EULiST |

Leibniz Universität Hannover visited BUT: EULiST offers many opportunities

22/09/2023

On 15 September, the Brno University of Technology (BUT) hosted a meeting of the partners of the European University Alliance EULiST. Rector of the BUT Ladislav Janíček welcomed the chairman of the board of the alliance and also the president of Leibniz Universität Hannover (LUH) Volker Epping and his coordinating team. The eve of the meeting was also enriched by the visit of the incoming Rector of the Technical University of Vienna, Jens Schneider. The meeting was a follow-up to the previous meeting of rectors and representatives of the two universities in Hannover in May 2023. The agenda included joint and bilateral discussions on cooperation opportunities in the fields of education, research or sustainable technologies. The guests from LUH also learned about the functioning of the CEITEC BUT university institute and toured the CEITEC Nano clean room laboratories.

The EULiST Alliance, which brings together 10 European universities with 200,000 students, recently succeeded in a call by the European Commission to become a European University. This result, which the President Epping mentioned at the beginning of the meeting, is proof of the joint strength of 10 universities: “We have achieved great success and received financial support that will allow us to strengthen our cooperation, for example in the development of innovative learning opportunities. It confirmed the importance of moving forward together, pursuing our vision and also asking ourselves where we want to be as partners in ten years’ time.”

Volker Epping pointed out some of the other opportunities for alliance cooperation. One is the removal of barriers and the creation of motivational conditions for student mobility within partner universities. The vision is one university campus made up of all members of the alliance for all its students. Science and research also offer a number of opportunities. Closer cooperation in this area can, among other things, contribute to readiness for EU project calls.

During his presentation, Epping also raised some unfavorable phenomena such as the decline in interest in technical education: ‘LUH has 28,000 students, but the number of people interested in mechanical or civil engineering is declining, while interest in computer science is growing. However, our society needs engineers. So we need to go into the schools and also motivate the parents of children, where it all starts.”

BUT has had a similar experience with a decline in interest in technical education. Rector Ladislav Janíček believes that cooperation within the alliance can be beneficial in this respect as well: ‘We are systematically addressing this issue at the BUT and we are well aware that this is a Europe-wide problem that affects Europe’s competitiveness and increases its dependence. Sharing international models and experiences with our partner technical universities, and therefore also with our partners in the EULiST alliance, is one of the ways that can help to change the situation.”

After the bilateral meetings of faculty partners from, for example, civil or electrical engineering disciplines and a visit to the CEITEC BUT laboratories, a final evaluation meeting was held. Rector of BUT Ladislav Janíček emphasized that besides common goals, cooperation in EULiST should also be about mutual support in achieving own goals at home universities.

Opportunities for this could include mutual coordination of selected practices, sharing and transfer of good practices and formulation of conceptual principles and approaches to address certain common themes, on which the individual partner universities can rely: “We have common themes such as promoting interest in technical fields, the development of sustainable technologies or even university management, and it is always inspiring to see how our partners are tackling similar topics. However, it is also important to take advantage of opportunities for bilateral cooperation and it is logical that the geographical and cultural proximity of some partners reflecting regional development opportunities will play a role in the cooperation,” said Janíček.

The Rector of the BUT also reminded that the next General Assembly of the EULiST Alliance will be held in May 2024 in Brno under the auspices of the BUT.

Leibniz Universität Hannover was founded in 1831 and has grown from a purely technical university to a university that also offers courses in the humanities and economics. Since 2006 it has been named after the famous German philosopher and mathematician G. W. Leibniz. LUH offers studies at 12 faculties with 28,000 students. In addition to the EULiST alliance, it is part of the CESAER or TU9 alliances. LUH’s research focuses on optical technology, biomedical or product engineering, among others. Currently, 18 ERC projects are underway at LUH.

More info and photos here

EULiST in the II Forum of European University Alliances

21/09/2023

The Spanish Presidency of the Council has taken up the cause and promoted the celebration of the II Forum of European University Alliances on September 14 and 15 in Barcelona. The goal is to open up a space for dialogue and exchange of ideas around the most important issues currently affecting European alliances. This event was attended on behalf of EULiST by María Luisa Humanes and Pablo Salvadores (from URJC), Christina von Haaren (from LUH), and Markus Auditor (EULiST central coordinator).

The primary objective of this forum appears to be creating a platform for dialogue and the sharing of ideas on crucial issues impacting European alliances in the field of higher education. This event likely brings together representatives from various European universities, policymakers, researchers, and other stakeholders to address topics such as academic collaboration, mobility programs, research initiatives, and educational innovation. The discussions may also touch on broader themes related to the European Union’s educational and research agendas, promoting internationalization, and addressing challenges in higher education. By organizing this forum, the Spanish Presidency of the Council is contributing to the ongoing efforts to strengthen European cooperation in higher education and research, ultimately aiming to enhance the quality and competitiveness of European universities on the global stage.

Further information, agenda and concept notes from the different pannels can be found in the following link: Program II Forum European Universities Alliances.

Moreover, this event has been widely publicised. In the magazine Canal Europa it has been highlighted that in this Forum it has been communicated that the European Union is moving forward in a joint university degree for students of European universities. This was announced by the European Commission’s Vice-President for the promotion of the European way of life, Margaritis Schinas, during a meeting with the press as part of the with the press in the framework of the of the 2nd European University Alliances Forum. of European Universities. The press release can be found in the following link European Alliances 18-09-2023

(via https://eulist.urjc.es/eulist-in-the-ii-forum-of-european-university-alliances/)

EULiST recognised by the EU Commission as a “European University Alliance”

12/07/2023

On July 3, 2023, the European Commission granted EULiST the title “European University Alliance” and awarded the Alliance funds in the amount of 14,3 million euros for the next four years to pursue its mission. In its assessment of the proposal, the European Commission recognised EULiST as presenting “a promising approach to benefit other higher education institutions in Europe through its focus on inclusion and excellence, for example through creating a new digital infrastructure, which would facilitate open data sharing”.

For the Alliance, it is a major milestone on its way to achieving its mission of transforming European higher education and strengthening a common European identity. As reflected in its name: European Universities Linking Society and Technology, EULiST seeks to harness the research capacities of its ten member universities to empower responsible change agents to address societal and global challenges, including climate change and social cohesion, by identifying innovative ways of integrating social sciences, humanities and technology.

As Markus Auditor, EULiST’s central coordinator noted, “EULiST is much more than a project, it is a profound transformation of our universities”. To achieve this, EULiST strives to generate a unique and creative EULiST Academic Ecosystem of sustainable development open to the public. Informed and driven by the exchange of ideas between society, science, and technology, this academic ecosystem will support inter- and transdisciplinary learning, research and outreach to enable student and academic staff participation and interaction with society through an EULiST Campus and the EULiST flagships “Digital Knowledge Hub”, EULiST Agora for Education”, Research and Innovation Academy (ERIA)” and “Co-creation cluster”.

EULiST’s ten member universities consist of Leibniz University Hannover (DE), as coordinating university, Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUT (FI), Jönköping University (SE), Institut Mines-Télécom (IMT) (FR), Brno University of Technology (CZ), Technische Universität Wien (AT), Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava (SK), Rey Juan Carlos University (ES), University L’Aquila (IT), and National Technical University of Athens (GR).

The creation of EULiST is part of a broader European initiative, the European Universities Initiative, formally launchd by the European Commission in 2018 with the goal of initiating and fostering unprecedented levels of systemic, structural and sustainable cooperation between European higher education institutions. Today 50 European University Alliances involving more than 430 higher education institutions are working to advance the mission of the EUI. Within the framework of this initiative, EULiST began to take shape in 2020, establishing itself as a transnational network of higher education institutions in May 2021.

Even prior to its recognition and funding by the EU, the EULiST members demonstrated a steadfast commitment to their cooperation. The commitment to EULiST was reiterated during the most recent annual EULiST General Assembly, hosted by NTUA, from June 25 – 27, 2023, in which sixty-five representatives from all ten universities participated, including the rectors and vice rectors, professors, administrative staff, and students.

Establishing and further developing the EULiST visual and conceptual brand, structuring the approach to collaboration and communication, and deepening the connections between the ten member universities has been a focus of the Alliance’s work for the past couple years. These efforts build on and reflect the great pillars on which EULiST, now an official European University, will continue to grow and thrive.

EULiST General Assembly in Athens

05/07/2023

The annual 2023 EULiST General Assembly was successfully hosted by the National Technical University of Athens between 25^th-27^th June 2023 in Athens. The committed and enthusiastic cooperation among the EULiST Members was evidenced by the sixty-five representatives from all ten universities who participated in the EULiST General Assembly, including the Rectors and Vice Rectors, Professors, Administrative Staff, and Students.

During the first working day, the General Assembly included meetings of the Coordination Office, the Student Board, the Management Board and the Governing Board. In particular, in the Governing Board participated Prof. Volker Epping (LUH President), Prof. Andreas Boudouvis (NTUA Rector), Prof. Juha-Matti Saksa (LUT Rector), Prof. Agneta Marell (JU President), Frédérique Vincent (IMT Vice-President), Prof. Ladislav Janíček (BUT Rector), Prof. Oliver Moravčík (STU Rector), Prof. Jens Schneider (TUW designated Rector), Prof. Javier Ramos López (URJC Rector), Prof. Maria Benedetta Mattei (UNIVAQ Vice-Rector).

An Open session with the title “EULiST towards linking Society and Technology” was held on Monday June 26^th afternoon, also livestreaming, where the EULiST strategy was presented, combined with focus presentations on the sustainable campus and the transfer of innovation in education and research. Τhe key-note speech on the European Universities Initiative was presented by Mr Jacques Comby, advisor at the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation. The EULiST Blended Intensive Program “Monitoring clean energy in the EULiST Universities”, organised by NTUA in the framework of the General Assembly in cooperation with six EULiST Universities, was enthusiastically presented by its students.

During the second working day, within the General Assembly, the critical role of students in strengthening the societal engagement across the universities of the Alliance was highlighted. The need for integration of EULiST in the academic activity of each partner University was emphasized. In addition, it was pointed that while EULiST has been designed and organised in a bottom-up approach, the activities planned for the next funded steps, now reflect the overall strategy, and common procedures, platforms and recognition developed among the ten universities.

The General Assembly was held at Zografou Campus, and it included separate hybrid meetings of WPs, a fascinating cultural Sunday walk in the historic center of Athens, two lively social dinners and an engaging visit to selected NTUA laboratories and the central Library.

Attachments

General Assembly Agenda

Open Session Agenda

Open Session Live Stream

Photos from the Event