Zuzana Hunkova, Coordinator for Sustainable Development at Palacký University Olomouc, and Lolita Rubens, Vice-president for Social Responsibility at Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC).

From Strategy to Impact: Institutional Approaches to Sustainability in Aurora

Lorenzo: Zuzana, maybe you can start by telling us a bit about yourself, how you ended up in your current role in sustainability development at your university, and also what you are doing within Aurora.

Zuzana: At the Palacký University Olomouc, I’ve been doing coordination for sustainable development for four years. I oversee the sustainable development strategy of the university, and ensure that I undertake all the actions connected with this. We have a team of four people working part-time on sustainability. Our strategy has 15 goals; we work on the basis of a two-year action plan that we follow very closely, and we change our goals every two years.

Lorenzo: Lolita, you’re Vice-president for Social Responsibility. I think it’s unusual to have this role at the Vice-president level of the university. Tell us a bit about what you do at UPEC, and also within Aurora.

Lolita: In France, we have a certification label for higher education institutions, called “Sustainability and Social Responsibility”. In UPEC especially, we have this project or objective to be a committed university, a civic university with social and societal impact. So, it was important for the President of UPEC to show that social responsibility is also central to our mandate. We also have a Sustainability and Social Responsibility team working here in UPEC, which I’m part of. Through our work in UPEC and in Aurora, we try to be inspired by all the measures taken to reduce carbon footprint, and attempt to include those elements in the plan that we voted for last year.

Social responsibility is about the impact that we can have on the regional territories, students and society. For instance, we work on equal opportunities where every student should have the same chances to succeed. Students that we have may face challenges, like they may work while studying, so they might not have as much time as other students to study properly. In this case, solutions could be some financial aid, or additional classes to help them succeed.

It’s also about the impact that we can have on employees and their well-being. Within research, this could be the social impact of research. UPEC being Lead in the Aurora 2030 Work Package on social impact of research, we’re working on another way of measuring the social impact that research can have. This is the same for teaching as well; trying to teach our students to become unique citizens and yet be part of the world, and society.

From left to right: Lorenzo Rieg, Lolita Rubens and Zuzanna Hunkova speaking at the Aurora Sustainability Summit 2025

Sustainability Challenges: From Awareness to Action

Lorenzo: Sustainability is now, I would say, very well established. A lot has been going on in the last ten years or even a bit more with individuals, but especially companies, also public institutions being very aware and paying much more attention to being more sustainable. We talk a lot about sustainability, but we still see that many things are not happening. What do you think are the reasons for that?

Zuzana: Sustainability has become such an important topic, and I think that’s the first thing that had to happen. We talked about it a lot, but it also very often just stops there. We talk about it, we prepare plans, strategies and goals. But what I very often see, especially in the Czech Republic, is that we’re missing the concrete actions to reach those goals. We have strategies for everything, but maybe we are now postponing to achieve them. That’s the core problem that we should press on further. Because we’re really losing time by just talking in the Czech Republic. We’re still sometimes coming back to the question if sustainability is important! I see this as a waste of time. We could already focus on what can we do without. So I would suggest maybe to take more actions, and less on preparing strategies and goals.

Lorenzo: It’s the case that people have a very good idea of what would be needed, but then for some reason it doesn’t happen. So do you think that’s because people are afraid of changes or because that it’s actually about money?

Zuzanna: I think that people in general are lazy, but in a good sense. First of all, it’s hard for us to change, and we don’t want to change so much because we are comfortable with our lives right now. In Europe especially, we have everything: we can go to the shops and buy anything we want, we can order whatever we want online, and we can have everything at home in 30 minutes. But we don’t realise the consequences of all this comfort: how much it costs not only in terms of money, but also in terms of the harmful emissions that we produce.

We need to change people’s behaviour, and that’s really hard to do. This is the hard goal. Changing behaviour doesn’t take one year; it takes decades, maybe even 100 years. Now, we’re already starting to realise. A basic example in the Czech Republic, where we’re really good in sorting waste, but it took us 20 years to get there. We needed time to realise that we shouldn’t waste water. I think we’re doing good, but I’m just afraid we’re not as fast as we should be right now.

Lorenzo: Lolita, your work with communities is a nice way to bring action to maybe not the whole world, but to your area, to your group of people, which you might be able to influence. Can you comment on this?

Lolita: I agree that it’s difficult to change for individuals, but I think one of the obstacles that we have is that the issues are so complex that it’s not only one element that we have to change. We have to consider this question about partnerships and other actors. Many things don’t depend only on the university. We have to speak with communities, cities and partners outside of the university. Of course, working all together could be difficult and could take a long time, especially in big public institutions, where we can have difficulty to go forward quickly.

For example, we have a project to encourage people to take public transportation, or use their bicycles. We can help them by ensuring that their bicycles are safely parked in the university. But the problem is that, this project will not work if they’re not allowed to ride their bicycles around the university. So, for this to work, we’ll have to speak with the cities, especially Creteil or the surrounding cities to make sure that these cities allow bicycles to circulate safely. We must ensure that it’s not only what we do in the university, but also outside, like we can be in touch with associations that help repair bicycles, for instance. But we have to think about all the actions, and speak with many people, to try to coordinate ourselves. This is where the difficulty lies sometimes.

Educating for a Sustainable Future: The Role of Universities

Lorenzo: That’s a nice way of leading to my next question about what universities should do, or focus on, not just as individual universities, but in the Aurora network as well. As you said, we cannot influence everything. I think universities also educate students, and do research. There’s a lot we can contribute to the discussion, in actually setting certain goals, and pursuing certain actions. What do you think about what universities should do to be more sustainable, and bring that into the communities and into the world, so to say?

Zuzanna: Universities, first of all, should focus on what their core is, which is educating right. I think education and sustainability are really the basic foundations. I’ve been working in this topic for five years, and the most important thing I see is, when we have young people educated and we try to involve them in all subjects because, often it happens to me that when I talk with people in the faculty of medicine, they tell me “Sustainability is not our topic”. I respond with: “That’s not true. Sustainability is everywhere”. We should also try to involve sustainability topics in teaching, in every subject we have. For example, I  think it would be great if we could have a base education in sustainability for all faculties, for all university students, such as a core course over a semester.

Secondly, I believe that universities in general work as a good example for a society. So we should be leading in the sustainability topic, to show companies, political parties, and organisations how we should approach sustainability goals.

Lorenzo: Lolita, would you like to add your perspective?

Lolita: Teaching is important. In France, starting next year, every student in their first year will have a mandatory module on those topics. This is the idea of trying to teach everyone and not only those with a specialty in sustainability. It’s really important because many careers will appear in the next year, so we’re educating, teaching people who will have a professional life where they will have to maybe change their career, and adapt their jobs to the situation. They have to be aware of these topics. I think we should also be able to show the research and knowledge that we have in the university, to disseminate and speak about these topics.

Finally, in France especially, we have to spend public money well. We try to be an example as a university and to think about every aspect of our spending. To have an impact, we have to choose the people we work with, and choose who we give our money to. So, this has to be reflected upon as well and really thought about.

Lorenzo: Teaching or reaching students and keeping students with the skills relevant for the future, relevant for sustainability, and making it more accessible or bringing more into society are really important, not only to inform people, but maybe also to help companies and other institutions. Where we spend money or how we run operations is something universities actually often struggle with. It’s partly because of monetary or other constraints. It can be that we can change things and it doesn’t cost us much, but it can also be very expensive.

In my view, sustainability is now well-known. We already talked about that, but it’s not so strongly embedded in our daily life or also in the structures of public institutions like universities, where we will go in the years ahead. What do you think will happen in the future with sustainability at universities?

Lolita: It could be difficult to know what will happen because we know some other aspects, and especially political aspects, or aspects outside of the university, may have an impact. Either the situation is worse and maybe people will have to consider those elements more clearly because we will see the consequences more and more. So we have to change, but maybe not in the right way: it will be something that we’re not committed to, but that we will have to do. It’s not good when we have to change when it’s something that is mandatory.

Or we could be optimistic as well. I think that the students that we have are quite committed to the situation. In France especially, they speak about sustainability from primary school. So it has been a long time, and they can be quite bored with the subject or find that it’s not something joyful. We have to help them see something joyful, and maybe change the stories we tell, the things that we present, and the way we present them. With this module that I spoke about earlier, we try to make students act by trying to do things on their campuses, trying to make them change things, and see the results and consequences of what they are doing. This is something that we need to continue and involve everyone in these changes, and not limit it only to the people deciding for universities. With the deliberative assemblies that we have in UPEC and in Aurora, I see more people involved and more people working for the communities, for the society and for the universities.

Lorenzo: Zuzanna, how do you see sustainability developing?

 Zuzana: I agree with Lolita that there are always two scenarios. In the years I’ve been in sustainability, I’m starting to worry because, with the latest changes in the European Union and among world leaders, we see that sustainability has become very important, and yet, I’m afraid it’s falling behind a little bit. Being a life optimist, I still believe we will take the the right path.

Research says that students are the next generation. The current students or even younger kids are very into sustainability. For them, it’s natural. They have been educated about this since elementary school, and they don’t consider it as something new. They consider it ingrained into themselves. For them it’s a core part of their values. They no longer choose their university according to the best rankings, but also how sustainable the university is.


Aurora universities come together during the Aurora Annual Conference and Sustainability Summit.
From left to right: Ramon Rispoli and Benedetta Toledo from Università Federico II of Naples, Zuzanna Hunkova from Palacky University Olomouc, Marjolein Zweekhorst from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and Lorenzo Rieg from Universität Innsbruck.

Aurora as an Enabler of Sustainable Partnerships and Community Networks

Lorenzo: It’s also my experience that students are actually so much further in how they see sustainability, how they also act more than most older people. Before we wrap up this conversation, I would like to give you the opportunity to say something which I didn’t ask or which you want to bring in as your final statement.

Lolita: To go back to Aurora, I think that what is very good is to be able to speak with other universities and feel reassured that we have the same challenges. We find support, and also exchange best practises to be inspired with and by other universities. We also have more strength together to implement things that we don’t yet have, but know how it was implemented in other universities. So it is very good to see other universities with the same values that are really connected to those of sustainability, equality or fight against inequality.

Zuzana: I would say that it was really important for engaging the sustainability topic in my university. Partnerships are good examples, as we learn a lot from our partner universities. It also gives us the strength when we argue for sustainability at the university and we can show best practices from, say, UPEC, on the actions already taken and the way they have managed it. This helps me in my job.

We also have a partnership through the Czech universities. Four years ago when I started, we were maybe two or three universities out of 26 that were doing something for sustainability. But now, we have managed to bring together all 26 universities to work on a sustainability strategy. So you can see how partnerships and the community of the universities can really help push the topic forward.

Lorenzo: I can only agree that this exchange is quite important. It’s essential to highlight successes, and through best practises, underline good examples for other universities within the Aurora network and beyond.

 

This conversation is part of a series called “A Conversation With…” undertaken within the framework of the Aurora 2030 programme supported by the European Commission. It is an interview format that focuses on a specific topic and is meant to inspire its readers to reflect on and catalyse positive impact. The exchange is available in its original format on the Aurora YouTube channel.

Strong Presence Of European Universities Alliances At EAIE 2025: Co-creating To Transform Higher Education

Over 35 alliances, representing more than 300 higher education institutions, will gather in Gothenburg, Sweden, for the EAIE 2025 Conference, held from 9 to 12 September. More than 20 sessions and a special FOREU4ALL event will highlight the European Universities Initiative’s impact on the future of higher education.

Monday, 1 September, 2025 How is higher education transforming Europe and fostering new pathways for global collaboration?  This question will be central at the 35th Annual Conference and Exhibition of the European Association of International Education (EAIE), taking place in Gothenburg from 9 to 12 September, 2025.

Nearly double the participation from 2024, a record of 35 European Universities alliances – including Aurora – will come together at this major international conference. Together, they represent over 300 higher education institutions and showcase the evolution and impact of the European Universities Initiative (EUI), a flagship programme of the European Commission launched in 2019, now encompassing a total of 65 alliances and 8 Seal of Excellence alliances.

This year’s EAIE Conference’s theme, Go-Create, resonates deeply with the mission of alliances. Through more than 20 sessions, as well as a dedicated FOREU4ALL event, they will highlight their commitment to innovation and their pioneering work in shaping inclusive and collaborative higher education models across Europe. Specifically, representatives from alliances Aurora, ENGAGE.EU and Una Europa, will be discussing the complexity of shared leadership within alliances under the European Universities Initiative.

This roundtable session “Who is driving your EUI alliance? Perspectives on co-creating shared leadership” takes place on Thursday, 11 September from 14:00 to 15:00 CEST. Speakers include:

Furthermore, Aurora welcomes visitors in their space at the exhibition booth P143, from Wednesday, 10 September at 09:00 CEST to Friday, 12 September at 12:00 CEST. Activities at the booth include:

  • Poster presentation: “seizmic for Social Entrepreneurship & Innovation” by Casper Lindblad Andresen, International Programme Manager from Copenhagen Business School.
  • Poster presentation: “Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) within Aurora and Beyond” by Marina Vives Cabre, International Projects Officer from Universitat Rovira i Virgili.
  • Poster presentation: “Building the Student Community Through the Aurora Student Ambassador Programme” by Niels Hexspoor, Sustainability & Impact Leader from Palacký University Olomouc.

FOREU4ALL and participating alliances will share their approaches, results, and impact in a wide range of activities. The full list is available here.

European Universities Alliances And FOREU4ALL: Creating Value For The Wider Higher Education Sector

As part of the programme, FOREU4ALL – the Community of Practice bringing together all European Universities alliances – will host a special joint session with the European Commission on Wednesday, 10 September, from 13:30 to 14:30 CEST. This session, aimed at institutions not currently involved in the initiative, will explore how the community’s collective knowledge and tools can benefit the broader higher education sector.

The session will feature an interactive World Café format, inviting participants to discuss practical opportunities around micro-credentials, joint degrees, skills development, and new partnership models.

About The European Universities Alliances And FOREU4ALL

European Universities Alliances

Launched in 2019, the European Universities alliances are a flagship initiative of the European strategy for universities. It encompasses 65 European Universities alliances with more than 570 higher education institutions of all types, from all across Europe.

Discover the full list of alliances by country.

FOREU4ALL

FOREU4ALL provides a collaborative and supportive platform where all 65 alliances come together to share good practices, exchange experiences, and strengthen cooperation. The community fosters a deeper collaboration by facilitating learning, joint initiatives, and the dissemination of results – enhancing knowledge, skills, and effectiveness of the entire higher education sector.

Find out more on the FOREU4ALL official website.
Download Flyer FOREU4ALL for EAIE.

About EAIE

The EAIE Conference is the most important event dedicated to higher education in Europe and the second largest in the world. Its recent venues have been Rotterdam (2023), and Toulouse (2024). This year, EAIE 2025 will be held in Gothenburg, Sweden, from 9 to 12 September.

More information about the EAIE 2025.
Discover the EAIE 2025 full programme.
Join the sessions proposed by the European Universities Alliances and FOREU4ALL.

Materials

 

Press contacts

Aniza Pourtauborde
Aurora
aniza.pourtauborde@u-pec.fr

Paula Talero
FOREU4ALL
ptalero@ub.edu

European Commission Proposal For The Next EU R&I and Erasmus+ Programmes Published: First Impressions and Implications

On 16 July 2025 the European Commission (EC) published its regulation proposals and plans for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) period 2028 – 2034, as well as the next EU research and innovation (R&I) programme called Horizon Europe (HEU), the tightly connected novel programme European Competitiveness Fund (ECF), and the Erasmus+ programme. Although the documents have been published, several details of the budgets and the programmes are still lacking. We need to keep in mind that this is the first proposal, whereas both the Member States and the EP will discuss with the EC in trilogues about the final outcome which should be ready by mid 2027. This op-ed article by Pim de Boer, Senior Policy Advisor, and Ramon Puras, Aurora Secretary General, provides a first insight in some of the details and possible consequences for universities including Aurora universities.

What’s New, With What Budget?

The EC proposed a total 7-year budget for the EU of almost 2 trillion (!) euro, spread over the major headers: “National and Regional Partnership Plans”, the “ECF”, “Erasmus+ and AgoraEU”, “Global Europe”, and “others”.

The ECF is a novel programme consisting of HEU as a separate programme, and a merger of 14 current programmes like Digital Europe, EU4Health, LIFE and the European Defence Fund. AgoraEU is also a novel programme streamlining the EU intervention in the areas of culture, media, equality, citizens, rights and values. It comprises the current programmes Creative Europe and Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV).

A budget of about 409 billion euro is reserved for the new ECF programme, and out of this a 175 billion euro is proposed for the HEU programme. Which is less than the 200 or more billion euro requested for the R&I programme by the EU Member States, the European Parliament (EP) and e.g. the academic sector including Aurora network. Nevertheless, it is almost a doubling of the current HEU budget. For Erasmus+ an increased budget of about 41 billion euro is foreseen, and 9 billion euro for AgoraEU.

These programmes need to address the EU policy priorities: a free and democratic Europe, a strong and secure Europe, and a prosperous and competitive Europe. This includes the themes competitiveness, security, defence, resilience, democratic values, education, social fairness, quality of life, and a global Europe.

Notably, the European Universities Alliances are referenced across all three key publications on the ECF, HEU, and Erasmus+, with their primary anchoring in Erasmus+. This marks a significant evolution from the current programme period and opens promising opportunities for greater synergy between these programmes and associated co-funding schemes. Such alignment would represent a major step forward in integrating research, innovation, valorisation and education through EU funding instruments.

European Competitiveness Fund (ECF)

The ECF will contribute to this focusing on 4 policy priorities:

  1. clean transition
  2. digital leadership entailing AI, quantum, cybersecurity, and digital sovereignty
  3. health, bioeconomy, biotechnology, and agriculture, and
  4. defence, space, resilience and security.

In brief, the ECF will deal with integrated work programmes across these policy windows, including collaborative R&I, scale-up calls, deployment and accelerated interventions. It will integrate HEU results into downstream industrial and market deployment activities, stimulating the flow of results from basic science towards applied R&I and application. How this will interface with the HEU programme has not yet been detailed in full. Funding mechanisms comprise more complex and hybrid (public-private) funding tools (e.g. equity, guarantees, procurement).

For (Aurora) universities the ECF provides opportunities for taking research results and outputs further to start-ups, and their start-ups to scale ups and beyond, in the context of the given policy windows – clean energy, zero waste, digital technologies and applications, health resilience and (bio) technologies, agriculture, deep tech, security, space (including use of satellite data) and defence including dual-use technologies and civil preparedness. In general, this may require collaboration with business partners and other relevant stakeholders. Other opportunities lie within training and skilling students and staff related to (social) entrepreneurship and dedicated job skills and knowledge as mentioned in the Union of Skills.

Horizon Europe 2028-2034 (HEU)

The HEU programme remains the core R&I programme, fundamentally based on academic freedom and openness, and looks familiar to the current HEU programme. However, it does have major changes as shown in the next figure on the proposed structure:

In brief, HEU will retain the ERC and its instruments with evaluation based on the excellence criterion, MSCA, and (new) the Joint Research Centres in Pillar 1. Aligned with our statement on non-directionality in MSCA instruments, the proposal focuses on research, training, interdisciplinarity in an international setting, and retaining talents in line with the “EU Choose Europe” strategy.

Pillar 2 is about collaborative research. It is unclear for research contributing to the ECF policy windows how this will be governed, which work programmes are acting, or whether early phase collaborative research (at low TRL/SRL) is exempted from the ECF policy windows as we recommended.

Pillar 3 on the EIC and innovative ecosystems retains its current instruments, and possibly new programmatic and extensive instruments like the USA (D) Advanced Research Projects Agencies (ARPA) to support transformative breakthrough projects to provide solutions and applications.

Pillar 4 contains the European Research Area (ERA) policy agenda, research and technology infrastructures, and to widening participation and spreading excellence funding instruments.

Specific aspects: integrating social sciences and humanities (SSH); adhering to Open Science; and simplifying procedures like reduced time to grant, common use of lump sum, and a funding rate of 100% for non-profit and SMEs. Calls will be more open, less prescriptive. In addition, HEU will have an emphasis on international cooperation (hence being connected to Global Europe), new European partnerships will be developed and the programme may “support dual-use actions”.

For (Aurora) universities new opportunities include the less prescriptive nature of calls and potential new types of programmatic financing within the EIC programme. As details on Pillar 2 are not clear yet, we do not know how calls for collaborative research will be developed, with whom, and how this will be governed as well as evaluated, as Pillar 2 apart from “society” is tightly linked with the ECF that has a different governance and separate work programmes. Hence, there is room for improvement as well as co-creation of the programme, its Pillars and work programmes between universities, researchers, and the EC.

Erasmus+ 2028-2034

The Erasmus+ programme will continue to support education and mobility contributing to the resilience and competitiveness of Europe, the green and digital transition, and social inclusion and values. Its goal is to promote high-quality lifelong learning, talent development, and skills for life and jobs. The new structure will contain two pillars:

  1. learning opportunities including via mobility actions and scholarships in strategic fields, and
  2. capacity building with partnerships building on e.g. the European Universities Alliances for cooperation, excellence and innovation, and providing support for policy development and systemic innovation in education and youth.

Other important activities include the European degree and/or label, microcredentials, the Union of Skills and lifelong learning, and synergies with HEU and the ECF. The programme supports the strategic areas mentioned under the ECF. This is substantiated by introducing new strategic Erasmus+ grants in key areas (digital technologies, green economy, AI). As mentioned above, the EU priorities mentioned in the Competitiveness Compass (and the ECF regulation) also include education, skilling & training.

Taken together, the European Commission’s proposals for HEU, the MFF and ECF, and Erasmus+ contain several elements of relevance to Aurora universities, most notably:

  • Increased Erasmus+, MFF and HEU budget with strategic emphasis
  • Continued and visible support for European Universities Alliances through ECF, HEU and Erasmus+ synergies
  • Focus on talent, skills, and lifelong learning
  • Promotion of democratic values and social inclusion
  • Strengthened global dimension through ‘Global Europe’

Aurora Emphasises Need For Early-phase Collaborative Research In FP10

With the new EU funding programmes starting in 2028, the preparations for the legislation and the outlines of the respective programmes is ongoing.

For research and innovation, the next framework programme FP10, Horizon Europe, several drafts have been published. Based on this, the academic sector shares its wishes, needs, recommendations and concerns over the plans. Among the concerns is the fear that early-phase, pre-competitive and collaborative research will not remain embedded bottom-up in the research programme but in the new European Competitiveness Fund (ECF). This would imply that this type of research falls under the ECF policy priorities and rules strongly connected to applied research, start-ups, scaling up, deployment and marketable activities.

Therefore, in this statement together with other academic associations, the Aurora network conveys its recommendation to the European Commission, Member States and the European Parliament, to leave early-phase collaborative research fully under Horizon Europe rulings. This joint statement is co-signed by: Coimbra Group, EU-Life, Yerun, ECIU, Aurora, European Alliance for Social Sciences and Humanities (EASSH), European University Association (EUA), Initiative for Science in Europe (ISE), All European Academies (ALLEA), Marie-Curie Alumni Association, UNICA and European Children’s Hospitals Organisation (ECHO).

Read the full statement.

Reflecting on the Aurora Sustainability Summit 2025: A Shared Vision for Greener Universities

On 22 May 2025, the Aurora Annual Conference 2025 at Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC) wrapped up with the first-ever Aurora Sustainability Summit 2025 – a powerful gathering that put sustainability at the heart of how universities teach, research, and operate.

Inspiring Speakers and Bold Ideas

The Aurora Sustainability Summit 2025 began with a morning plenary featuring an impressive line-up of speakers committed to transforming their campuses and communities through sustainability-focused initiatives:

  • Prof. Lolita Rubens, Vice-president of Social Responsibility, Université Paris-Est Créteil
  • Dr. Hafdís Hanna Ægisdóttir, Director of the Sustainability Institute, University of Iceland
  • Prof. Maurizio Cellura, Coordination committee of RUS, Italian Network of Universities for Sustainable Development, Università di Palermo
  • Zuzana Hunkova, Coordinator for Sustainable Development, Palacký University Olomouc
  • Dr. Ramon Rispoli Associate Professor of Design, Università Federico II of Naples
  • Benedetta Toledo, PhD candidate, Università Federico II of Naples
  • Prof. Marjolein Zweekhorst, Professor of Innovation and Education, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Speakers shared how their universities are leading on sustainability – from food systems to campus strategies and student engagement.

From left to right: Ramon Rispoli, Benedetta Toledo, Zuzana Hunkova, Marjolein Zweekhorst and Lorenzo Rieg
© Ciprian Olteanu
 

Sharing Best Practices and Innovative Models

Throughout the morning, speakers highlighted impactful initiatives and academic models:

  • At VU Amsterdam, Community Service Learning is empowering students to co-create sustainable solutions through interdisciplinary collaboration.
  • In Naples, an innovative educational programme challenges students to rethink food systems in the Anthropocene.
  • Palacký University Olomouc shared its journey in developing an institutional sustainability strategy, grounded in civic engagement and policy alignment.

The Power of Networks: Panel Discussion on Collaboration

A central theme of the summit was the value of inter-university collaboration in driving systemic change. In a panel discussion, speakers explored how Alliances like Aurora can amplify local efforts, accelerate innovation, and support the adoption of sustainable practices across institutions.

“Collaboration is key,” noted Prof. Maurizio Cellura, “not just between universities, but between disciplines, sectors, and communities. Networks give us the momentum and diversity needed to make real impact.”

From left to right: Lolita Rubens, Maurizio Cellura and Hafdís Hanna Ægisdóttir
© Ciprian Olteanu

Looking Ahead: Workshops and Practical Tools

The afternoon featured three interactive workshop sessions designed to deepen participant engagement and provide actionable tools:

  • Futures Literacy Lab – exploring how future-oriented thinking can shape present-day action
  • Climate Fresco – raising awareness of the interconnected causes and consequences of climate change
  • Biodiversity Fresco – unpacking the systemic aspects of biodiversity loss and human impact

These workshops equipped participants with frameworks that can be applied in research, teaching, and institutional strategies.

Aurora Sustainability Summit afternoon workshops

Closing Ceremony and the Path Forward

The summit concluded with a closing ceremony and the official handover of the Aurora flag to the next host university of the Aurora Annual Conference 2026 – Universität Duisburg-Essen, symbolizing the continuity of commitment to shared values and sustainable progress.

Ceremonial handover of the Aurora flag by Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC) to University of Duisburg-Essen as hosts of the Aurora Annual Conference 2026
© Ciprian Olteanu

Planting the Seeds for the Education of Tomorrow: Looking Back at the Aurora Annual Conference 2025

From May 19 to 22, 2025, the Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC) hosted the Aurora Annual Conference 2025, bringing together thought leaders, experts, academics, staff, and students from Aurora universities and beyond. The event fostered dynamic exchanges around education, research and innovation, sustainability, and societal impact.

Aurora Annual Conference 2025 attendees from Aurora universities across Europe
© Ciprian Olteanu

The conference began with an opening ceremony at the historic Amphithéâtre Liard in La Sorbonne, with welcome remarks by Prof. Martin Schwell, Vice-president European Affairs and Aurora Institutional Coordinator at UPEC. The President of UPEC Prof. Jean-Luc Dubois-Randé gave a resounding opening address. He highlighted the essential role of European universities like Aurora in preserving and enriching knowledge through new forms of European integration, such as the creation of joint degrees and intercultural experiences.

“Aurora’s commitment to, and impact on, society and the environment, are powerful vectors for the creation and sharing of knowledge and, by extension, for profound transformation,” said Prof. Jean-Luc Dubois-Randé.

Prof. Jean-Luc Dubois-Randé, President of Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC) addresses a full house at La Sorbonne, Paris
© Ciprian Olteanu

In his opening speech, Dr. Ramon Puras, Aurora Secretary General, added that the transformative power of Aurora also lies in its ability to harness strong collaboration and harmonise systems across its member universities.

One of the major highlights of the Aurora Annual Conference was the ceremonial handover of the Aurora presidency. Through a symbolic “passing of the baton” from Prof. Martin Procházka of Palacký University Olomouc to Prof. Veronika Sexl of Universität Innsbruck, this change in leadership marks a new chapter for Aurora and its universities.

Nurturing deeper academic reflections, Nobel Laureate Elizabeth Blackburn delivered a fascinating keynote address on her groundbreaking discoveries in the field of cellular biology, which have had profound implications for aging, cancer research, and cellular biology.

Aurora Presidency ceremonial handover from Prof. Martin Procházka to Prof. Veronika Sexl. © Ciprian Olteanu
High-level talk by Nobel laureate Elizabeth Blackburn.© Ciprian Olteanu

European Universities for Research, Education, Students’ Rights and Sustainability

Throughout the week, the conference featured engaging plenary sessions on a range of topics from the future of the European Universities Initiative and building scientific communities in Aurora, to students’ rights and representation. 

Next to the plenary programme, the Aurora Annual Conference featured many additional workshops, strategy sessions, and task team meetings throughout the week. These gatherings enabled further cooperation and progress on topics in Aurora relating to research support network, educational hubs, international mobility, and citizen science.

Beyond the formal sessions, there was also ample space for networking, culminating with the Gala dinner and reception at the stunning Musée national de l’histoire de l’immigration, and its aquarium in Palais de la Porte Dorée, Paris. During the dinner, two prominent Aurora events took place: the seizmic Awards 2024 ceremony, featuring winners Team thisAbility from Copenhagen Business School (CBS) and runners-up Team Synergy Hydrogen Solutions from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. The second event was the 3MT competition pitches by winners Stéphanie Chedid and Juliette Direur from UPEC.

Aurora Sustainability Summit 2025 plenary session. © Ciprian Olteanu
Full house at the Aurora Annual Conference 2025. © Ciprian Olteanu
Left to right: Simona Gibalová, Sören Daehn, Mathilde Chaumont, Hanuš Patera and Simon Westhoff. © Ciprian Olteanu
Small group discussions in the courtyard during the Aurora Annual Conference 2025. © Ciprian Olteanu

The three-day conference also saw the rise of the first-ever Aurora Sustainability Summit. The summit spotlighted Aurora’s impressive achievements in developing best practices for sustainable campuses. Furthermore, it brought to light the challenges ahead in the creation of greener, more sustainable universities. The summit featured plenary sessions, followed by interactive workshops exploring key themes such as futures literacy, climate action, and biodiversity. 

The Aurora Annual Conference 2025 served as a window into Aurora’s progress thus far. It provided an insight into its ever-growing community as actors of change planting the seed to shape a more inclusive, greener, and sustainable European higher education landscape.

Science and Society: Open Science and Citizen Science in Aurora

Aurora recognizes the transformative power of science to address societal challenges through openness and collaboration. Through the Aurora 2030 programme, a dedicated task team on  Science and Society focuses on  advancing both Open Science and Citizen Science, two interconnected approaches that together foster a more inclusive, sustainable, and impactful research ecosystem.

A recent survey launched by the task team yielded comprehensive results from 250 respondents across Aurora universities. Representing a broad spectrum of roles within the academic community, the survey results showed that Open Science and Citizen Science initiatives are currently gaining momentum within each institution.

Despite different levels of institutional engagement, the survey highlighted the potential for continuing growth in Open Science and Citizen Science practices. Key development areas include increasing financial and infrastructural support, ensuring formal recognition of contributions, and providing training to overcome technical and time-related barriers.

Addressing the above challenges can help universities to further enhance the role of Open Science and Citizen Science in solving societal problems, fostering innovation, and promoting public engagement with science.

“Overcoming barriers to participation requires a comprehensive approach,” says Roberto Delle Donne, Professor at University Federico II of Naples and lead for the Aurora  Science and Society task team. “Universities must invest in robust training programs, streamline infrastructure for accessibility, and formalize recognition of contributions to Open Science and Citizen Science. Equally important is fostering partnerships between researchers and communities, empowering citizens to co-create knowledge and address shared challenges.”

Open Science and Citizen Science: A Synergistic Relationship

Open Science and Citizen Science are deeply associated with one another. Open Science promotes transparency, accessibility, and collaboration by ensuring that research outputs—data, publications, and methods—are openly shared. Citizen Science complements this by actively involving the public in the research process, from defining problems to collecting data and disseminating results. Together, Open Science and Citizen Science  democratize knowledge creation, breaking down barriers between researchers and society.

Citizen Science thrives in the Open Science ecosystem, which provides the tools, data, and frameworks necessary for effective public participation. Conversely, Citizen Science enriches Open Science by incorporating diverse perspectives, fostering innovation, and addressing real-world problems that resonate with communities. Many of these problems, such as environmental challenges, align with broader goals of sustainable development.

“Sharing scientific knowledge with the general public in creative ways, for instance through Art and Science exhibitions and hands-on demonstrations, creates a strong and lasting sense of awareness and curiosity that can have a major impact on how society responds to the environmental challenges we face,” says Helena Cruz de Carvalho, Associate Professor at Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC) and Institut de Biologie de l’Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS). 

Towards a Science for Society

By intertwining Open Science and Citizen Science, Aurora is building a research culture that is green, transparent, inclusive, and ethically conscious. The focus on sustainability is reflected in the methods employed and in the topics that are addressed, such as climate change, resource management, and societal well-being.

To this end, the Aurora Science and Society task team focuses on four key objectives:

  • Building Knowledge: Developing a repository of best practices for Open Science and Citizen Science, drawing from diverse disciplines and experiences across  Aurora universities.
  • Empowering Researchers and Students: Creating training modules to equip researchers and students with the skills to engage in open, participatory, and FAIR ((Findable – Accessible – Interoperable – Reusable)-aligned research.
  • Connecting Communities: Establishing inclusive networks that unite Aurora institutions with local and international communities, fostering collaboration and mutual learning.
  • Engaging Citizens: Encouraging public involvement in addressing societal and environmental challenges through workshops, events, and the creation of communities ofpractice.

The goals above catalyse the efforts undertaken by Aurora universities to ensure that science is not only conducted for society, but also with society, creating a shared path toward sustainable development and innovation.