European University Alliance EUNICE: Conclusion of the General Assembly in the Polytechnic Institute of Viseu (IPV), Portugal
The General Assembly of the European University Alliance EUNICE (European University Alliance for Customised Education), which took place at the Polytechnic Institute of Viseu (Viseu, Portugal) from 31 March to 2 April 2025, was successfully concluded. The Assembly was attended by the Rectors of the member universities, Vice-Rectors, members of the EUNICE Board of Directors, members of individual working groups and by the EUNICE Student Advisory Board (ESAB).
The University of the Peloponnese was represented by the Rector of the University, Professor Athanasios Katsis, the Vice-Rector for Administrative Affairs, International Relations and Outreach, Professor Efthalia Chatzigianni, the members of the EUNICE team of the University of the Peloponnese, Lecturer Areti Vogopoulou, Anastasios Lymperopoulos, Thodoris Chatzigkaidas and Kyriaki-Vasiliki Kalogeropoulou, and the student and member of the ESAB, Maria Agallou (Department of Political Science and International Relations).
During the Assembly, parallel meetings took place regarding project management and individual work packages with a focus on pedagogical excellence, mobility, experiential learning, research and further cooperation among member universities.
A milestone of the General Assembly was the approval of the composition of the Alliance's Advisory Board by the Rectors. More specifically, this new advisory board is composed of eight representatives from sectors extremely relevant to the alliance’s activities such as higher education, research, politics or business. The members of the Advisory Board are:
- Anna Budzanowska, Member of the Board of EuroScience
- Maria Stoicheva, Coordinator of the Transform4Europe Alliance at her university
- Joe O'Hara, Dublin City University
- Isabel Menezes, University of Porto
- Leena Pöntynen, Technology Industries of Finland
- Joël Gallegos, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
- Dorothy Anne Kelly, Coordinator of the Arqus Alliance
-
Rodrigo Martins, Nova University of Lisbon.
In addition, the Vice Rectors of Research met and explored new ways to foster collaboration among researchers within the consortium. The next steps in this area are to identify research groups working in the 32 sub-clusters defined in the Horizon Europe programme, in order to facilitate their submission of joint proposals with other groups in the EUNICE network.
The General Assembly provided a valuable platform for constructive discussions and dialogues, leading to crucial decisions for the future of the Alliance while reaffirming the strong spirit of cooperation among consortium members.
With the conclusion of the assembly, the University of the Peloponnese takes over the organization of the next General Assembly, which will take place in October 2025 in the city of Kalamata.
About EUNICE:
EUNICE, the European University for Customised Education, is a transnational alliance of public universities and currently present in ten countries: Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
With a vision to transform the educational experience for both students, teachers and researchers on a European scale, EUNICE member universities aim to create and develop personalised educational pathways, develop good practices for knowledge sharing among staff, interdisciplinary research and educational approaches capable of tackling the global issues of our time and ensure that research and innovation address the socio-economic challenges that their regions face.
