News
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13 Feb 2019Copyright Directive: EUA position ahead of a final agreement
The European University Association (EUA) would like to draw attention to the impact the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market will have on European higher education and research. On behalf of universities and national rectors’ conferences in 48 European countries, the EUA Council in January 2019 adopted the EUA position ahead of a final agreement on the Copyright Directive with a view to establish an appropriate framework for education and research.
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08 Feb 2019EUA issues detailed response to Plan S amid milestones in Open Access
EUA has presented a comprehensive response to the “Plan S” consultation launched by Science Europe. Plan S is an initiative for Open Access publishing launched in 2018 by an international group of research funders (Coalition S). EUA has a special interest in Plan S as it complements the Association’s efforts on Open Access to scholarly publications.
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07 Feb 2019EUA releases preview of 2nd Big Deals survey report
EUA has published a preview of the results of the latest edition of its Big Deals survey. The large-scale initiative covers 31 consortia in Europe, representing universities and other organisations, responsible for the negotiation of Big Deal contracts with publishers.
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31 Jan 2019European Commission announces solution for Erasmus students threatened by Brexit
On 30 January 2019, the European Commission proposed that Erasmus+ students currently in the UK be allowed to continue their studies after the Brexit deadline. This would also be the case for UK Erasmus+ students on exchange. The proposal regarding UK students holds the condition that the UK honour its financial commitments for the current Multiannual Financial Framework.
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17 Jan 2019Latest developments in EUA learning and teaching activities
The outcomes of the meetings of two of EUA’s 2018 Learning & Teaching Thematic Peer Groups are now published as part of EUA’s newly launched series of Learning & Teaching papers.
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17 Jan 2019EUA outlines path towards greater autonomy for Kazakh universities
EUA mobilised its expertise in university governance and autonomy to assist Kazakh universities in assessing their current regulatory framework and in pointing to opportunities to enhance autonomy in the sector.
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10 Jan 2019Towards a more efficient use of resources in Horizon Europe: where do we stand?
The year 2018 has been particularly intense for the European research and innovation community. Since the release of the Commission proposal establishing the next EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation - Horizon Europe, several milestones have been reached in the legislative procedure heading to the forecasted programme launch in 2021.
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10 Jan 2019IEP publishes the Montenegro system review report
EUA’s Institutional Evaluation Programme (IEP) evaluated nine Montenegrin higher education institutions in 2018. Based on the individual evaluation reports, IEP published in December a system review report, which examines common issues and challenges amongst the nine institutions and proposes recommendations to the institutions and national authorities.
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09 Jan 20192019: A crucial year for Europe and universities
In 2019, the EU will welcome a new leadership, face the final chapter of Brexit and set the rules for its new research and education programmes. At the same time, new technologies, larger and more diverse student populations, constraints on academic freedom and new ways to learn and teach will have a strong impact on the longer-term opportunities and challenges at Europe’s universities.
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07 Jan 2019Now published: African Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance of Higher Education
The European Union and African Union Commissions have announced the publication of the African Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance (ASG-QA), under the Harmonisation of African Higher Education Quality Assurance and Accreditation (HAQAA) Initiative. EUA has been pleased to be part of the consortium in charge of implementing the Initiative together with the University of Barcelona (Coordinator), the Association of African Universities (AAU), the European Network for Quality Assurance (ENQA) and the DAAD.
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20 Dec 2018Artificial intelligence: European Commission seeks feedback on draft ethics guidelines
The European Commission published the first draft of its ethics guidelines for the development and use of artificial intelligence.
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14 Dec 2018IAU 2018 International Conference: Higher education partnerships for societal impact
The International Association of Universities (IAU) recently held its annual conference in Kuala Lumpur with a focus on partnerships for societal impact. Some 300 delegates were present from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe and from Brazil to Uganda. The European contingent notably included a strong delegation of Spanish academic leaders, as well as several rectors from Albania, Ireland, Italy and Romania.
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13 Dec 2018Towards Horizon Europe: EU Council and Parliament approve positions
EUA welcomes the positions on Horizon Europe adopted by the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament.
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13 Dec 20182018 Learning & Teaching Thematic Groups finalising their work
During 2018, four Learning & Teaching Thematic Peer Groups, made up of participants from 38 universities, have worked on active learning, evaluation of learning and teaching, university teachers’ career paths, and continuous development of teaching competences, respectively. These meetings provided the participating universities with a unique opportunity for peer-exchange on current practices and approaches to meet challenges identified by the groups.
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13 Dec 2018EUA contributes to discussions on academic freedom at the European Parliament
On 28 November, EUA Secretary General Lesley Wilson participated in a roundtable discussion on the theme “Ideas are not Crimes: Defending Academic Freedom & Protecting Scholars”, hosted by MEP Wajid Khan from the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) in the European Parliament. Panellists, who also included EP Vice-President Mairead McGuinness (EPP), highlighted the numerous challenges to academic freedom and university autonomy in Europe and beyond and stressed the need to raise the profile of academic freedom in EU policies in general and the Union’s external actions in particular.
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13 Dec 2018
EQAF 2018 – A debate on the scope of QAThe annual European Quality Assurance Forum (EQAF), co-organised by ENQA, ESU, EUA and EURASHE since 2006, once more brought together major stakeholders in quality assurance on 15-17 November at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, and welcomed around 500 participants from 49 countries.
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13 Dec 2018A strategic approach to change for university leaders
During the course of this year EUA has been focusing on the capacity of university leaders to initiate and carry out strategic transformation programmes in a series of activities.
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13 Dec 2018Global climate negotiations at COP24: we need to act now
The 24th United Nations climate change conference (COP24) took place from 3 to 14 December in Katowice, Poland. It focused on the implementation of the Paris Agreement (2016) and on advancing the Talanoa dialogue, initiated by the Fijian presidency of COP23 in 2017. The urgent need to act at a global level was also powerfully stressed in the recent special report (October 2018) on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
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29 Nov 2018Statement by the European University Association (EUA) on the detention of Xiyue Wang in Iran
The European University Association (EUA) is gravely concerned about the arbitrary and unjust imprisonment in Iran of Princeton University graduate student Xiyue Wang, now in its third year. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded that Iran had no legal basis for his arrest and detention and called for Mr. Wang’s immediate release. EUA, which represents more than 800 universities and national university associations in 48 European countries, joins in appealing to the Iranian authorities to free him without delay.
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15 Nov 2018The future of innovation ecosystems: smart specialisation workshop highlights the leading role of universities
The next six months are an important period for policy makers, the university sector and many other stakeholders engaged in Research and Innovation Smart Specialisation Strategies (RIS3). With the ongoing preparations for the EU’s 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework, the European Workshop on Smart Specialisation (RIS3), entitled “Universities as Regional Lead Institutions”, took place on 13 November 2018. It provided an opportunity to take stock of past achievements and identify emerging priorities for building successful European innovation ecosystems in the post-2020 period.
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