News
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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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08 Nov 2018Horizon Europe: University associations call for research excellence and cooperation to prevail
EUA joined more than a dozen other European associations representing universities to stress that the next Framework Programme for Research & Innovation, Horizon Europe, must deliver on its aim to bring scientific, economic and social impact, as well as strengthen the scientific and technological basis of the Union, and foster its competitiveness.
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07 Nov 2018Preparing for a no-deal Brexit: A checklist for universities
EUA has published a short checklist for universities to prepare for a no-deal Brexit scenario. The negotiations were supposed to end in October, however a deal has not yet been reached.
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06 Nov 2018Scholarly publishing: EUA asks European Commission to investigate lack of competition
The EUA Council adopted a statement on 26 October 2018 expressing its concern about the lack of transparency and competition in the scholarly publishing business sector in Europe. The statement, addressed to the European Commission, asks for an investigation to clarify if competition rules guarantee fair competition market conditions.
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26 Oct 2018EUA denounces dismantling of university autonomy in Hungary
The European University Association (EUA) is dismayed by the latest developments in Hungary involving attacks on university autonomy and academic freedom. On 25 October 2018, the Central European University (CEU), a long-standing EUA member, announced that it will move a large part of its activities out of Hungary. In a statement, the university said that “incoming students for its US-accredited masters and doctoral programs will study at a new campus in Vienna beginning in the academic year 2019-20.”
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18 Oct 2018Learning and teaching: new support package for institutional strategies
Under the Erasmus+ project European Forum for Enhanced Collaboration in Teaching (EFFECT), EUA and 11 partners from 10 different countries have been exploring approaches for teaching enhancement and institutional strategies in learning and teaching.
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18 Oct 2018EUA Funding Forum underway in Barcelona
The 4th EUA Funding Forum is taking place at Ramon Llull University in Barcelona, Spain. Under the theme “Frameworks that empower, universities that deliver”, the event focuses on the capacity of universities to deliver on their missions in an efficient way.
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18 Oct 2018EUA launches University Efficiency Hub
EUA’s “University Efficiency Hub” is now online. Launched at the 4th EUA Funding Forum, the portal allows university practitioners and policy makers across Europe to share knowledge and hands-on experience in efficiency, effectiveness and value for money in the field of higher education. It provides information on national frameworks, as well as institutional good practices and a self-evaluation tool for universities to move forward in their strategies.
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11 Oct 2018Just published: Trends 2018 on learning and teaching in the European Higher Education Area
EUA is pleased to present “Trends 2018: Learning and teaching in the European Higher Education Area”. This flagship report gathers data from more than 300 higher education institutions in 48 European countries. Trends 2018 examines how learning and teaching at European higher education institutions evolves in the context of changing demands, technological and societal development and European- and national-level policies and reforms.
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20 Sep 2018University practitioners provide concrete recommendations for a simpler Horizon Europe
The road towards Horizon Europe reached a new milestone in September with discussions in the European Parliament on possible amendments to the Commission’s proposals (see the series of amendments put forward by EUA and 12 other university associations).
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20 Sep 2018inHERE final conference showcases continuous higher education support for refugees
The final conference of the inHERE project (Higher Education Supporting Refugees in Europe) held on 19 September 2018 in Brussels was not only an opportunity to present the outcomes of the project, but also offered a platform for exchange with other EU co-funded projects on the situation of refugees in higher education and research, as well as with international organisations and different Directorates General of the European Commission.
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13 Sep 2018EU Copyright Reform: European Parliament vote is a missed opportunity to bolster R&I
The European Parliament approved the European Copyright Directive on 12 September 2018, paving the way for the final round of negotiations. EUA has followed the issue closely since the European Commission first tabled the proposal in 2016. The Association regrets that the European Parliament did not enhance the Commission’s limited proposal for text and data mining (TDM) in Article 3 of the Directive. EUA also regrets the approval of Article 13 to filter and monitor user-generated content.
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