Students meet in Coimbra to look into the future of higher education and university collaboration in Europe

Around 70 European students gathered in Coimbra from 8-10 December to participate in the inaugural 'Conference of Student Representatives of European Universities Alliances'.

Co-organised by the University of Coimbra (UC), the Academic Federation for Information and External Representation (FAIRe), the European Students' Union (ESU), the Coimbra Municipal Council (CMC), and the Academic Association of Coimbra (AAC), the event aimed to spark reflection on the future of university alliances and higher education in Europe, through the valuable insights of the student community.

Student representatives from 37 European Universities Alliances gathered in Coimbra for three days to discuss key issues, which included social dimension, mobility, quality of teaching, and funding.

The conference was held at the São Francisco Convent and Colégio da Trindade, with the participation of Pedro Nuno Teixeira, Portugal's Secretary of State for Higher Education; Amílcar Falcão, Rector of the University of Coimbra; João Nuno Calvão da Silva, UC Vice-Rector for External Relations and Alumni; the Mayor of Coimbra, José Manuel Silva, and the President of the General Board of AAC, João Caseiro.

In addition to the 70 students and the sponsoring organisations, there were several entities present, including the Erasmus+ National Agency, the Erasmus Student Network, the Coimbra Group, the European Campus of City-Universities (EC2U) Alliance (represented by the local coordination), the European University Foundation, and the Forum of European Universities 2 - FOREU2.

The European Commission was represented at the conference by Vanessa Debiais-Sainton, Head of the Unit in charge of Higher Education policies and programme at the EC Directorate General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture.

Lisa Schivalocchi, an EC2U student representative, says, "The conference in Coimbra was an important step in bringing together student representatives from different university alliances and promoting the exchange of experiences and good practices, and I feel I learned a lot, especially as a student representative in EC2U."

"I'm going back to my university with a wealth of ideas and inspiration from the Coimbra conference," says Léo-Onam Otiene, student representative of the University of La Rochelle and EU-Conexus, adding that "it was an incredibly enriching experience".

According to Heloise Zilotti, vice student representative of the European Campus of City-Universities (EC2U) Alliance, "The conference was a dynamic platform for sharing valuable insights on mobility programmes and student involvement in the decision-making process of alliances. It was not only a networking opportunity, but also a catalyst for collaborative thinking and knowledge sharing”.

Funded by the European Commission, the European Universities Alliances initiative promotes cross-border alliances between higher education institutions in Europe to expand opportunities for students, researchers, teaching and technical staff and society at large, with a range of organisations, including communities and hospitals, acting as strategic partners for these higher education institutions.