Joining the European University Association

“The European University Association is a strong alliance of the most renowned higher education institutions in Europe,” says Professor Dr. Thomas Fetzer, Vice-President for Strategic Planning, Internationalization and Equal Opportunity at the University of Mannheim. “We are in good company and can foster the exchange with other universities but we also hope to be better able to contribute Mannheim’s perspective and expertise to promising topics at a European level.”

The alliance’s focus areas and the goals of the University of Mannheim, for example in the field of digitalization and sustainability, overlap to a large extent. The membership is an addition to the university’s commitment in international networks, which already include the European University ENGAGE.EU and the U7+ university alliance.

The EUA is an alliance of universities and national conferences of university presidents and rectors. It was founded in 2001 and has more than 870 members from 49 European countries. The alliance’s main goal is to contribute the higher education institutions’ expertise to EU policies in higher education, research, and innovation. The alliance collaborates with numerous European and international organizations. The European Commission, for example, consults the EUA on (science) policy issues, such as the development of its research framework programs.

The EUA develops its positions on topics like student affairs and teaching, Open Science, the education of doctoral students as well as digital transformation in eleven working groups and steering committees. A key interest of the EUA is also achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. The alliance supports its members in reaching the goals and is a member of SDG Watch Europe, an alliance that holds European governments accountable for implementing measures to achieve the 17 goals.

Text: Dr. Maartje Koschorreck / August 2024