ENGAGE.EU Bergen Meeting: Future plans and perspectives of the European University
From 30 May to 1 June 2023, 75 engaged participants from all 9 partner universities attended the working sessions.
The aim of the meeting was to further elaborate the future development, especially the strategic direction of our European University. In the plenary session of the first day, the participants were welcomed by Øystein Thøgersen, rector of the host university NHH, and Prof. Dr. Thomas Puhl, president of the coordinating University of Mannheim. Together with the chairman of the Board of Learners, Sandro Mochan, and the co-chair Tessa Chambon, they gave an outlook on the future opportunities for learners within the Alliance.
Besides the many goals ENGAGE.EU has already implemented in this area, including the Online Exchange Initiative, Summer Schools and Expedition Weeks, they also pointed out areas for improvement: For example, we need to continue working on ensuring that courses are also recognised by all home institutions so that students can participate smoothly in educational programmes. Furthermore, it was discussed how we can also finance student mobility in the long term.
Afterwards, Prof. Dr. Thomas Fetzer outlined the most important perspectives for ENGAGE.EU in the second phase of the European Higher Education Initiative. In his words: “This is not a project anymore – It is so much more. We are now a union of institutions, and this is the European idea”.
Additionally, there was an insightful keynote speech on “Research on Fairness, Inequality and Rationality” by Alexander W. Cappelen, Professor at FAIR – Centre for Experimental Research on Fairness, Inequality and Rationality, and a report by Mari Larsen Sæther, Business Developer, on sustainability.
Participants then took part in working sessions on learning and teaching, research, outreach and management. The programme included sessions and workshops where participants analysed the potential of the Alliance to contribute to solving societal challenges. The strategic orientation of ENGAGE.EU was the topic of the session “From mission statement to mission accomplished”, which was moderated by the rectors. A key question was: How can we achieve sustainable impact in our institutions, in our local networks and beyond? To this end, Prof. Dr. Thomas Puhl also led small group discussions with representatives of various universities and working groups.
The meeting was a successful opportunity to discuss the future of ENGAGE.EU and the necessary strategic elements with stakeholders from the Governing Board, the Board of Learners as well as the different working groups.