EC2U Alliance launches new 6-year phase to promote European mobility and cooperation in several areas

^{Translation: Diana Taborda}

The University of Coimbra participated in the 7th Forum of the EC2U Alliance - European Campus of City-Universities, held in Poitiers (France) from the 16th to the 19th of October, with the theme "Moving Forward Together".

Attended by more than 300 participants from the European higher education communities that make up the consortium, as well as representatives of the associated partners, the meeting focused on reflecting on and celebrating a successful three-year pilot phase, as well as launching a new six-year phase that begins on the 1st of November.

The so-called consolidation phase of the alliance saw another university - Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Austria - join the current seven EC2U members: University of Coimbra, University of Poitiers, Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany), Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi (Romania), University of Salamanca (Spain), University of Pavia (Italy) and University of Turku (Finland).

The Forum also welcomed new associated partners, the hospital and university centres of the eight cities, who were present in Poitiers at the invitation of the Poitiers Hospital and University Centre. These partnerships will help to strengthen cooperation between universities, cities, partner organisations and society as a whole. The Coimbra Hospital and University Centre was represented by Célia Cravo, Executive Member of the Board of Directors, and Tiago Alfaro, Director of the Innovation and Development Unit, who participated in a specific programme designed for hospitals.

Joana Loureiro, representing the Coimbra city council, a partner in the Alliance, was invited to present the contributions of the EC2U municipalities to the results achieved by the consortium, contextualising the importance of the network and its fundamental role in the transformative process that brings universities closer to the social and economic fabric, making local regions more capable of responding to the major challenges of contemporary societies.

In the Plenary Council, the largest body of the Alliance, in which the representatives of all the associated partners sit alongside the heads of the universities, the active participation of the student body of the University of Coimbra stood out, with interventions from the President of the General Directorate of the Academic Association of Coimbra, João Caseiro, the President of the Erasmus Student Network of Coimbra, Pedro Almeida, and the representative of the UC students at EC2U, Daniel Aragão.

The seventh edition of the EC2U Forum brought together students, teachers, researchers and technical staff representing the UC in the various working groups of the alliance, as part of the UC delegation led by the Vice-Rector for External Relations and Alumni, João Nuno Calvão da Silva, and the Vice-Rector for Research, João Ramalho-Santos. In the coming years, Coimbra will continue to coordinate the work package related to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, which led to the creation of the Alliance's first joint Master's degree. UC will now also share with the University of Iasi the coordination of the work package related to Quality Health (SDG 3).

In addition to the three existing Virtual Institutes based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals - the two mentioned above and the one related to Quality Education (SDG 4) - a new one will be created focused on SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.

Three representatives from the University of Coimbra took part in the round table session to present the results of the first three years of the Virtual Institutes: the coordinators Clara Keating (Virtual Institute for Quality Education) and Manuel Gameiro (Virtual Institute for Sustainable Cities and Communities), and Ricardo Almendra (Virtual Institute for Good Health and Well-being), the latter on behalf of the coordinator Ana Paula Santana.

In addition to the creation of the joint international Masters' Programmes and Virtual Institutes, which have increased mobility and cooperation, successful examples from the first phase include the “EC2U Student Week Coimbra”, held in May this year and attended by 108 students from the Alliance, referred to as "one of EC2U's most original and successful events", according to the Alliance's local coordinator in Coimbra, Filipe Rocha.

Vice-Rector João Nuno Calvão da Silva pointed out the historic moment for the Alliance, which is starting a new chapter after the last three years of the pilot phase, recognised as a great success by the European Commission. In his speech, he also highlighted the Alliance's continued support for Ukraine, with the presence at the Poitiers Forum of representatives (including the Rector) from the Ivan Franko University of Lviv, which has now joined EC2U as an Associate Partner, "strengthening the values and principles that unite us as leading European universities deeply committed to the UN SDGs, the rule of law and democracy".

With its focus on the future, the comprehensive programme of the Forum offered a broad spectrum of opportunities for all participants to intervene, numerous project meetings, and plenty of topics on the table.

Students were able to discuss issues of gender equality and inclusion and present the results of their reflections in the 'Voice of Students' session, which included photographs, performances and stand-up comedy.