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The missions and work of universities in Europe and elsewhere are underpinned by a number of fundamental values. EUA as an Association strongly believes in and works towards upholding these.
The Association’s activities include monitoring and promoting institutional autonomy as a core principle of university governance and advocating for academic freedom as the single most important basis for meaningful academic research and teaching. EUA has a strong track record in standing up for freedom of expression and the protection of higher education and its communities from intimidation and attack.
In addition, the Association supports universities in nurturing a culture of openness, tolerance and dialogue by promoting diversity among students and staff, integrating refugees into their communities and acting as models of healthy democratic communities. EUA encourages its members to fulfil their civic role by contributing to social and political debates, addressing societal challenges and contributing to sustainable development. The Association also focuses on the responsible and proper conduct of scientific work, as upholding research integrity and ethics is key to strengthening universities’ credibility and consolidating their role in society.
EUA works together with its members and a variety of partners, including Scholars at Risk, the Magna Charta Observatory and the International Association of Universities (IAU), to ensure that these values are respected and guide universities’ activities.
Why is the European Union important for universities, and what does the European Parliament do? ...
Higher education and research form the backbone of European innovation and development, and with it, the EU’s global competitiveness and long-term ambitions to tackle complex societal challenges. ...
This report analyses external drivers of change in six dimensions (political, economic, social, legal, technological and environmental) and outlines four different forecasts of possible futures for tr ...
The European University Association (EUA) applauds the European Commission’s proposal to put education front and centre on Europe’s social agenda. With its Communication on “Strengthen ...
This article aims to map the landscape of teaching and learning excellence prizes across higher education and research institutions in Europe, to evaluate their impact on the recognition and assurance ...
EUA expresses solidarity with universities and scholars where academic freedom is under pressure, especially in Turkey where there are reports of retaliation against academics who have expressed their ...
In the summer of 2017, the University of Sheffield embarked on a major reform of its approach to learning and teaching by instigating the Programme Level Approach (PLA) project. ...
EUA welcomes the document as a sound draft, though still in need of essential amendments. The document, as stated, should function as a framework for institutional and national codes and pra ...
The present edited volume is a contribution to a European exchange on the role of higher education in promoting diversity, equity and inclusion and the responses of universities to related i ...
Sustainable development is crucial to the future of Europe and the entire planet. The framework of the Sustainable Development Goals ensures social cohesion, economic prosperity and protection of the ...
At its Council meeting on 23 October 2015 the European University Association (EUA) called on policy makers at both EU and Member State level and higher education institutions in Europe to enable refu ...
The European University Association takes a keen interest in the European Neighbourhood Policy. EUA cooperates with higher education institutions and organisations in the eastern and southern neighbou ...
From 2019, the Enhancing Digital Teaching and Learning (EDTL) project hired more than 25 student associate interns to work with project staff in each of the seven IUA universities (Dublin City Univers ...
Based on data collected in 2021 by the International Association of Universities (IAU), Michael Gaebel and Henriette Stoeber reflect on the impact of the pandemic on European higher education. ...
As the war in Ukraine continues, the results of this survey of EUA’s collective members provides an overview of various national level approaches to support Ukrainian students and academics, as well ...
The process to renew the European Research Area (ERA) is gathering pace and is set to continue in the coming weeks, months and years. Building on previous policy positions, this policy input further e ...
EUA, All European Academies (ALLEA) and Science Europe have issued a joint statement on the urgent need to back commitments to academic freedom and university autonomy with solid actions. ...
EUA Strategic Plan The need for strong universities has never been greater in addressing societal challenges. The Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, resource scarcity, ageing populations, migration a ...
EU Commissioner Mariya Gabriel, during the European Research and Innovation Days in September 2020, stated that excellence and inclusiveness are two sides of the same coin in the new European Research ...
The present study aims at providing an overview of the tracking initiatives of students and graduates in Europe. As a first study of this kind, its aim was to map the state of play, and provide f ...
The Glasgow Convention provided the opportunity for over 600 EUA members and partners from over 40 countries to come together and take stock of progress made so far in developing the European Higher E ...
The Turin conference, co-organised with the Association of Commonwealth Universities and co-hosted with the University of Turin on the occasion of its 600th anniversary, was the second in a series of ...
The comparative, cross-country study reviews the links between integration and higher education policies. It documents the conditions and circumstances for access, retention and completion of higher e ...
Granting refuge and academic freedom to scholars and students, who had to flee persecution and wars in their home countries and regions, is an eminent function of universities. Over the past decades, ...
Higher education institutions are key actors in the transition towards carbon neutrality and sustainable societies, as well as in reaching the objectives of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda and the E ...
The inclusion and integration of migrants is an important social and economic investment, and education and training can play a key role in it. Since 2015, higher education institutions have welcomed ...
Scholars in many parts of the world are experiencing threats to their careers, liberty, and even their lives. Many of these at-risk researchers have to leave their countries in order to find refuge, s ...
The Scorecard 2023 provides a full comparative analysis of the state of play of university autonomy in 35 higher education systems in Europe. With findings across four dimensions of university autono ...
The European University Association (EUA) presents a set of recommendations on sustaining Ukrainian universities and enabling them to continue their research and teaching activities. ...
The European University Association and Civil Society Europe, a network of EU-level stakeholder organisations, have today published a joint letter addressing worrying and potentially counterproductive ...
International Women’s Day provides an opportunity to reflect on the gender disparities in university leadership. This article, presenting the latest data and trends in female leadership in EUA membe ...
EUA is embarking on an initiative to develop a vision for Europe’s universities in 2030. This vision by the sector for the sector will serve as inspiration for EUA members, as well as for policy mak ...
VLIR's Mind the GAP is an online training tool for researchers on Good Academic Research Practices (GAP). ...
With a briefing published in December 2023, the Inspireurope+ project consortium recommends the establishment of national fellowship schemes across Europe and beyond to support researchers at risk. EU ...
The European elections will take place this year between 6 and 9 of June. On this occasion, the Youth Outreach Unit of the European Parliament is reaching out to European universities hoping that they ...
The European University Association has urged the European Commission to be mindful of not letting the notion of protection stand in the way of dialogue between a multitude of actors, both within Euro ...
EUA has launched a survey to capture the experience of the European higher education sector with the Erasmus+ programme 2021-27. The results will notably feed into the Association’s contribution to ...
The European University Association (EUA) has joined the “Improving Research Ethics Expertise and Competencies to Ensure Reliability and Trust in Science” (iRECS) project. ...
For over two years, Patrick Zaki, a student at the University of Bologna and human rights defender, has been detained and awaiting trial for publishing an article that refers to discrimination against ...
The EuroScience Open Forum 2022 (ESOF2022) will take place from 13 to 16 July 2022 in Leiden, the Netherlands. Several EUA colleagues will organise and contribute to various sessions during the confer ...
EUA and other associations representing European universities, research performing organisations, research funding organisations, research libraries, and repositories in Europe have released a joint s ...
In view of the situation in Ukraine, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany is allowing Ukrainian researchers to be nominated until 18 March 2022 in the current call for applications of the ...
The 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 ...
The Norwegian section of Scholars at Risk organises the event “Ten Years of Protecting Academic Freedom - What will the Future Bring?” to celebrate their 10th anniversary. The event will take plac ...
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation opened the applications period for the 10th call of the Philipp Schwartz Initiative. ...
Scholars 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 ...
The 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. ...
Ghent University’s Research Department organises a MSCA Master Class for incoming postdocs on 20 – 21 May 2021. Applications are open until 19 April. ...
The European University Alliance E³UDRES² (Engaged and Entrepreneurial European University as Driver for European Smart and Sustainable Regions) calls for scientific contributions, relevant concepts ...
In Turkey, the practice of appointments of university rectors by the President of the Republic is generating a new wave of criticism. The recent nomination of a new rector at Bogaziçi University in I ...
The School of Human Rights in Turkey, an EU-funded project that started during the state of emergency in Turkey, organises the International Online Conference of Academic Freedom as a Human Right on 1 ...
EUA partner Scholars at Risk (SAR) organises “Free to Think 2020: Responding to Attacks on Higher Education” on 19 – 20 November 2020. ...
The Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (NOKUT) organises the final dissemination seminar of the Erasmus+ Refugees and Recognition – Toolkit 2 (REACT) project on 17 January 2020 in B ...
The Erasmus+ Refugee Education Initiatives (REIs) consortium has launched a call for papers for a workshop on “Exploring European Experiences in Providing Higher Education for Refugees and Asylum Se ...
The Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (NOKUT) organises a webinar on 19 November from 12:00 to 14:00 to present the results of the testing performed at higher education institutions ...
The conference “Faces of war” is an event that has been organised by EUA member University of Łódź, Institute of History, since 2017 and is attended by over a hundred participants every year. T ...
Following the recent news of further infringements on university autonomy and academic freedom reflected in two decrees (675 and 676) published in the Turkish Official Journal on 29 October 2016, the ...
The Media & Learning Association’s 10th annual conference is back in Leuven, Belgium on 20-21 June 2023. ...
The Directorate General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (DG EAC) of the European Commission is currently conducting a consultation on the feasibility of developing a European framework for att ...
The “Open Science – From Policy to Practice” conference will take place in Stockholm on 16-17 May and will highlight different perspectives of shaping, implementing and embedding Open Science. ...
The European University Association is pleased to announce that the Association’s Council has endorsed three candidates for the position of EUA President for the period 2023-2027: ...
The EUA Council for Doctoral Education is inviting applications from member universities to host below events in 2024 and 2025. We are looking for EUA-CDE member universities to help us continue to ma ...
The first female Presidents from six Irish Universities will gather together in conversation to celebrate International Women's Day 2023. ...
EUA members Coventry University and Aarhus University, and the Council of Europe are launching a fully funded cotutelle doctoral research programme focusing on the role of universities in creating a d ...
EUA along with more than 50 higher education networks, associations and organisations has joined Scholars At Risk to urge European governments and EU institutions to take immediate action to secure th ...
The European University Association (EUA), the European Students’ Union (ESU) and Scholars at Risk (SAR) join together to condemn the criminalisation of students and academics in Belarus. They call ...
International Women’s Day, celebrated on 8 March, is an opportunity that EUA has been seizing every year to further raise awareness on gender disparities in universities. In 2021, again, the Associa ...
On 14 February, Frédérique Vidal, French Minister for Higher Education, Research and Innovation, announced plans to order the French research agency (CNRS) to conduct an enquiry into French universi ...
Last week, the EUA Council for Doctoral Education has released a new publication entitled “Building the Foundations of Research - a Vision for the Future of Doctoral Education in Europe” that iden ...
EUA-CDE has published a new report on the findings of the 2020 Thematic Peer Group on “Co-tutelles and Joint Doctorates”. The report outlines the conclusions of this second EUA-CDE Thematic Peer ...
20 January 2016 The European University Association (EUA) would like to express its concern for the academics in Turkey being investigated for expressing their views, under the petition “We Will no ...
What would it actually mean if ‘Brussels’ had more of a say on education policy? EUA’s Anna-Lena Claeys-Kulik weighs in on the resurging debate on whether the EU has the power it needs to foster ...
To achieve lasting impact and shape the future in a positive direction, foresight must go hand-in-hand with strategic decision-making. In Research Europe, EUA’s Policy Coordination and Foresight tea ...
Reflecting on progress made in the enhancement of quality, transparency and mobility over the past two decades, early findings from the QA-FIT project provide some noteworthy insights into the sector ...
EUA President Rolf Tarrach outlines what the future of Europe could look like from the Universities perspective.Europe’s universities want to do much more together. This is the essence of a discussi ...
With the academic year now in full swing, and most university rankings published – the latest being the US News and World Report’s 2019 Best Global Universities ranking on 30 October – higher ed ...
By Tia Loukkola, Director of Institutional Development and senior quality assurance expert at the European University Association. In Europe, quality assurance has made major strides since the beginn ...
New approaches to quality assurance in different regions of the world are contributing to a global dimension in the field. EUA’s Tia Loukkola takes note of frameworks in Africa, Asia and Europe, exa ...
Research-based education is happening in Europe, but there are clear challenges with how it is defined and understood. Bjørn Stensaker from the University of Oslo breaks down the topic and makes some ...
While more women are making their way to the highest levels of academic leadership in Europe, the numbers are still shaky and many obstacles remain in their way. Martine Rahier and Lidia Borrell Damia ...
Quality assurance and the enhancement of learning and teaching are no longer exclusively the responsibility of those with the explicit responsibilities attached to their job titles. As EUA’s Tia Lou ...
As the results of the EU elections become clearer, EUA’s Thomas Jorgensen discusses the major changes in store and how universities could be impacted.The dust is still settling after the European Pa ...
External quality assurance reports are publicly available, demonstrating transparency and building trust and confidence in the quality of higher education. As EQAR’s Colin Tück explains, a new data ...
Reports produced by quality assurance agencies can be used in many ways, including in policy-making. As EUA’s Tia Loukkola explains, there is much room for bettering the accessibility and use of inf ...
How can universities use the renewed attention to values to their advantage? A key step is to move from a negative discussion to a positive one. EUA’s Monika Steinel tells us how.Institutional auton ...
How can universities frame their internal quality assurance and shake up the image of the bureaucratic burden? EUA’s Tia Loukkola gives us three approaches and tells us why the most effective proces ...
Universities are based on and guided by values. It is vital that each institution declares them as principles of good practice and puts in place strategies to embrace and practice them. Francesco Uber ...
Jón Atli Benediktsson, Rector of the University of Iceland, reflects on the future and why universities must protect their core values, while being open to re-evaluating all aspects of their work. Th ...
Will quality assurance as we know it remain relevant amid the changing higher education landscape? What changes are needed? EUA’s Tia Loukkola gives an overview of the diverse questions to be addres ...
The quality of student assessment is one of the major concerns in Europe’s universities. Emmanuel Sylvestre from the University of Lausanne in Switzerland discusses the issues related to student ass ...
Cross-border quality assurance has been slow in the making over the past two decades. However, as EUA’s Tia Loukkola explains, a new political context in Europe and the launch of new networks and co ...
A new year brings new opportunities to address global challenges. EUA President Michael Murphy addresses university leaders and the crucial role of higher education in discovering solutions to urgent ...
The Erasmus+ Programme prescribes affirmative action in favour of disadvantaged students. Unfortunately, it works much less effectively than the European Commission intends. Howard Davies discusses a ...
Research assessment practices are becoming more accurate, transparent and responsible. This is partly due to the sharp increase in external evaluations of universities that lead to internal evaluation ...
What would be the most effective way forward for universities to promote social dimension in their respective contexts? EUA expert Tia Loukkola discusses the role that quality assurance can play and i ...
As universities across Europe move to online learning and teaching amid the coronavirus crisis, questions might arise about what steps may be needed to ensure quality. EUA expert Tia Loukkola explains ...
In this in-depth analysis of the lessons presented by the Covid-19 crisis for universities, EUA President Michael Murphy delves into the question of what universities might do differently now to grow ...
In recent years, a series of new international university rankings have come into the spotlight. Their focus differs from those of more established, comprehensive rankings in that they aim to highligh ...
The Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) have led to major developments, however there are now proposals for revisions. EUA expert Tia Loukkola lo ...
As reflected by the European Green Deal, the environmental revolution is likely the main challenge of the 21st century. And it is a great opportunity for Europe to take the lead. But, according to Kar ...
Fair recognition in the European Higher Education Area can only be fully achieved if practices in higher education institutions are more systematically addressed. As Jenneke Lokhoff at Nuffic points o ...
The important upsurge in statements of support for academic freedom at the intergovernmental level in Europe points to the urgent need for meaningful implementation. Civil society and higher education ...
We enter into a New Year, a world more enriched and more impoverished than just 12 months ago. We have endured great loss of life, a heavy burden of illness and deep economic shock. Yet, lessons from ...
The Covid-19 pandemic presents new challenges for inclusive teaching. This article shares the experience of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Italy and discusses how to act towards inclusi ...
Gathering feedback is a key element in internal quality assurance. However, “closing the feedback loop” requires acting on the data gathered and informing respondents about the subsequent actions ...
The messages from science are clear: The coming decade will be crucial in combating the climate crisis. Clearly, universities have a key role to play in addressing the challenges. Göran Finnveden and ...
Sustainability is an important issue for universities. At Trinity College Dublin, the current strategic plan articulates sustainability as a priority supported by two goals: alignment to the UN Sustai ...
A new EUA study reveals that higher education institutions in Europe are highly engaged in activities that address environmental challenges and the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals ...
External quality assurance across the European Higher Education Area is highly diverse. EQAR’s Melinda Szabo maps the situation through the rich datasets of the Database of External Quality Assuranc ...
The European University Association’s Institutional Evaluation Programme (IEP) has outstanding experience in conducting institutional evaluations. Here, our quality assurance experts Elena Cirlan an ...
As places of teaching and learning, how can universities tangibly create a culture of togetherness and well-being? Here, Jochen Schellinger explains Bern University of Applied Sciences’ efforts to d ...
Can, and should, quality assurance play a greater role in ensuring that common academic values are respected? EUA’s Maria Kelo examines recent debates on the scope of QA in higher education. Qualit ...
Wladimir Mufty reflects on his organisation’s work to explore a higher education and research social media platform based on public values, and offers some mastodo’s and mastodon’ts. Social med ...
For Elizabeth Gadd, it is time for the higher education sector to think carefully about the effects of global university rankings. To explain why, she responds to three simple questions. The perverse ...
As part of the EU’s response to the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine, MSCA4Ukraine provides support to displaced researchers from Ukraine. Funded by the European Commission under the Marie ...
The Inspireurope+ project works to coordinate and strengthen support in Europe for researchers at risk. It runs from September 2022 to August 2025, building on the work undertaken by the previous Insp ...
The research ethics process is facing increasing challenges posed by new technologies and social developments. The “Improving Research Ethics Expertise and Competencies to Ensure Reliability and Tru ...
UNI(di)VERSITY builds upon the results of the inHERE project focused on supporting EU HEIs’ efforts to welcome refugee students and staff. The project broadens the scope of intervention in two ways: ...
InSPIREurope is a Europe-wide initiative to support researchers who are at risk due to discrimination, persecution, suffering or violence. Funded under the European Commission’s Marie Skłodowska-Cu ...
Throughout Europe, higher education institutions are supporting refugees, as showcased by EUA’s Refugees Welcome Map. Data collected in this inventory of initiatives has been the basis for inHERE: H ...
The TandEM project (Towards Empowered Migrant Youth in Southern Europe), led by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in partnership with EUA and COREIS Italiana, aims to improve higher e ...
An inventory of higher education supporting refugees. ...
Europe is an important safe haven for at-risk academics and students. Providing them with support and enabling them to continue their careers is supporting an integral part of European universities’ ...
Equity, diversity and inclusion and belonging (EDIB) are important priorities for universities and are also reflected in their broader contribution to society. At many institutions, EDIB has become f ...
The European Research Area (ERA) reflects the European Commission and EU member states’ ambition to create a single, borderless market for research, innovation and technology across the EU. It was f ...
European support to the Ukrainian higher education community SSince the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation on 24 February 2022, the European higher education and research community has con ...
The Bologna Process is an intergovernmental higher education reform process launched in 1999 that includes 48 European countries and a number of European organisations, including EUA. It is dedicated ...
At the meeting point between higher education and research and in support of early career researchers, doctoral education plays a key role in addressing the key challenges that research currently face ...