The coronavirus crisis has challenged higher education institutions in many new and unexpected ways. As universities have to take radical measures and make major efforts to slow the contagion and to better understand the virus, they are forging new paths in crisis management. This brings both challenges and opportunities to Europe’s universities, in particular in relation to digitalisation and digitally enhanced learning and teaching, Open Science, research, quality assurance, university autonomy, funding and civic engagement.
On its part, EUA is working closely with members in this difficult moment. The Association has moved its public events online and added new events dedicated to needs that have arisen from the crisis. In many cases, the content of existing events, as well as surveys and projects, has been adapted to those same needs. EUA is working to facilitate the sharing of crisis-related good practices among members. It also gathers useful information via member questionnaires and the monitoring of European-level policy developments and shares information through its many communications activities.
As places that gather many people, universities are emptier now than before, but this does not mean that they are closed. Learning and teaching are very active online and universities remain central in the research of new treatments and possible vaccines. The crisis has opened a window of opportunity for universities to engage even more with society, support governments through research and innovation and to help prepare a more resilient society.
EUA supports its members in these missions, with the hope of best preparing Europe’s societies for addressing global challenges.
As European leaders work towards an agreement on the European Union’s next seven-year budget, the Multiannual Financial Framework, and the related Next Generation EU recovery plan to help the EU’s economy back on its feet, EUA and 14 partner university associations reiterate the urgent need to invest in research, innovation and education to achieve long-term, sustainable recovery and strategic resilience.
The European Commission’s new proposal for the next seven-year budget of the European Union together with the Next Generation EU recovery plan falls short of much needed investment in research, innovation and education.
Based on data collected in 2021 by the International Association of Universities (IAU), Michael...
read moreThis publication provides an up-to-date overview of important developments in doctoral education...
read moreIn February 2021, the International Association of Universities (IAU) launched the second edition of the global survey on the impact of COVID-19 on higher education to monitor the situation one year into the pandemic. EUA contributed with a chapter on the impact of COVID-19 on European higher...
view moreThis report presents the expectations of national university associations across Europe in terms...
read moreOn 17 November, EUA released the findings of a snapshot survey on the impact of Covid-19 on universities starting the academic year. Conducted at the end of October, it is based on the replies of 26 national rectors’ conferences across Europe. The results provide an overview on learning and...
view moreAs elsewhere in the world, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, universities in the EHEA have had to...
read moreHigher education institutions are key actors in the transition towards carbon neutrality and...
read moreThe secretariat of the Education Department of the Council of Europe launched a call for applications for the Best Practice Programme in Promoting Academic Integrity. The deadline for applications is 20 August 2021 at 23.59 CEST. The Best Practice Programme in Promoting Academic Integrity is in...
view moreEU policy makers are facing increased urgency to integrate and energise the professional labour...
read moreScholars at Risk – Ireland and ALLEA, the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities, organise the online conference “Academic freedom and intellectual dissent” on 8 June, from 15.00 to 20.00 CEST. This conference will focus on the importance of intellectual dissent and...
view moreThe Education Department of the Council of Europe launched the application period for Best Practice Programme in Promoting Academic Integrity during Covid-19, open until 20 August. The Best Practice Programme in Promoting Academic Integrity is in line with the ETINED mission, specifically...
view moreEUROSTUDENT organises the EUROSTUDENT VII final conference online on 18 and 19 May 2021. Registrations are now open and free of charge. The conference serves to showcase and discuss the results and insights achieved through EUROSTUDENT by bringing together the involved stakeholders,...
view moreNESET, the Network of Experts working on the Social dimension of Education and Training, has published the report “The impact of COVID-19 on higher education: a review of emerging evidence”. The report provides a synthesis of the emerging evidence on what impact Covid-19 has on three specific...
view moreThis report provides a detailed analysis of long-term funding trends captured over the period from...
read moreIn response to the Covid-19 crisis, higher education institutions around the world adjusted their...
read moreThe International Association of Universities (IAU) launched the second IAU global survey on the impact of Covid-19 on higher education, open until 15 April. The survey is available in English, French, and Spanish. Aimed at gathering substantial data on the ways global higher education systems...
view moreOn 13-14 April 2021, EUA member Universities UK International will hold their flagship conference, the International Higher Education Forum (IHEF). It will bring together higher education professionals from around the world to engage on topics such as the UK’s exit from the EU,...
view moreThe Eurasian Universities Union (EURAS) organises the Eurasia Higher Education (EURIE) Summit on 3 – 5 March 2021. This year’s EURIE Summit will be held virtually and will count with the presence of the European University Association in two sessions: EUA President Michael Murphywill...
view moreIn a wider context marked by the Covid-19 crisis, the transition to a digital and green economy,...
read moreIn Europe today, almost every higher education institution uses digitally enhanced learning and...
read moreDigitally enhanced learning and teaching is widely used across the European Higher Education Area,...
read moreThe Erasmus Student Network (ESN) launched their yearly ESNsurvey, the largest European-wide research project conducted solely by volunteers working to advocate for the improvement of exchange programmes and education in Europe. The deadline to participate is 31 January. This year’s edition of...
view moreLumina Foundation published a study entitled “COVID’s Lessons for Global Higher Education: Coping with the Present while Building a More Equitable Future”. The study offers a preliminary assessment of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on higher education throughout the world, with a special...
view moreThe Delegation of the European Union to Russia organises a digital roundtable entitled “New models of educational process organisation, novel educational practices and internationalisation in the post-Covid reality” on 24 November. The roundtable will bring together officials and experts from...
view moreSeveral EUA members co-organise the webinar “Shaping Post-COVID Internationalisation through Virtual Exchanges and Curriculum Transformation” on 20 and 27 November 2020. This 2-part webinar series is part of the iKudu project, co-funded by the Erasmus+, programme which aims to develop a...
view moreThe European Commission organises the webinar “CEF eSignature for Higher Education Institutions” on 2 December. The digitalisation of administrative processes can make operations easier, faster and more secure. In addition, due to Covid-19, there is strong push for the digitalisation of...
view moreThe European Distance and E-learning Network (EDEN) organises the European Online Distance Learning Week (EODLW) on 2 – 6 November, with one extra day on 9 November focusing on the European Vocational Skills Week. Registrations are open and for free. This fifth edition of the EODLW will reflect...
view moreThis report provides a detailed picture of the immediate impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on...
read moreThe University of New York Tirana in Albania organises an online international conference entitled “The Uncertainties and Challenges in the Balkans: Case of Covid-19” on 20 November 2020. On the occasion, organisers invite practitioners and educators to submit their papers presenting the most...
view moreThe Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) organises the online panel discussion: 'Reinventing International Student Mobility' on 4 November 2020 from 17:00 to 19:00 CET. This 2-hour panel discussion aims at reflecting on the impact of Covid-19 on student mobility issues and how universities,...
view moreThis briefing looks at the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on higher education in Europe over the...
read moreThe National Education Opportunities Network (NEON), the convening organisation for World Access to Higher Education Day (WAHED), released a survey aiming to capture the ongoing impact of Covid-19 on equitable access and success. It looks at how equity policy and practice in this field are being...
view moreTo help mitigate the digital challenges raised by Covid-19, the European Commission launched two extraordinary Erasmus+ calls to support digital education readiness and creative skills. The applications deadline is 29 October 2020. Both calls will help link education, training and youth...
view moreTo mark its 75th anniversary in 2020, the United Nations launched a global conversation on how to tackle the challenges we face and build a better future for all. The UN invites European universities to participate in the UN75 Initiative by hosting dialogues and responding to a one-minute...
view moreEuropean leaders meet this week on 17-18 July with the goal of reaching an agreement on the European Union’s next seven-year budget and the related recovery plan to help the EU’s economy back on its feet. On this occasion, EUA and 14 partner university associations reiterate the urgent need to...
view moreIn the European Commission’s latest proposal for the EU’s next seven-year budget, Erasmus+ is projected to be funded with 24.6 billion euros. While this would represent an increase of 3.4 billion compared to the 2014-2020 programme, EUA has expressed concern in a statement that the amount will not...
view moreThe European Commission’s Industrial Strategy for Europe and the European Digital Strategy...
read moreThe Irish University Association (IUA) organises the IUA/EDTL Webinar: Planning for effective remote teaching during Covid-19 on 24 June from 13:30 to 14:30 CEST. The discussion will focus on planning for effective remote teaching during Covid-19 and the launch of the EDTL Approach: outlining a...
view moreThe EIC COVID-19 platform presents all the projects gathered during the #EUvsVirus hackathon, the European Commission’s initiative launched in April to connect civil society, innovators, partners and buyers across Europe to develop innovative solutions to overcome challenges related to...
view moreEUNIS, the European University Information Systems organisation, opened the registrations for the EUNIS2020 Congress “Virtual Helsinki”, which will take place online from 10 to 12 June 2020. Registrations are open to everyone and free of charge. Participants will be able to hear from leaders,...
view moreAs the European Commission released its new proposal for the next seven-year budget of the European Union, the academic community nourished hope that, in the few past months, it had become clear to policymakers just how fundamental adequate investment in research, innovation and education is to...
view moreThe KIOS Research and Innovation Center of Excellence (KIOS CoE), part of EUA Member University of Cyprus, developed and set up an “Emergency Management System for Handling Covid-19 Cases” in collaboration with the Cyprus Ministry of Health and the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and...
view moreThe seminar “Recognition, transparency and information provision in the time of Covid-19: the role of Higher Education institutions”, organised in the context of the Bologna Process, will take place online on 18 June from 9:30 to 12:45 CEST. The objective of the seminar is to share...
view moreThe International Association of Universities (IAU) released the final report with the results of the survey on the impact of COVID-19 on Higher Education, launched in March 2020 with the aim to deliver an overview of the current state of play worldwide. The survey was conducted online from 25...
view moreIn the context of the coronavirus pandemic, and its expected economic impact, this EUA briefing...
read moreThe National Institute for Digital Learning (NIDL) at Dublin City University (DCU) launched an online survey to investigate the affective experience of educators as they adapted to teaching online in response to Covid-19. The results of this investigation will help NIDL researchers to better...
view moreIn the context of the coronavirus crisis, the Secretariat of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Education Process would like to showcase and disseminate different types of initiatives and measures, with a focus on the inclusion of vulnerable or disadvantaged students in distance education and...
view moreThe 2020 InSPIREurope Stakeholder Forum, originally scheduled to take place at the Collège de France in Paris, will now take place virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic. Registrations are now open to the online event, which is the first of three annual fora taking place over the duration of...
view moreAs more than 90% of the world’s students are now at home, digital learning has taken centre stage around the world. Many institutions are posting ideas and good practices via social media in order to share their experiences and to provide support to others. Major global organisations are also...
view moreThe European Students’ Union (ESU), together with the Institute of Development of Education in Croatia and an interdisciplinary team of researchers based at the University of Zadar in Croatia, launched a survey on student life during the Covid-19 pandemic, open until 30 April. The survey...
view moreDuring the coronavirus crisis, LIBER, the Association of European Research Libraries, calls on European Commissioners, Member State governments, publishers and authors to urgently help libraries, universities and other educational establishments, so that they can continue supplying researchers,...
view moreIn the light of coronavirus pandemic, both the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR) and the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) have issued statements and actions of support for quality assurance agencies and the higher education sector...
view moreThe President of the European Research Council (ERC), Mauro Ferrari, resigned on 7 April citing his dissatisfaction with the EU response to the coronavirus crisis. Ferrari proposed using the ERC for targeted funding related to the crisis. This would have been against the purpose and rules of...
view moreThe European Commission launched EUvsVirus, a pan-European non-profit online hackathon on 24, 25 and 26 April to connect civil society, innovators, partners and buyers across Europe to develop innovative solutions to overcome coronavirus-related challenges. Universities are invited to...
view moreIn a reaction to the ongoing coronavirus crisis and the halt of on-campus operations in Europe and beyond, digital access to scientific research and electronic resources is more important than ever. Several national rectors’ conferences and national consortia, including in France, Spain,...
view moreThe coronavirus pandemic has implications for student and staff mobility and projects funded by EU programmes such as Erasmus+ and Horizon 2020. Several application deadlines for Erasmus+ have been extended. Furthermore, the Commission announced to apply maximum flexibility in the...
view moreUNIMED (Mediterranean Universities Union) created an online space aimed at collecting stories from its members and the wider community on how educators and institutions are coping with the present coronavirus emergency. As Covid-19 continues spreading in many countries of the world, how to keep...
view moreThe International Association of Universities (IAU) launched a survey on the impact of Covid-19 on Higher Education, open until 14 April. The questions relate to students and academic staff mobility; access to classes/campus; extent of disruption of teaching, learning and research, as well as...
view moreThe Research Data Alliance (RDA) set up a Fast-Track working group on Covid-19 and launched a call for contributions to provide recommendations on the creation of a common framework for research practice, with detailed guidelines on data sharing and re-use under the present...
view moreThe organisers of the World Access to Higher Education Day (WAHED) launched a survey on the impact of Covid-19 on higher education admissions around the world, to be filled before 29 March. The aim of the survey is to gather information that can help policymakers and institutions in finding...
view moreWith the spread of the coronavirus, Europe and the rest of the world are facing a true test in terms of civic duty and the sharing of knowledge and resources. Europe’s universities are taking radical measures to slow the contagion and to better understand the new virus. EUA stands united with its...
view moreDue to the coronavirus crisis, the EHEA Ministerial Conference has been postponed to 18 -20 November 2020. The Conference will take place in the same location, La Nuvola Conference Centre. The event will be open to European Higher Education Area (EHEA) delegations and includes a Bologna Global...
view moreIn view of the continuing spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Europe, EUA has taken the decision to cancel all of its public events until 30 April. The 2020 EUA Annual Conference, which was scheduled from 16 to 17 April at Gdańsk University of Technology in Poland, is among the events...
view moreThe outbreak of the novel coronavirus in China (Covid-19) represents a significant and urgent threat to global health. EUA signed a statement by Wellcome to call on researchers, journals and funders to ensure that research findings and data relevant to this outbreak are shared rapidly and openly...
view moreThe quality-led rationale of digitalisation in learning and teaching slowly moves back onto the...
read moreThe Covid-19 crisis has led to a widening of the scope and role of internal quality assurance at...
read moreOn the occasion of EUA’s 20th anniversary, President Michael Murphy and long-time senior expert...
read moreThe EU recovery plan offers an immediate chance to invest in education and research as we approach...
read moreThe new ERA will need to bring all sides to the table so that we can shape the future of Europe’s...
read moreOn the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the European University Association, Andrée Sursock...
read moreWhen Covid-19 forced universities to quickly switch to online and blended learning and teaching,...
read moreStudents from disadvantaged and marginalised backgrounds still struggle to participate in higher...
read moreIn Europe, there is little provision of leadership development schemes in higher education. Given...
read moreThe Covid-19 pandemic presents new challenges for inclusive teaching. This article shares the...
read moreWe enter into a New Year, a world more enriched and more impoverished than just 12 months ago. We...
read moreIn this article, the EUA Secretary General contributes to UIIN’s newly released “The Future...
read moreThe radical digitalisation of higher education due to the Covid-19 crisis offers an opportunity to...
read moreChange is in the air. The Covid-19 crisis has turned our lives upside down, but well before this...
read moreUNESCO’s Global Open Science Partnership is well-timed in promoting a much-needed global dialogue...
read moreThe Covid-19 crisis led to major push towards Open Access, which is now well on its way to...
read moreProviding students with the skills for multidisciplinary collaboration and entrepreneurship...
read moreDuring the Covid-19 crisis, universities innovated greatly in various fields to bring solutions to...
read moreThe university campus matters, which was demonstrated best – ironically – when the campus was...
read moreDuring the Covid-19 crisis, enhanced breakthrough innovation from basic research made it easier...
read moreIn the coming academic year, virtual mobility might be the only reliable option for some...
read moreIn this in-depth analysis of the lessons presented by the Covid-19 crisis for universities, EUA...
read moreIn Georgia, higher education institutions traditionally offered classroom learning and teaching...
read moreAlmost 90% of European higher education institutions moved online in April and May due to the...
read moreAs universities move many activities online in the fallout of the Covid-19 crisis, doctoral...
read moreAs universities across Europe move to online learning and teaching amid the coronavirus crisis,...
read moreConfinement due to the coronavirus is a great challenge for the international mobility of...
read moreThe coronavirus pandemic demonstrates the renewed importance of universities’ civic engagement,...
read moreEUA President Michael Murphy assesses the challenges and opportunities brought by the coronavirus...
read moreRefugees bring with them skills, qualifications and experience – including in the medical field....
read moreAs the coronavirus pandemic impacts the global economy, funding for universities is bound to take...
read moreEUA is pleased to present a series of webinars addressing some of the major trends in international cooperation, European science policy and global higher...
Read moreThursday 20 May 14.00-15.00 CEST The main responsibility for quality and quality assurance lies with higher education institutions. Thus, the sudden shift in...
Read moreIdentical sessions on 1 (14.00 CET) and 2 February (09.00 CET) 2021 In response to the Covid-19 crisis higher education institutions have adjusted and...
Read moreThe 2020 EUA Leadership Roundtable is an exclusive annual session that brings together executive heads of EUA member universities and national rectors’...
Read moreSince the Covid-19 outbreak, universities across Europe have been adapting their ways of teaching and interacting, mostly by shifting to online mode. This...
Read moreThe coronavirus crisis hit Europe by surprise, and it had a considerable impact on EU policies including those with relevance for universities. This webinar...
Read moreEUA together with the European Students’ Union (ESU) organised a webinar on how to address changing policies for student assessment during the coronavirus...
Read moreEUA presented a webinar series based on selected sessions of the 2020 EUA Annual Conference. To support measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus, EUA...
Read moreIt is with much regret that we inform all participants that, in view of the continuing spread of coronavirus in Europe, EUA has taken the decision to cancel...
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