Co-organised by the Academic Federation for Information and External Representation (FAIRe), the European Students’ Union (ESU), the University of Coimbra (UC), the Coimbra Municipal Council (CMC), and the Academic Association of Coimbra (AAC), the event aimed to spark reflection on the future of university alliances and higher education in Europe, through the valuable insights of the student community.
Student representatives from 37 European Universities Alliances gathered in Coimbra for three days to discuss key issues, which included social dimension, mobility, quality of teaching, and funding. The conference was held at the São Francisco Convent and Colégio da Trindade, with the participation of Pedro Nuno Teixeira, Portugal’s Secretary of State for Higher Education; Amílcar Falcão, Rector of the University of Coimbra; João Nuno Calvão da Silva, UC Vice-Rector for External Relations and Alumni; the Mayor of Coimbra, José Manuel Silva, and the President of the General Board of AAC, João Caseiro.
In addition to the 70 students and the sponsoring organisations, several entities were present, including the Erasmus+ National Agency, the Erasmus Student Network, the Coimbra Group, the EC2U Alliance, the European University Foundation, and the Forum of European Universities 2 – FOREU2.
At the conference, the European Commission was represented by Vanessa Debiais-Sainton, Head of the Unit in charge of Higher Education policies and programmes at the EC Directorate General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture.
Lisa Schivalocchi, the EC2U Student Representative from the University of Pavia, says, “The conference in Coimbra was an important step in bringing together student representatives from different university alliances and promoting the exchange of experiences and good practices, and I feel I learned a lot, especially as a student representative in EC2U.”
“I’m going back to my university with a wealth of ideas and inspiration from the Coimbra conference,” says Léo-Onam Otieno, Student Representative of the University of La Rochelle and the EU-Conexus alliance, adding that “it was an incredibly enriching experience”.
According to Heloise Zilotti, vice-Student Representative of theEC2U Alliance for the University of Coimbra, “The conference was a dynamic platform for sharing valuable insights on mobility programmes and student involvement in the decision-making process of alliances. It was not only a networking opportunity, but also a catalyst for collaborative thinking and knowledge sharing”.
