University Alliance Annual Meeting of 4EU+

18 October 2019

Representatives of the University Alliance to discuss work programmes and goals

The rectors and presidents of the six member institutions – the universities of Prague, Heidelberg, the Sorbonne in Paris, Warsaw, Copenhagen, and Milan – will gather in Paris on 21 and 22 October 2019 for the annual meeting of the 4EU+ European University Alliance. Other attendees of the two-day event include the Steering Committee, the vice-rectors and vice-presidents working in the fields of research, teaching, and international affairs, the representatives of the flagships, and members of the 4EU+ working groups. The purpose of Monday’s afternoon session is to inform the associated partners in particular. Live-streaming will begin at 2:30pm.

The 4EU+ European University Alliance, originally 4EU, was founded in March 2018 by the universities of Prague, Heidelberg, the Sorbonne in Paris and Warsaw. With the addition of Copenhagen and Milan in October of last year, the Alliance expanded to become 4EU+. Since June 2019, this transnational alliance of six strong research universities has belonged to the 17 university alliances supported by the “European Universities” Erasmus+ pilot programme. The successful alliances receive financial resources to implement the “European Universities” project. With the support of strategic university partnerships within the framework of Erasmus+, the goal is to create new structures by bundling research and teaching in Europe, thereby strengthening the European educational area.

During the annual meeting in Paris, in addition to reviewing the Alliance’s previous work, attendees will also discuss its overarching goals, as well as the development of joint research activities, for which four areas were defined. These so-called flagships address health and demographic change in an urban environment, Europe in a changing world, transforming science and society through new information and communications technologies, and issues of biodiversity and sustainable development. The five working groups of 4EU+ are focussed on the key topics of education, students, mobility, communications, and support.

The address of the livestream will be published here.