With the participation of representatives from 18 universities and institutes, the 2nd Meeting of Portuguese Higher Education Institutions in Alliances of European Universities had as its main agenda the definition of the creation of a Forum of Higher Education Institutions. The aim is to promote a common response to the various challenges they face in the context of the European University Alliances to which they belong.
This forum will be the space to discuss fundamental issues such as funding and mobility in the alliances, as well as a place to share good practices and to enable a common response to the various institutional challenges.
The forum will also seek to establish itself as a privileged interlocutor for HEIs that are part of European alliances with the government, as well as with Portuguese entities involved in the coordination of higher education. In this initial phase, the Forum will be managed under the tripartite responsibility of the University of Minho, the University of Beira Interior and the Instituto Politécnico do Cávado e Ave.
European University Alliances are a flagship initiative of the European University Strategy and the European Commission's ambition is to expand this initiative to 60 European University Alliances involving more than 500 higher education institutions by mid-2024.
It is worth remembering that the European Commission has high expectations of these transnational alliances as models that will pave the way for the universities of the future, promoting European values and identity, as well as revolutionising the quality and competitiveness of European higher education (HE).
At the moment, Portugal is a country with a strong representation in alliances, with 18 institutions involved in alliances with European universities - in the case of NOVA, since September 2021 it has been part of the EUTOPIA alliance.
The event was chaired by the institutional coordinator of the Arqus alliance at the University of Minho and pro-rector for student affairs and pedagogical innovation, Manuel João Costa, with the participation of the director of the Erasmus+ National Agency for Education and Training, Cristina Perdigão, and the coordinator for higher education, Carla Ruivo.
