Europe’s University Alliances Take Centre StagE
The European Association for International Education (EAIE) annual conference has long been a landmark event in the international higher education calendar. But something has shifted in recent years. When EUTOPIA joins the 35 European University Alliances that decided to be present —together—at EAIE this September. EAIE will be part of something larger than a networking moment. Together, these alliances have turned what was already an important forum into an international showcase where the universities from across the world come to understand what is genuinely changing in European higher education. And EAIE has become the moment in the year when the European Universities Initiative is on full display. Collaborative by design, transdisciplinary in ambition, and increasingly central to how Europe thinks about research, teaching, and student mobility, alliances represent a new paradigm for the university of the future.
For EUTOPIA, Glasgow is also a moment of the alliance — in every sense. All ten partner universities will be present, sharing a common space and a common message: that the sum is greater than its parts, and that what EUTOPIA is building together matters beyond its own campuses.
Several sessions are worth noting. Our partner universities will be present on the following:
- On 9 September, a poster presentation (09:00–10:30, Poster Area 01, SEC Centre) reflects on nearly fifteen years of the Monash-Warwick Alliance, offering a candid account of what sustains structured bilateral cooperation over the long term.
- On 10 September, two sessions run in parallel during the 15:30 slot:
- one led by colleagues from Vrije Universiteit Brussel, the University of the Western Cape, and the International University of Rabat challenges North–South asymmetries in favour of equitable co-creation;
- the other (Room M1, extending to 17:00) examines strategic partnerships between European institutions and counterparts from other continents, foregrounding the perspectives of non-European actors, with the participation of Sara López Selga (Pompeu Fabra University-Barcelona)
Whether you are a researcher, an international relations professional, or a university leader attending EAIE this year, come find us at our booth F73. The conversation about the future of European higher education is happening and it’s worth joining.
