4EU+ For a Sustainable Alliance

Questions of institutional and ecological sustainability will be on the agenda of the annual meeting of the 4EU+ European University Alliance, to be hosted by the University of Copenhagen in Denmark at the end of October. Representatives of the seven partner universities – besides Copenhagen these are Prague, Heidelberg, Sorbonne in Paris, Geneva, Milan and Warsaw – will come together to discuss the long-term securing of the alliance and sharpening its profile in the field of sustainable development. The annual meeting, under the heading “Sustainability – an ever closer alliance”, is taking place from 26 to 28 October 2022.

Besides meetings of the governing board, vice-rectors and vice-presidents for research and teaching, and of various bodies, working groups and flagships of the alliance, there will also be general presentations and panel discussions. These will focus, in particular, on sustainability topics in the context of European climate policy, and also on sustainable mobility offerings or transfer-oriented teaching. The rectors and presidents of the partner universities will exchange ideas about sustainability in the alliance in a panel discussion, followed by a question-and-answer session. Jesper Petersen, the Danish Minister for Higher Education and Science, will give a keynote address on the value of European cooperation in research and teaching.

As the chair of the 4EU+ governing board, Prof. Dr Bernhard Eitel, Rector of Heidelberg University, will report on the successes of the alliance in the past year. That includes approving the follow-up application for funding, “One Comprehensive European Research University” (1CORE), in the context of the European Universities Erasmus+ call and broadening the alliance by admitting the University of Geneva (Switzerland), which has been part of the pan-European group since August. Subsequently Prof. Eitel will hand the chair to Prof. Dr Henrik Wegener, Rector of the University of Copenhagen, who will likewise assume this office for one year. Isabelle Kratz, 4EU+ General Secretary, will reflect on the first funding period and outline the next steps in the continuing development of the alliance in the framework of 1CORE.

The 4EU+ European University Alliance brings together the seven universities of Prague, Heidelberg, Sorbonne in Paris, Copenhagen, Geneva, Milan and Warsaw. The group is one of the university alliances funded in the context of the European Universities Erasmus+ call. After the 4EU+ alliance was successful in the pilot call, the European Union in July 2022 approved funding for another four years. By supporting strategic higher education partnerships and building up an integrated university system, the European Commission pursues the goal of clustering research, teaching and innovation in Europe in new structures, and thereby modernising and strengthening the European Education Area.