The 2024 Annual Conference will take place from 2 to 4 July at the University of Minho, in Braga, Portugal. This year’s theme, “Connecting universities, addressing challenges”, aims to enhance dialogue and foster collaboration within the Arqus community but also with other Alliances and European higher education stakeholders to tackle the significant challenges impacting education, research and innovation, and societal engagement. Through the exchange of collective expertise and the cultivation of stronger integration and a shared identity, we aim to strengthen our resilience, adaptability and capacity to provide innovative solutions in an ever-changing global landscape marked by major challenges.
“The Arqus Annual Conference is an extraordinary opportunity to share our main challenges and find solutions together”, said Dorothy Kelly, Arqus Coordinator, “this major event is crucial in fostering dialogue and trust among our communities, and in strengthening our collaboration to promote increasingly innovative and impactful education and research. As this year’s main theme suggests, the Annual Conference is about coming together to address the big issues facing not only alliances and higher education, but our society as a whole. At Braga we will be joined by partners and colleagues from other alliances, giving the important message that the sustainability of the European Universities initiative largely depends on our unity”.
The conference is integrated as part of the University of Minho’s 50th-anniversary celebrations and aims to advance the Alliance’s education, research and societal engagement initiatives while strengthening the bonds between its member universities and fostering a fruitful dialogue with other European universities and higher education institutions. In addition, this major event will provide a platform for identifying synergies and innovative approaches to common challenges, supporting shared goals within the Arqus community.
“I am delighted to host this conference at the University of Minho, particularly as we celebrate our 50th anniversary. There’s no better way to commemorate this special occasion than by holding the most significant annual event of our Alliance”, said Rui Vieira de Castro, rector of the University of Minho.
The Conference will officially kick off on Tuesday, 2 July, with the Opening Session “Connecting universities, addressing challenges” at 09:00 GMT+1 in the auditorium A1 of the Gualtar campus. The opening will feature Fernando Alexandre, Portuguese Minister of Education, Science and Innovation, Dorothy Kelly, Arqus Coordinator, and Rui Vieira de Castro, Rector of the University of Minho.
Before the Conference, a Rectors’ Retreat in Guimarães will see the formal signing of the Arqus Governing Principles and Provisions, which came into force at the beginning of March 2024 following approval by all partner universities. Rectors or their representatives will gather for a day and a half to discuss major issues related to the strategic direction of the Alliance in the mid and long term.
The 2024 Arqus Annual Conference will include a mix of plenary sessions, parallel meetings and networking opportunities, fostering meaningful discussions and collaborations among participants, including university leadership, students and staff from all partner universities, as well as the Arqus International Advisory Board (IAB) members, colleagues from other Alliances and experts in different fields.
Plenary Sessions open to the public
The 2024 Arqus Annual Conference will offer several open plenary sessions that anyone can attend online. The three first sessions taking place on Tuesday, 2 July, will explore key topics regarding the current challenges in research assessment, education and societal engagement faced by European universities, and how these issues are being addressed within the Arqus Alliance. On Wednesday, 3 July, the last session will bring and discuss inspiring examples from other university alliances.
* Main sessions - 2nd of July: YouTube (7h16m)* Main sessions - 3rd of July: YouTube (3h14m)* Photos: Facebook, Facebook+Info: arqus-alliance.eu/news/2024-arqus-annual-conference,
arqus-alliance.eu/news/arqus-rectors-council-meeting-12-braga,
arqus-alliance.eu/news/2024-arqus-annual-conference-minho-kick-off,
www.nos.uminho.pt/Article.aspx?id=3708
