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Press Releases and Presidential Declarations

Press releases 2023
ECOTOPIA, a genuinely innovative and visionary initiative

ECOTOPIA is a collaborative action of seven EUTOPIA universities across Europe and its South African global partner that have come together to offer their Bachelor students an innovative and international education pathway in economics, management, finance, and business, focusing on sustainability.

At the beginning of 2023, their efforts finally paid off, and the team Ecotopia welcomed its first cohort of trainees! On top of their main degrees, these students will develop a set of skills going from sustainability enactment to teamwork in a European and international context. This semester, they will start with an introductory course on sustainability applied to business, management and economics by Prof. Lela Mélon (ESCI, Pompeu Fabra University-Barcelona), Prof. Dr Luciana Oranges Cezarino (University Ca'Foscari), and Ladeja Godina Kosir (Chair of European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform, Founder and CEO of Circular Change, Slovenia), before meeting for the first time for an intensive summer school in Ljubljana in July 2023.

This ECOTOPIA certification offers students an exciting academic adventure, with the opportunity to develop a unique set of aptitudes in sustainability, teamwork, and international collaboration. The program will provide students with an unparalleled education in sustainable economics and equip them with the knowledge they need to create a more sustainable, equitable, and prosperous future.

Ecotopia was conceived as an intersection between economics, management, business, vision, and cooperation, with the explicit purpose of training students in an international environment. It aims to train enlightened citizens who confidently embrace their future careers and engagements in a globalised context. Ecotopia graduates will be highly skilled in economics, management, finance, or business. They will also show adaptability and an enduring taste for lifelong learning and cooperation. Fundamentally, Ecotopia graduates will be trained to embed sustainability in their projects and responses to challenges throughout their careers and lives as engaged citizens of the world.

The programme grants successful students a European certification besides their primary national or school degree, providing the participating students with the unique opportunity to work in international teams at the Bachelor level. Two summer schools, one in Ljubljana and one in Rabat (on the ESSEC Business School campus), complete the programme. The first works as an accelerator in creating the learning community; the second will focus on innovation and entrepreneurship in Africa.

For Professor Mathieu Martin, Institute of Economics and Management, CY Cergy Paris University, and one of the programme's architects, Ecotopia relies on the EUTOPIA alliance to offer students an international education pathway oriented towards sustainable development. "The economics departments and business schools involved will take advantage of the project to redesign their institutional collaboration. We want to build a European Master's degree in Economics by 2050, unique in its focus on global issues."

This dynamic is in line with the member institutions ambitions and European policies on societal transition. EUTOPIA is thus positioning itself as a serious player in the field of education for a sustainable future while empowering its students with the proficiency and dexterity essential for their careers as high-profile economics, management, finance, and business professionals.

The ECOTOPIA program is a farsighted initiative and will have a lasting impact on the lives of its students.

Seven EUTOPIA partners participate today in ECOTOPIA:

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EUTOPIA European University alliance brings together ten European universities aiming to become, by 2030, an open, multicultural, confederated operation of connected campuses. EUTOPIA is among the 20 projects twice awarded funding by the European Commission (2019 & 2022) to create a deeper level of cooperation between universities.

EUTOPIA stands for: Academic freedom in search of truth; Excellence as a purpose of our teaching, research and innovation models; Sustainable, responsible and ethical attitudes towards the planet; Cooperation and openness.

EUTOPIA means today 300,000 students, 45,500 staff, 23,700 academics, 874 research units and 139 faculties in ten European countries.

EUTOPIA is today 10 European universities and 4 Global Partners

  • Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
  • Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium
  • Ca'Foscari University of Venice, Italy
  • CY Cergy Paris Université, France
  • Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
  • University of Gothenburg, Sweden
  • University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
  • NOVA University Lisbon, Portugal
  • Pompeu Fabra University-Barcelona, Spain
  • The University of Warwick, United Kingdom
     
  • Monash University, Australia
  • International University of Rabat, Morocco
  • Stellenbosch University, South Africa
  • Kyungpook National University, South Korea


Press contacts:
EUTOPIA European University                   Armando Uribe Echeverría, comms@eutopia-university.eu
Babeș-Bolyai University                              Laura-Maria Irimies, laura.irimies@ubbcluj.ro
Ca'Foscari University of Venice                   Francesca Favaro, francesca.favaro1@unive.it
CY Cergy Paris University                           Laetitia Merciris, laetitia.merciris@cyu.fr
University of Ljubljana                                 Nina Narat Meden, Nina.NaratMeden@uni-lj.si
NOVA University Lisbon                              Teresa Campos, teresa.campos@unl.pt
Pompeu Fabra University-Barcelona          Gerard Vall-llovera, Gerard.vallllovera@upf.edu
The University of Warwick                           Heather Holve, heather.holve@warwick.ac.uk

Press releases 2022

EUTOPIA against war in Ukraine (PR) February 2022

The EUTOPIA European University Alliance observes with concern the deterioration of the situation in Ukraine and the overwhelming Russian forces crushing a country and its inhabitants from all sides at the same time. We condemn violence replacing the diplomatic dialogue that should be ongoing between all the parties involved in the conflict. 

As a European university alliance, we defend peace and European values incompatible with the imposition of power by violence. War is a catastrophe that kills people, destroys infrastructures, damages confidence, and imposes a regression of the freedom of thinking, teaching and building together with young generations of students and researchers a better democratic world.

We consider the outbreak of war a danger to the continent's equilibrium, the common institutions, and the principles that our countries have been building together for decades. Within academia, we examine, apprehend, value, assess reality without boundaries, and we are committed to helping societies overcome their problems. In EUTOPIA, we are committed to academic cooperation and science diplomacy as effective levers to end destructive cycles.

Our universities are involved in various ways to help the Ukrainians in need, and we think that if good and humanity are to prevail within and among nations, more efforts from each of us are required. EUTOPIA is engaged in supporting Ukrainian students and staff to the best of our abilities. EUTOPIA also expresses its support to the academic communities in Russia who speak out against this violence.

Our thoughts go out to the students, scholars and professionals experiencing distress for their families’ fate in war-torn territories. Our hearts are with you.

  • Daniel David, Rector of the Babes-Bolyai University
  • Romain Meeusen, Vice-Rector for International, Rector a.i. of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel
  • Tiziana Lippiello, Rector of the Ca' Foscari University of Venice
  • François Germinet, President of CY Cergy Paris Université, Deputy Chair of EUTOPIA
  • Eva Wiberg, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Gothenburg, Chair of EUTOPIA
  • Gregor Majdič, Rector of the University of Ljubljana
  • João Sàágua, Rector of the NOVA University Lisbon
  • Oriol Amat, Rector of the Pompeu Fabra University-Barcelona
  • Ursula M. Staudinger, Rector of the Technische Universität Dresden
  • Stuart Croft, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Warwick


Press contacts:

Armando Uribe-Echeverria - EUTOPIA Communications & Dissemination Officer
Luke Walton – Press officer, University of Warwick
Gerard Vall-Llovera – Press officer, Pompeu Fabra University-Barcelona
Lies Feron – Press officer, Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Download the Press Release

 

Press releases 2021

The University of Babes-Bolyai in Cluj-Napoca joins EUTOPIA! (PR) November 2021

Press Release, November 15 2021

The EUTOPIA European University alliance is proud to announce that the enlargement process launched in September shall be achieved in Barcelona next 23rd of November. The University of Babeș-Bolyai in Cluj-Napoca (Romania), represented by its rector professor Daniel David, will officially sign the institution as the tenth partner of EUTOPIA. The ceremony is one of the many events and meetings scheduled during the semestrial EUTOPIA Week, hosted and organised by the Pompeu-Fabra University-Barcelona.

After a first enlargement wave in mid-September 2021, that brought to the consortium the Ca’Foscari University of Venice, NOVA University Lisbon and the Technische University Dresden, EUTOPIA reinforces its scale of exchanges, collaborations, mobility and shared projects with the arrival of one of the oldest and most prestigious higher education institutions in Eastern Europe.

Since its foundation in 1581, the UBB has been part of the gallery of referential universities in Romania. With over 55,000 students and staff members in 15 cities and 11 provinces, the UBB occupies top positions at the national level in the global rankings and rankings on fields. In 2021 the BBU was confirmed by QS STAR as the first “world-class” (QS*****) university in Romania.

A remarkable aspect of the BBU is its teaching concurrently in four languages — Romanian, Hungarian, German and English— revealing thus a pluricultural legacy at the heart of its identity.

Concerning its integration in EUTOPIA, the BBU rector, Prof. Daniel David, declared: “As a global university, renowned for its performance, size, and tradition, BBU is an innovator within the national and international academic area. As such, BBU is already engaged in top international research and double/multiple degree educational programmes, working with major international consortia, establishing innovative ties with society (with national and international actors), and engaging in policy-making in international science (i.e. through renowned organisations, such as the GUILD etc.) The new statute as a member of the EUTOPIA European University Alliance comes to consolidate BBU’s role and our mission to contribute to further redefining the European university area than BBU’s already existing mechanisms. I was pleased to receive the invitation to join EUTOPIA and we gladly accepted it; BBU had already been invited to join similar European alliances, but the strength of the members of EUTOPIA and their vision, strategy, and programmes convinced us that we want to be part of this alliance, and that we can bring an important academic value to it”.

At the EUTOPIA Week, all the teams working on the project —academics, staff and students will have for the first time the opportunity to meet in person since the pandemic. Like all the universities of EUTOPIA, the UBB is sending a significant delegation of vice-rectors to Barcelona.

***

EUTOPIA is an ambitious alliance of 10 like-minded universities ready to reinvent themselves: the University of Babeș-Bolyai in Cluj-Napoca (Romania), the Vrije Universiteit Brussels (Belgium), CY Cergy Paris Université (France), Ca’Foscari University-Venice (Italy), the Technische Universität Dresden (Germany), the University of Gothenburg (Sweden), the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), NOVA University Lisbon (Portugal), the Pompeu Fabra University-Barcelona (Spain) and The University of Warwick (United Kingdom). Together, these ten pioneers join forces to build the university of the future.

Each university holds several campuses deeply related to their territories. They have built solid ties with their communities, the institutional structures and the local companies. The mission of EUTOPIA is to shape a unique and daring alliance of transformative and engaged institutions in the long term. EUTOPIA students, researchers and staff work together to build a new academic model, reflecting an open and united Europe, respectful of the citizens and the environment.

In June 2019, EUTOPIA was chosen as one of the initial 17 winning projects of the new European Universities Initiative competitive call launched by the European Commission to build a European Higher Education Area.

PRESS CONTACTS

UNIVERSITY OF BABEȘ-BOLYAI
Laura Maria Irimies
Communication and Public Relations Head Office
laura.irimies@ubbcluj.ro
+40742078854

POMPEU-FABRA UNIVERSITY-BARCELONA
Gerard Vall-llovera Calmet
Head of the Communications Unit
gerard.vallllovera@upf.edu Office
+34 93 5 422 100 | Mobile +34 6 1610 7518
http://www.upf.edu/web/focus

EUTOPIA
Armando Uribe-Echeverría
Communications & Dissemination officer
armando.uribe-echeverria@cyu.fr
+33 7 7233 5678

EUTOPIA is a broader alliance today! (PR) September 2021


João Sáàgua, rector of NOVA university Lisbon (left)
Tiziana Lipiello, rector of Ca’ Foscari Università di Venezia (middle)
Ursula M. Staudinger, rector of the Technische Universität Dresden (right)

PRESS RELEASE Brussels, September 16, 2021

Three new universities join the alliance —the Ca‘ Foscari University of Venice, the Technische Universität Dresden (TUD) and NOVA University Lisbon—, which counts now 9 members that will build together the profile of the future European Universities.

The EUTOPIA European University announces its enlargement with three leading universities joining the consortium this September: Università Ca’Foscari Venezia (Italy), Technische Universität Dresden (Germany) and Universidade NOVA de Lisboa (Portugal). The enlargement ceremony on September 16, 2021, is hosted at the Italian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium’s Residence in the presence of key European and local stakeholders.

This expansion reflects the desire of the EUTOPIA universities to broaden, widen, and deepen their efforts to strengthen their complementary capabilities and to offer their students, staff, and research communities a more comprehensive, connected range of international and intercultural opportunities.

The EUTOPIA universities are student-centred, working towards social cohesion by striving for excellence and inclusion, transcending national and educational boundaries to develop innovative pedagogical models, and advancing the movement of people and ideas.  Furthermore, they are committed to our communities, building on our place-making strengths to foster urban and regional development, ultimately preparing our students, staff, and communities to be empowered European citizens in today’s disruptive world.

They share common values: integrity, academic freedom, knowledge sharing with society, and openness to the international community.

Each of the three new universities joining EUTOPIA brings complementary strengths that will reinforce and drive the alliance’s mission forward. 

* * *

Originally established as Italy’s first business school in 1868, CA’ FOSCARI UNIVERSITY OF VENICE is a multidisciplinary institution offering a wide range of study programmes in economics and management, modern languages, the humanities, and sciences. Today, the university is also exploring new areas of research by focusing on climate change, digital and public humanities, environmental humanities, digital transformation and social innovation and nanoscience. Ca’ Foscari University is currently fourth in Europe for the number of European Marie Curie fellows attracted, having been in the top ten for the last four years. It has risen in the QSWorld University Rankings by Subject thanks to its excellent results in Classics (top 50 in the world), Modern Languages (59th), History (among the best 150 universities worldwide), Linguistics (among the best 200), Economics & Econometrics (200th), and Geography (among the best 200).

The Rector of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Tiziana Lippiello, stated: “With this initiative, our university, together with Technische Universität Dresden and Nova University Lisbon, joins the EUTOPIA network. We look forward to collaborating under the banner of research, internationalisation and student mobility and innovative activities. The challenges of EUTOPIA have always been Ca’ Foscari’s challenges, as well. I believe that only the sharing of knowledge, partnership and cooperation among scholars can truly contribute to facing the global challenges of our time, from environmental issues to social and economic inequality, from the impact of technology and digitisation to the management of innovation. Ca’ Foscari firmly believes in the objectives and in the mission of this project, and we are ready to make our contribution to its development.” 

TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITÄT DRESDEN (TUD) is one of the largest technical universities in Germany and one of the leading and most dynamic universities nationwide. As a comprehensive university with 17 faculties in five Schools, it offers a wide variety of 124-degree programs and covers a broad research spectrum. Its research foci are Health Sciences, Biomedicine & Bioengineering, Information Technology & Micro- and Nanoelectronics, Smart Materials & Structures, Energy, Mobility & Environment, and Culture & Societal Change.

Prof. Ursula M. Staudinger, Rector of Technische Universität Dresden, sees the great potential of this European Alliance: “With our involvement in the EUTOPIA European University community, we expand our opportunities for shaping a European educational space, joint European and cross-institutional teaching projects and advance the Europeanization of our teaching programs. Also, student, lecturers, researcher and staff mobility across Europe is greatly facilitated, as is the expansion of funding programmes for postdocs. And last but not least, joint applications with our EUTOPIA partners open up advantages when competing for European research funding. Within EUTOPIA we would like to bring to bear the innovative power of science to master the big challenges of the 21st century such as the climate crisis.”

NOVA UNIVERSITY LISBON was founded in 1973 endorsing the European values of democracy, respect for human right, freedom, tolerance, and more, as the European university that it is proud to be. Its main characteristics are the emphasis on sustainability, interdisciplinarity and innovation. Its areas of expertise range from Medicine to Economics, Engineering, Social Sciences and Humanities. NOVA is currently in the top 14 among young European universities effectively founded less than 50 years ago, leading prominently at national level (Times Higher Education World University Rankings – Young), and its motto is to be a global and civic university.

Prof. João Sáàgua, Rector of NOVA University Lisbon, declared about the enlargement: “Being part of this alliance will bring great opportunities to collaborate with our European partners in order to develop our mission of being a global and civic university. For NOVA this means to be a high international profile, student centred institution, that serves society through knowledge and addresses today’s global and local challenges in innovative and impactful ways. We expect to bring our partners, among other things, new routes for cooperation not only within the EU but also with Portuguese speaking countries with which NOVA has a longstanding relation.”

EUTOPIA acts as an international gateway for the exchange of knowledge and cultures and is delighted to additionally announce its association with four universities beyond Europe: Université Internationale de Rabat (Morocco), Kyungpook National University (South Korea), Monash University (Australia), and Stellenbosch University (South Africa). This broader, more diverse network of partnerships will allow us to better address global challenges. EUTOPIA is today a more robust alliance, with a greater impact on society, opening the prospect of a more diverse and attractive inter-university campus.

* * *

EUTOPIA European University is a connected and inclusive community of like-minded universities. Through collaborative research, challenge-based learning foregrounding pedagogical excellence, greater student and teacher mobility, and shared innovation, EUTOPIA seeks to address local and global challenges, ultimately contributing to creating a new model for higher education in Europe. In June 2019, EUTOPIA was chosen as one of the initial 17 winning alliances of the recent European Universities Initiative competitive call launched by the European Commission.

EUTOPIA European University brings together the Pompeu Fabra University-Barcelona (Spain), the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium), CY Cergy Paris University (France), the Technische Universität Dresden (Germany), the University of Gothenburg (Sweden), NOVA University Lisbon (Portugal), the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), Ca’Foscari University of Venice (Italy) and the University of Warwick (United Kingdom).

* * *

PRESS CONTACTS

Pictures (including logos) are available on demand

CA’FOSCARI UNIVERSITY OF VENICE
Communication and Promotion Office Paola Vescovi: +366 6279602 – Enrico Costa: +337 1050858 Federica Ferrarin: +366 6297904 comunica@unive.it https://www.unive.it/

EUTOPIA
Armando Uribe-Echeverria +33 7 7233 5678 armando.uribe-echeverria@cyu.fr https://eutopia-university.eu

NOVA UNIVERSITY LISBON:
Joana Réfega +351 919 122 021 joana.refega@unl.pt   Susana Costa +351 213 845 137 scosta@unl.pt https://www.unl.pt/

TU DRESDEN
Directorate Strategy and Communication – Press Office Konrad Kästner, Deputy Press Officer +49 351 463-32427 pressestelle@tu-dresden.de  https://tu-dresden.de/

Press releases 2020

EUTOPIA University Alliance urges the Iranian Government to release Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali from his imprisonment, death sentence, and imminent execution (PR) December 2020

PRESS RELEASE DECEMBER 7, 2020

The EUTOPIA alliance and its six-member universities: CY Cergy Paris Université, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, University of Gothenburg, Univerza v Ljubljani, the University of Warwick and Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), call on the Iranian government to act urgently to release Swedish citizen, VUB guest lecturer Dr Ahmadreza Djalali from his imprisonment and death sentence.

The EUTOPIA Alliance welcomes the Iranian government’s recent release from prison of the University of Melbourne academic Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert and asks that the same clemency be applied to Dr Ahmadreza Djalali.

Dr Djalali is attached to VUB and the Università Degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale in Italy as a guest lecturer, and an alumnus of the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.  We ask the Iranian government to review his case urgently and to act with mercy and respect for academic freedom by releasing him from his charges and the risk of imminent execution.

Our Alliance asks the Belgian, French, Spanish, Slovenian, Swedish, UK and European authorities to support actively our appeal to the Iranian government and to press for the immediate release of Dr Djalali through all diplomatic and political channels. We thank all of the political leaders and diplomats, and many colleagues and volunteers, who are already actively pressing for Dr Djalali’s release.

Download the Presidential Declaration. Read more here.

  • Eva Wiberg, Vice-Chancellor, University of Gothenburg, Chair EUTOPIA alliance
  • François Germinet, President, CY Cergy Paris Université
  • Caroline Pauwels, Rector, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
  • Igor Papič, Rector, Univerza v Ljubljani
  • Jaume Casals, Rector, Universitat Pompeu Fabra
  • Stuart Croft, Vice-Chancellor and President, University of Warwick

EUTOPIA oriented the alliance towards the future and appointed new chair - Presidential Declaration - November 2020

PRESS RELEASE NOVEMBER 30, 2020

EUTOPIA made several announcements on the closing ceremony of the second EUTOPIA Week hosted by the University of Warwick, which took place online from 23 to 27 November 2020 and included significant conversations with leaders and external experts, counting senior representatives from the European Commission and the regional authorities.

EUTOPIA’s Strategic Board defined the alliance’s future frame as a confederation of universities. They also assessed a strategic sustainability plan, defined the vision and mission of the consortium anew, and reaffirmed EUTOPIA’s fidelity to European Higher Education values such as democracy, the crucial importance of the students, academic freedom, place-making, and internationalization.

The six partners also reiterated their commitment to the alliance in the context of political changes and when facing unprecedented global challenges. EUTOPIA announced the designation of Professor Eva Wiberg, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Gothenburg, as its new Chair from the 1st of December. The Chair acts as EUTOPIA’s head for policy conversations with the European Commission and administrative purposes. This rotating position was held since the launching of EUTOPIA in December 2019 by Professor Igor Papič, rector of the University of Ljubljana.

Eva Wiberg is a professor of Italian and has a broad international background. Except for a short stay in Princeton, N.Y., in the USA, she has lived over 22 years in Italy, where she studied at the Deutsche Schule in Rome and at Università la Sapienza. She holds a PhD from Lund University in Romance Languages. She speaks Swedish, Italian, English, German and French. She has held important positions in national and international academic networks.
The Strategic Board also named Professor François Germinet, president of CY Cergy Paris University, as the Deputy Chair of EUTOPIA concurrently. Both Eva Wiberg and François Germinet will be operative together until the 1st December 2021.

Eva Wiberg declared: ”I’m delighted to take over as Chair of the Strategic Board of EUTOPIA in these challenging times, which shows more than ever how important global initiatives like EUTOPIA are. Our alliance builds on its place-making strengths, connecting cultures and contexts in order to enhance European capability, innovation and influence. In my position as Chair, I will aim to further strengthen these characteristics as well as encourage strong participation for all the citizens of its associated communities. Because EUTOPIA is not only about working with each other within the alliance. Our external engagements, from our local communities to global partners, are also crucial for its success. Internationalisation and global partnerships are, for many reasons, important for all of us. It benefits our economies, societies and our democracies and helps us to build a more sustainable future. I also believe the role of research in the educational system is crucial. The alliance is benefitting immensely by us, bringing in additional projects to our joint portfolio, such as EUTOPIA TRAIN and Sif, which helps to build our research and educational capabilities. I intend to continue encouraging this development. Last but not least, in my role as Chair I wish to continue working to make the EUTOPIA alliance even more student-centred than it is today, and I truly believe student-empowerment should be at the heart of everything we do”.

* * *

EUTOPIA is an alliance of six leading, like-minded, European universities creating a connected and inclusive community, to address local and global challenges, ultimately contributing to a new model for higher education in Europe: VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT BRUSSEL (Belgium), CY CERGY PARIS UNIVERSITÉ (France), GÖTEBORGS UNIVERSITET (Sweden), UNIVERZA V LJUBLJANI (Slovenia), UNIVERSITAT POMPEU FABRA (Spain) and UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK (United Kingdom). In June 2019, EUTOPIA was chosen as one of the 17 first winning projects throughout Europe in the new European Universities Initiative competitive call to build a European Education and Research Area. 

Contacts
University of Gothenburg: Ann Nilsen    |   ann.nilsen@gu.se
University of Warwick: Luke Walton | L.Walton.1@warwick.ac.uk
EUTOPIA: Armando Uribe-Echeverría    |   armando.uribe-echeverría@cyu.fr

Download the Press Release.

EUTOPIA Post-Doctoral Fellowships (PR) October 2020

Press Release 15 October 2020

EUTOPIA-SIF SCIENCE & INNOVATION POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS PROGRAMME

First call for applications 2020-21: opening on 19 October 2020. Call deadline 11 January 2021, 13:00 CET. Applications online only: http://www.eutopia.smapply.io.  A Short Guide for applicants is available on https://bit.ly/EUTOsif.

***

For its first call for applications, corresponding to the academic year 2020/21, the EUTOPIA alliance offers to PhD holders or equivalent, of any nationality, 20 post-doctoral positions as part of the EUTOPIA Science and Innovation Fellowships Programme (EUTOPIA-SIF). This programme intends to enhance the research potential and the career perspectives of young researchers. The selected candidates of the 2020/21 call are expected to prove their capacity to bring original solutions to the social challenges faced in the five key research areas outlined by the programme. As academic experts, they shall help to understand and figure solutions to the difficulties faced by a planet with limited resources and complex societal issues. Interdisciplinary interactions are appreciated, and applicants from the Arts and Humanities are encouraged. The selected research areas are:

MATERIALS ENGINEERING including advanced analytical science, photonics, new material science, quantum technology

DATA & INTELLIGENCE including artificial intelligence, complexity, information-systems engineering

HEALTH including immunology and antibacterial resistance, cancer, ageing, reproductive health, neurosciences

SUSTAINABILITY including energy, circular economy, mobility, urban planning, material heritage, water management

WELFARE & INCLUSION including business management and finance, governance, ethics, inequality, law and demography

Applications will be assessed on the scientific quality, experience and prior results of the candidate, on the feasibility and the potential impact of the proposal, and the candidate’s career development perspective as an EUTOPIA-SIF fellow, through a rigorous two-stage selection process including external reviews of all eligible proposals by renowned experts and interviews with short-listed candidates.

The EUTOPIA-SIF offers competitive contracts in every hosting university, for a duration of 24 months, with attractive salaries covering their costs of living and income taxes, and an additional budget for research and travel expenses. Mobility is an essential feature of the EUTOPIA-SIF. Researchers are expected to move at least twice during their 24 months contract: once at a EUTOPIA university and once at an external academic or non-academic partner institution among a network of more than 45 companies, local authorities and non-profit organizations. Extensive training and career mentoring by senior academic supervisors are included.

The submission platform of this first call for proposals will be opened on October 19th, 2020. The deadline for submission of proposals is January 11th, 2021.

Researchers will find detailed information about the EUTOPIA-SIF on the website of the alliancehttps://bit.ly/EUTOsif.

The EUTOPIA Science and Innovation Fellowship Program (EUTOPIA-SIF) has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Maria Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement number 945380, for a total number of 76 Post-doctoral fellowships, over 4 years, and a budget of 10,2M€, of which 5,6M€ is financed by the European Union and 4,6M€ by the EUTOPIA universities.

***

EUTOPIA is an alliance of six leading, like-minded, European universities creating a connected and inclusive community, to address local and global challenges, ultimately contributing to a new model for higher education in Europe: VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT BRUSSEL (Belgium), CY CERGY PARIS UNIVERSITÉ (France), GÖTEBORGS UNIVERSITET (Sweden), UNIVERZA V LJUBLJANI (Slovenia), UNIVERSITAT POMPEU FABRA (Spain) and UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK (United Kingdom).

In June 2019, EUTOPIA was chosen as one of the 17 first winning projects throughout Europe in the new European Universities Initiative competitive call to build a European Education and Research Area.

Mobility in the EUTOPIA alliance: Presidential Declaration - July 2020

PRESS RELEASE JULY 2020

Recent curtailment of academic, social and commercial activities has affected the intentions and actions of the EUTOPIA alliance’s initial projects. In particular, plans relating to the mobility of students and staff, research and administration teams, and eventual teaching activities, have had to be reconceived. Taking account of this, while seeking to preserve initiatives and opportunities arising from circumstances, the Presidents, Rectors and Vice-Chancellors of the EUTOPIA alliance of universities re-affirm the ideals of free movement for all students and staff, which will be supported by practical collaborative measures designed to champion the social, academic and economic benefits of both physical and digital mobility.

The EUTOPIA alliance, therefore:

Reaffirms the core principle of free movement, and the value of mobility as a practice, in the European Union Champions international mobility as a transformative learning activity for globally active universities Affirms that EUTOPIA was founded on the very principle of mobility and remains committed to its energetic continuation Recognizes that current challenges also suggest new conceptualizations for mobility Embraces the task of investigating multiple modalities of mobility, including the virtual and digital, for the purposes of knowledge acquisition and dissemination, career and skills development, and social engagement Grasps the opportunity of becoming a leading and influential international alliance in blended forms of learning and knowledge dissemination, and smart mobility Undertakes to pursue collaborative actions relating to blended mobility potential.
  • Caroline Pauwels, Rector, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
  • François Germinet, President, CY Cergy Paris Université
  • Eva Wiberg, Vice-Chancellor, Göteborgs Universitet
  • Igor Papič, Rector, Univerza v Ljubljani, Chair
  • Jaume Casals, Rector, Universitat Pompeu Fabra
  • Stuart Croft, Vice-Chancellor and President, University of Warwick
EUTOPIA and COVID-19 (PR) March 2020

PRESS RELEASE MARCH 30 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic confronts all our universities with new challenges. It influences our work and our daily life, driving us to find new ways of working and learning remotely from separate locations while remaining together as one network. It certainly pushes us to invent new working flows. We are currently practising virtual communication across borders, which will form a part of EUTOPIA’s international and innovative identity.

We believe that our project of a future European University will grow more valuable from this adversity because we will have worked with each other differently.  The pandemic has major and, for many, even tragic consequences, and we wish to try to bring something positive out of this worldwide challenge. Together we are stronger and we hope to build the future out of our combined wisdom and connectedness

We are confident in our ability to ensure by other means the teaching, the pursuit of research, and the administrative stability for our 165,000 students and 30,000 academics and administrators. 

Our six universities took due measures to protect our communities. You can find details on the websites of the members of the EUTOPIA Alliance: 

We will be posting regular updates about the impact of the COVID-19 on our project’s timelines.