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EUTOPIA

EUTOPIA 2050

European Universities Transforming to an Open Inclusive Academy for 2050.

Challenge-led, student-centered, place-based & inclusive.

About the alliance

You’re a VUBer? Great, then you’re also a EUTOPIAn!

As a seasoned VUBer, the various VUB campuses of course hold little to no secrets for you. But did you also know that, next to the illustrious Etterbeek, Jette, Anderlecht, Gooik, Leuven and Diest sites, the VUB – through EUTOPIA – has gained 6 little campus sisters scattered across Europe? 

EUTOPIA is an alliance of 6 likeminded universities ready to reinvent themselves: Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona, CY Cergy Paris Université, University of Warwick, University of Gothenburg, University of Ljubljana and of course our Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Together, these 6 pioneers valiantly tackle the immense challenge of building the university of the future.

Stay up to date!

Check out our Youtube channel, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn to stay up to date!

And make sure to subscribe to the EUTOPIA Update, our bimonthly newsletter!

EUTOPIA and COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic confronts all our universities with new challenges. Naturally, our six universities took due measures to protect our communities.


APRIL 7, 2020

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENTS,VICE-CHANCELLORS AND RECTORS OF THE EUTOPIA EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY ALLIANCE

The COVID-19 pandemic has an unprecedented impact on all aspects of society, including higher education. The Eutopia Alliance universities sympathize with the afflicted, regret the loss of family members, friends and colleagues many now experience, and we hope to contribute our combined knowledge and expertise for the good of society. For us, as well for our colleagues from other pilot alliances, this pandemic poses a severe challenge to our work of creating a European University and causes necessarily the need for an amendment in our project timeline and financial aspects. At this moment, though, our primary concern must focus on the health and safety of the staff and students. All six universities are taking due measures to protect our communities, and 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.

The Eutopia Alliance hopes to, despite the gravity of the current circumstances, not lose momentum in our shared goal to create a European University. We believe that this crisis demonstrates that only concerted European action will be effective and that European solidarity, in this case, is also much needed.

But there is more. The COVID-19 pandemic urges us to re-think the functioning of our universities. The dramatic measures taken to contain the contagion have resulted in extensive use of digital tools for education, as well as for organizing meetings at a distance. One can already see that staff and students have embraced the digital turn in higher education. This will affect the implementation of the Eutopia project, and the Presidents and rectors of the six partners will, in agreement with the Commission, address this issue when thinking about the future of our alliance. At present, we are largely going digital, and where that is not possible, alternatives will be developed. We are currently practising virtual communication across borders, which will form part of EUTOPIA’s international and innovative identity. But much more is needed, and we will have to find new ways of working and learning remotely from separate locations while remaining together as one network. It certainly pushes us to re-invent new working methods.

The COVID-19 pandemic further illustrates two other aspects that will affect the future of European Universities. First, that the world is incredibly connected and young people, whatever the subject of their study, should be educated with that principle in mind and be prepared to study, work and live in open and networked societies. Second, the current crisis also demonstrates the importance of collaborative research in order to deliver evidence that can be used by policy-makers and practitioners, and that can guide citizens. We need more trust in science and accurate mechanisms to facilitate the dialogue between the scientific communities and the policy-makers. This should be reflected in the research agenda and the curricula of our universities.

While working hard on the well-being and safety of everyone, we want to stress that there is no other choice than to adapt to what looks like a new organizational reality and to re-invent our universities. The big challenge is how to overcome the disruptive effects of pandemics without cutting back on the networking and mobility necessary for education and research in the European Universities of the future. The answer will be digital and European. We are ready to take up the challenge.

Caroline Pauwels  Rector of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel

François Germinet  President of CY Cergy Paris Université

Eva Wiberg  Vice-Chancellor of the University of Gothenburg

Igor Papič  Rector of the University of Ljubljana

Jaume Casals  Rector of the Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona

Stuart Croft  Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Warwick

Please take a look at these pages to stay informed about current updates and measures in place at our universities:

EUTOPIA acknowledges the role of our universities in responding to the current pandemic.

An expert panel came together during the second EUTOPIA week (23 - 27 Nov 2020) to highlight some of the excellent research-led contributions made by colleagues towards combatting COVID-19.

Rewatch the expert panel here

Speakers:

  • Lawrence Young, Professor of Molecular Oncology and Director of the Warwick Cancer Research Centre, University of Warwick (Chair) 
  • Tomas Grysell, Head of Unit for Pedagogical Development and Interactive Learning, Göteborgs Universitet
  • Enric Vallduví, Vice Rector of Research, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona
  • Patrick Courilleau, Vice President Education, CY Cergy Paris Université
  • Igor Švab, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Univerza v Ljubljani 
  • Dirk Devroey, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel

News

Fresh off the EUTOPIA presses

EUTOPIA week: 12 - 16 April

Save the date and join our journey!

EUTOPIAn Futures - 13 April 19h

Join the conversation

Come discover the capital of Europe with EUTOPIA

weDISCOVER.brussels

Celebrate International Women's Day the EUTOPIAn way!

Interview with 3 of EUTOPIA's many leading ladies

EUTOPIA 2050

European Universities Transforming to an Open Inclusive Academy for 2050.

Challenge-led, student-centered, place-based & inclusive.

"EUTOPIA is a unique, complex and intensive project that aims to transform universities profoundly"

Dixit VUB's very own rector Caroline Pauwels.

"It is unique, because it is the expression of the will of six sovereign universities to go through a process of collective self-transformation. It is a complex project because the process touches upon all aspects of the university. It is also an intensive project as lots needs to be done in a short period."

EUTOPIA is not a straightforward project. on the contrary, it is a unique, complex, and intensive project that aims to transform universities profoundly.

It is unique, because it is the expression of the will of six sovereign universities to go through a process of collective self-transformation. It is a complex project because the process touches upon all aspects of the university. It is also an intense project as lots needs to be done in a short period. 

One of the distinctive aspects of EUTOPIA is that a new educational model is being developed where the focus is no longer on moving individuals from X to Z for a single short or long period, but on supporting the creation of long lasting and sustainable networks. Our educational model of the future will bring together academics, students and extra-academic stakeholders from all EUTOPIA partner universities. Together, they will co-create courses and learning material in so-called Connected Learning Communities.  In such EUTOPIA connected learning communities students, staff and extra academic partners will gain substantial added value and relevance by cooperating at a European scale. 

We realize that for reasons of sustainability we do have to change our travel policy. But we also have to acknowledge that EUTOPIA can never be only just a digital platform of collaboration. ‘Being there’ and ‘feeling connected’ remain an important element of the educational experience as well.  Short term and well-chosen mobility is needed as an instrument to allow participation of students in international experiments /assignments and to support staff in building the connectedness needed among colleagues that are willing to exchange pedagogical practices. In fact, connectedness is one of EUTOPIA’s educational model’s main pillars. The very first pilot cases are kicking off right now and we are looking forward to starting this exiting learning journey together.

 

- Caroline Pauwels, Rector Vrije Universiteit Brussel

EUTOPIA's vision

EUTOPIA's ultimate European University of the future is a university which is:

Geared towards the challenges of the future
The alliance will be challenge-drive to prepare students and staff as European citizens and lifelong learners who care and act for the future of the planet and humanity.

Student-centered and student-led
The alliance will provide transformative and open learning opportunities, and extended horizons of expectation and ability, both across Europe and throughout the world.

Attentive to the plurality, potentiality and international pre-eminence of Europe’s regions
The alliance will build on its place-making strengths, connecting cultures and contexts in order to enhance European capability and creativity, and support the international pre-eminence of European innovation and influence.

Committed to the principles of openness and inclusion
The alliance will foster and support knowledge co-creation, by building open resources and collaborative platforms, endorsing open science agendas, and sponsoring the access, mobility and inclusivity mechanisms that liberate our intellectual and social potential.

Presidential Declaration

EUTOPIA and covid-19

Presidential Declaration

EUTOPIA and mobility

Presidential Declaration

#SaveAhmadreza

Presidential Declaration

EUTOPIA & the UK

Student opportunities

Think Europe is out of your reach during the pandemic and these #blijfinuwkot times? Think again! Through the intensive collaboration between the VUB and the 5 other EUTOPIA universities, students can benefit from several international opportunities in all parts of Europe.

ICUR - call for abstracts

You're a third-year bachelor student, and particularly proud of your bachelor paper? Then ICUR is a great chance for you to share your research results with students from across the world!

ICUR - or the International Conference for Undergraduate Research - brings together bachelor students from 4 continents in an online 2-day event where they present and discuss bachelor papers on a wide range of topics. 

When and how can you participate ?

ICUR 2021 will be held on September 28 and 29 2021.

The abstract submissions for the 2021 edition are now open, until midnight on June 2, 2021. You can submit your abstracts by filling this form on the ICUR website.

You're a third-year bachelor student, and particularly proud of your bachelor paper? Then ICUR is a great chance for you to share your research results with students from across the world!

ICUR - or the International Conference for Undergraduate Research - brings together bachelor students from 4 continents in an online 2-day event where they present and discuss bachelor papers on a wide range of topics. From “Housing in Saint Petersburg: providing access to safe, adequate and affordable housing for all” to “The lytic life cycle of the bacteriophage GIL01 infecting Bacillus thuringiensis is activated by the gp6 protein”, nothing is off the table.

ICUR 2020 in the words of participant Loyle Campbell, VUB student Political Sciences: "The ICUR allowed me to present my bachelor research to an audience of global peers from multiple leading universities. Not only was this a unique chance to present my work, but it also connected me to a cohort of like-minded students all around the world."

When and how can you participate ?

ICUR 2021 will be held on September 28 and 29 2021.

ICUR 2021 is now open for abstract submission, so don't miss your chance to connect to peers from across the world!

The abstract submissions for the 2021 edition are now open, until midnight on June 2, 2021. You can submit your abstracts by filling this form on the ICUR website.

You will receive updates about the outcome of your submission within the month after the June 2 deadline.

EUTOPIA Student Career Ambassadors Workshops

Working closely with our partner universities' Career Centers, the EUTOPIA Student Career Ambassadors have made it their mission to prepare you for the ever-changing, perhaps slightly daunting, landscape which is the jobmarket.

Ranging from sessions dedicated to the EPSO selection processes, to science communication, to jobhunting, the Student Career Ambassadors are here to coach you!

Curious about working abroad?
In this second part of the "Life as an expat" workshop series, 5 panelists will be sharing the good and the bad about the expat life. Ask these VUB alumni all your questions on international work experiences.

Join our panel on
Tuesday, 4 May, 2021  
6 p.m. CET

Register here

Co-create the EUTOPIA curriculum

As explained by our very own vice-rector for Education and Students Jan Danckaert in the video below, the EUTOPIA educational model evolves around the establishment of EUTOPIA Connected Learning Communities. In these communities, academic staff, students and stakeholders co-create course content fit for the European University of the future.

How can you become an active member of one of the EUTOPIA Connected Learning Communities, you ask?

Check out our current Learning Communities, and the student opportunities on offer within them below: 

MA, UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG

This course provides an interdisciplinary understanding of Europe’s role in the world and draws on a range of approaches in the social sciences and the humanities. The course assesses the international significance of European integration, the impact of global developments on Europe, and the changing role of Europe in the new world order.

TEAM: Lisbeth Aggestam (UoG – learning unit lead), Andrea Noferini (UPF), Linda Benrais (CY), Sven Van Kerckhoven (VUB), Trisha Meyer (VUB), Christian Soegaard (UoW), Vasja Rnat (UoL), Mojmir Mrak (UoL)

STUDENT ACTIVITIES

  • Winter School on EU Policy-Making: Analysing Digital Rights in Today’s EU –When? 1-12 Feb 2021 – Where? Virtual – more info: https://www.eu-winterschool.eu
  • Summer School on EU Policy-Making: EU policy-making: Analysing civil rights in today’s EU – When?5-16 July 2021 – Where? Brussels & Vienna – more info: https://www.eu-summerschool.eu

HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?

Contact the EUTOPIA curriculum team: Jo Angouri and Linde Moriau

BA, UNIVERSITY OF POMPEU FABRA

This course focuses on several complex and often interrelated environmental issues, beginning with a discussion of global climate change and the role of greenhouse gases in other environmental problems, including deforestation, ozone depletion, and the health of the world’s oceans. It reviews key concepts in geography and analyzes its meaning, through history and its evolution.

TEAM: Antoni Luna Garcia (UPF – learning unit lead), Laurent Ricard (CY), Matthieu Kervyn De Meerendre (VUB), Cathy Macharis (VUB), Stéphanie Panichelli-Batalla (UoW), Katja Vintar Mally (UoL), Masa Kovic Dine (UoL), Mikael Ring (UoG)

STUDENT ACTIVITIES: 

  • Cross-EUTOPIA student assignment on Sustainable Mobility – When? Jan-March 2021 – Where? online – more info
  • Student-led Summer Conference on SDG-related COVID-impact – When? July 2021 – Where? TBC – more info

HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?

Contact the EUTOPIA curriculum team: Jo Angouri (J.Angouri@warwick.ac.uk) and Linde Moriau (Linde.Moriau@vub.be)

BA/MA/PHD – UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK

MultiDiv is a unique hub that brings together senior academics as well as UG (undergraduate) / PG (postgraduate) research developed through the formal curriculum and relevant extracurricular activities. It takes the form of an intensive, face-to-face week-long activity and involves workshops, data training, and sessions on interpreting research for wider audiences, policymakers, and the media most notably.

TEAM: Jo Angouri & Chantal Wright (UoW – learning unit leads), Vicent Climent-Ferrando (UPF), Ann Peeters (VUB), Alex Housen (VUB), Tommaso Milani (UoG), Tamara Pavasovic Trost (UoL), Claire Carles-Hugue (CY), Joanna Nowicki (CY)

STUDENT ACTIVITIES: 

  • Cross-EUTOPIA student seminar on Linguistic Landscaping – When? Feb 4th2021 – Where? online – more info
  • MultiDiv Research Conference – When? June 2021 – Where? TBC – more info
  • Virtual Buddy Scheme – more info will be provided soon
  • Student-led EUTOPIA module on Multilingualism & Diversity – more info will be provided soon

HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?

Contact the EUTOPIA curriculum team: Jo Angouri (J.Angouri@warwick.ac.uk) and Linde Moriau (Linde.Moriau@vub.be)

BA, CY CERGY PARIS UNIVERSITÉ

In a world where fake or biased information gained momentum through the power of social networks, the teaching of critical thinking and reasoning is more important than ever. This course dwells on the concepts of fallacy and cognitive bias and how they relate to the field of data analysis. It represents an initiation to argumentation, propositional, and probabilistic logic.

TEAM: Valerie Nachef & Matthieu Cisel (CY – learning unit leads), Alex Alsina (UPF), Louise Mcnally (UPF), An Dooms (VUB), Jan De Beule (VUB), Martin Kaså (UoG), Jon Warren (UoW), Kosmidis Ioannis (UoW), Robert MacKay (UoW), Marko Pahor (UoL)

STUDENT ACTIVITIES: 

  • Cross-EUTOPIA participation in CY’s ‘Data and Critical Thinking’ MOOC – When?Spring 2021 – Where? online – more info
  • Cross-EUTOPIA student debate on Data and Critical Thinking – When? Spring 2021 – Where? online – more info

HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?

Contact the EUTOPIA curriculum team: Jo Angouri (J.Angouri@warwick.ac.uk) and Linde Moriau (Linde.Moriau@vub.be)

MA/PHD,  VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT BRUSSEL

In this course, master students from different programs work together in interdisciplinary groups. Based on real-life research results, emanating from the research departments of the university (VUB), students engage in a so-called ‘technological business development project’. The university researchers of these labs are then involved in the definition of the project and the coaching of the students.

TEAM: Thomas Crispeels (VUB _ – learning unit lead), Oriol Amat (UPF), Johan Magnusson (UoG), Sue Newell (UoW), Matej Cerne (UoL), Miha Skerlavay (UoL), Olivier Fourcadet (CY)

STUDENT ACTIVITIES: 

  • cross-EUTOPIA student teams and feedback sessions – When? Oct 2020 – June 2021 – Where? online – more info
  • cross-EUTOPIA research seminar on Technological Business Development – When?              Jan 27th 2021 – Where? online – more info

HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?

Contact the EUTOPIA curriculum team: Jo Angouri (J.Angouri@warwick.ac.uk) and Linde Moriau (Linde.Moriau@vub.be)

MA, UNIVERSITY OF LJUBLJANA

The course aims to help students understand the interdisciplinary and collaborative nature of scientific inquiry in the sciences of the mind; integrating findings on selected cognitive phenomena from different disciplinary perspectives; developing skills of collaborative research, and getting to understand basic concepts of cognitive science through learning about and researching selected cognitive phenomena.

TEAM: Urban Kordeš, Toma Strle & Zarja Mursic (UoL – learning unit leads), Francis Heylighen (VUB), Robert Lowe (UoG), Elisabeth Blagrove (UoW), Dimitrios Kotzinos (CY)

STUDENT ACTIVITIES: 

  • Cross-EUTOPIA experiment on emotions and cognition – When? Feb-May 2021 – Where? online – more info
  • Student-led summer conference Mei: CogSci – When? 17-19th June 2021 – Where? online – more info
  • Undergraduate Research Day – When? Summer 2021 – Where? online – more info

HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?

Contact the EUTOPIA curriculum team: Jo Angouri (J.Angouri@warwick.ac.uk) and Linde Moriau (Linde.Moriau@vub.be)

EUTOPIA presents: Student Opportunities

Missed the EUTOPIA week session on Student Opportunities? No problem! You can rewatch the entire session below, in which EUTOPIA's student representatives explain why and how you can get involved.

Winter or summer schools

Join one of EUTOPIA’s winter or summer schools:

A 12-week summer programme bringing together some of the top talent from data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence, to work on real-world data science challenges and deliver positive social impact.

June 7th - August 27th 2021

More info here

Packed with interactive seminars and study visits, this summer programme attracts students and young professionals who wish to broaden their knowledge of the European institutions, European law and the European decision-making process in general. The first week of the summer school takes place in Brussels and reviews the main EU institutions and decision-making procedures. During the second week students learn more about EU foreign relations, while enjoying the beautiful city of Vienna.

The intensive two-week Jean Monnet Summer Schoolon EU Policy Making, taught on campus, is held one week in Brussels and one week in Vienna from Monday 5 to Friday 16 July 2021. It allows students to explore both the old and the new centre of diplomacy in Europe. The Brussels based Institute for European Studies (VUB) joins forces with the Diplomatische Akademie Wien — Vienna School of International Studies and the University of Vienna to bring you this ‘crash course’ in European Union Policy Making. The focus area of the Summer edition, which will be civil rights, touching on policy discussions related to human security, migration, anti-discrimination, diversity.

Credits: 5 ECTS

For more information and to apply, please visit the programme's dedicated website.

Course runs 5-16 July 2021 (1st week in Brussels, 2nd week in Vienna) - application deadline: Early bird: 15 March 2021 & Standard deadline: 1 May 2021.

EUTOPIA partners are invited to take part in the Barcelona International Summer School (BISS) July 5th - July 30th 2021. In 2021, the BISS will offer both online and in-campus courses, all of them following the principles that inspire the BISS: interdisciplinarity, innovative approaches and current topics.
 
This year’s selection of courses represent all areas of knowledge taught at UPF covering topics such as Social Movements, Citizen Science, Public Health, Entrepreneurship, Economics, Humanities, Global Justice, Artificial Intelligence or Media studies to name just some.
 
Registration is open until June 15, and all relevant information is already updated at the BISS website.
 
Please, be reminded that students from EUTOPIA institutions benefit from the same conditions as UPF students, i.e. no registration fee and UPF public fees (instead of those applicable to other international students).  

If you have any questions, please contact Lucia Conte  ( lucia.conte@upf.edu )

More information here

The Biotech Summer School 2021 is scheduled to take place from 9-13 August 2021, conditions permitting. 

Due to the changing situation regarding the coronavirus across the world, we are tentitatively organising the Biotech Summer School from 9-13 August 2021, but taking 'expressions of interest' at the moment only.

We will decide to go ahead with the summer school during April 2021 and will at that point switch to taking applications, and promise to then move quickly with registrations as well. Please do not book any travel etc at this point. We will be in touch in April 2021, but meanwhile please let us know if you are interested in participating in this summer school, should it go ahead. 

What is the VUB Biotech Summer School 2021 all about?

  • Are you a bachelor student with a background in biology, chemistry, biotechnology or biomedical sciences?
  • Do you want to learn how biotechnology is used in applications?
  • Do you want to learn more on themes related to cancer research, synthetic biology, structural biology, plant genetics, and research valorisation?

More information here!

The University of Gothenburg’s Summer School for Sustainability is a chance to take action on sustainability and deepen your understanding of global challenges and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. A chance to join an international cohort of likeminded people for four inspirational weeks in one of the most sustainable cities in the world.

The summer school offers a programme of courses and social activities to create synergy around sustainable solutions and encourage interdisciplinary collaboration.

The courses are tuition free and open for students of our partner universities and Swedish students. You find information about how and when to apply below.

You will be able to get accepted for one 7,5 credits (ECTS) course, running over a four week period. The courses start July 5 2021 and end July 30 2021.

Courses

All courses offered will focus on the issues relating to the Sustainable Development Goals and will provide a challenging and rewarding academic atmosphere for you to develop knowledge around contemporary sustainability challenges within your own academic discipline as well as skills necessary to contribute towards fulfilling Agenda 2030.

All courses are on Bachelor level and taught in English. 

You will receive a Transcript of Records when the course is completed.

More information and course list here

28 June - 2 July 2021: Summer School on French Studies. Interculturality, Trends & Model circulation

This summer school is a multidisciplinary program focused on humanities and social sciences from the perspective of intercultural communication. The aim of this multidisciplinary program is to train in the field of French studies (French cultural specificity, France in the world, interculturality, cultural transfer) and to learn more about France.
Please find below the Summer school's flyer with all the needed information.

Please, be reminded that students from EUTOPIA alliance as well as students from CY Université are exempt of the registration fees and thus pay only the tuition fees. 
If you have any questions, please contact Lidiia Shevchenko lidiia.shevchenko@cyu.fr

 

More information

  • 5 July – 9 July 2021: Summer school on Heritage
This Summer School aims to offer students an innovative and multidisciplinary way to approach the fields of heritage and creation. It will introduce students to new research practices and innovative methodologies, reducing the distance between the academic world and institutional laboratories. 
Please find below the Summer school's flyer with all the needed information.

Please, be reminded that students from EUTOPIA alliance as well as students from CY Université are exempt of the registration fees and thus pay only the tuition fees. 
If you have any questions, please contact Lidiia Shevchenko lidiia.shevchenko@cyu.fr
 

PhD Student Opportunities

Through the intensive collaboration between the VUB and the 5 other EUTOPIA universities, PhD students can benefit from several international opportunities in all parts of Europe.

EUTOPIA DocMob

EUTOPIA DocMob doctoral mobility scheme

Are you thinking back fondly on all of these magical moments when you did join international summer schools abroad or international conferences? Well, let us think ahead, when COVID-19 will be under control, and let us introduce the EUTOPIA Doctoral Mobility programme. The EUTOPIA partner universities are eager to host adventurous doctoral candidates who want to take up the challenge of a research visit. This staying abroad of 3 to maximum 6 weeks across EUTOPIA partner universities has as solid aim to foster Scientific Excellence and Research Collaboration. 

In a nutshell project applications should be submitted at the latest by June 22nd 2021 13h CET

Awardees will get a grant of 5K€ to cover travel expenses, accommodation and living allowance. A maximum number of 3 PhD candidates at  VUB will be granted such a fee. 

More information here

Are you thinking back fondly on all of these magical moments when you did join international summer schools abroad or international conferences? Well, let us think ahead, when COVID-19 will be under control, and let us introduce the Eutopia Doctoral Mobility programme of the six partners of the EUTOPIA ERASMUS + project. These partners are eager to host adventurous doctoral candidates who want to take up the challenge of a research visit. This staying abroad of 3 to maximum 6 weeks across EUTOPIA partner universities has as solid aim to foster Scientific Excellence and Research Collaboration. 
What you need = motivation, enthusiasm, hard work investment and courage;
What Eutopia partners can offer =  core research facilities, expertise, infrastructures and research communities.
 
In a nutshell project applications should be submitted at the latest by June 22nd 202113h CET
Awardees will get a grant of 5K€ to cover travel expenses, accommodation and living allowance. A maximum number of 3 PhD candidates will be granted such a fee. 
 
For all general information regarding eligibility criteria, project submission and the selection process check here. More specific information about regulations and administrative procedure at VUB will follow soon. 
For administrative questions please contact RTDO Staff member Mrs Mimi Deprez (rtdo@vub.be) or Academic Lead Prof. dr. Karen François (Karen.françois@vub.be).​​​​​​​

VUB PhD Day

VUB invites PhD students from the EUTOPIA partners to the VUB PhD Day 2021
 
Organized every other year by VUB’s Researcher Training & Development Office and the VUB Doctoral Schools for researchers and professionals in doctoral education, the main goal of the PhD Day is to bring PhD candidates from all disciplines together in order to share experiences, learn from each other and discover what’s new in doctoral support and education. This edition, which takes place on digitally on May 27th,  focuses on the Sustainable Development Goals: Global Challenges translated into Local and Research Projects at VUB and beyond.
 
Make sure to tune in to the workshop ‘EUTOPIA – what’s in it for me?’ to find out which opportunities EUTOPIA offers its PhD students

More information and full programme
Registration
Workshop ‘EUTOPIA – what’s in it for me?

EUTOPIA PhD Conference in Political Science and International Studies - call for papers

“Studying Contemporary Global Politics: Discourse, Emotions, (In)Security and Beyond”

(to be held virtually on September 16th-17th 2021)

This conference constitutes a space to share and reflect on cutting-edge methodologies ranging from the study of discourses to narratives and content analysis of qualitative data more broadly.

We particularly welcome papers that:

  • Connect different methodological approaches and methods, either from within the same or across different disciplines.
  • Discuss in-depth methodology and methods of a research paper or a PhD thesis, including details such as codebooks, coding-procedures, and data selection.
  • Elaborate on the scholar’s positionality, including ethnic background, nationality, gender, religion, etc., in the research process.
  • Present how the author connected the theoretical framework with the methodology.
  • Explore the implications of the pandemic on research design and practices.

Interested researchers should send a proposal comprised of a 500-words abstract and a short biography to PAIS_EUTOPIA@warwick.ac.uk. The deadline for proposals is May 30th, 2021.

 

CALL FOR PAPERS

EUTOPIA Postgraduate Conference in Political Science and International Studies

“Studying Contemporary Global Politics: Discourse, Emotions, (In)Security and Beyond”

(to be held virtually on September 16th-17th 2021)

We find the world amidst significant political, social, economic, and technological transformations incited by the global Covid-19 pandemic, late modernity, and the industrial revolution 4.0, amongst others. These global dynamics have far-reaching implications for states, governments, and communities, as well as for individuals since their everyday lives are significantly affected by these developments. Thereby, routines, identities, and security of individual and collective actors are increasingly challenged, leading to wide-spread emotional distress and manifold coping mechanisms to adapt to this ‘brave new world’. As a result, politics and international studies are now more crucial than ever to understand the implications of these challenges as well as how political actors respond to them. These multi-layered developments entail an abundance of actors and therefore methodological pluralism is paramount to capture different perspectives on these recent global transformations.

This methodological pluralism has hugely benefited the study of politics. However, methods and methodology are often left as a sidenote in journal articles or books as theoretical frameworks and empirical findings often take the centre stage. This often leads researchers, especially early career scholars, to be creative in their methodological thinking by resorting to textbook methodological approaches and then synthesising and adapting them in a way that fits the case study at hand. This adaptation is a creative process in which something new, that is uniquely equipped to study a specific case, is engendered. Especially in the light of the contemporary global developments in which research designs need to be adapted to the limitations of a pandemic, whilst also responding to new phenomena at hand to study, a constructive dialogue on methodologies is crucial as there is not only one right way to study politics. This conference constitutes a space to share and reflect on cutting-edge methodologies ranging from the study of discourses to narratives and content analysis of qualitative data more broadly. Whilst some details about the overall research project should of course be provided in order to contextualise the presentation, this conference aims to focus on the method(ological) component of the work. Therefore, we would be very keen to receive papers that explicitly discuss the methodological aspect of a research project. We also encourage doctoral students to submit the methodology chapter or section of their thesis, accompanied by some theoretical background, if they wish to get some feedback on it.

We particularly welcome papers that:

  • Connect different methodological approaches and methods, either from within the same or across different disciplines.

  • Discuss in-depth methodology and methods of a research paper or a PhD thesis, including details such as codebooks, coding-procedures, and data selection.

  • Elaborate on the scholar’s positionality, including ethnic background, nationality, gender, religion, etc., in the research process.

  • Present how the author connected the theoretical framework with the methodology.

  • Explore the implications of the pandemic on research design and practices.

    Through the EUTOPIA university network, comprised of six member universities (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, CY Cergy Paris Université, University of Gothenburg, University of Ljubljana, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, and University of Warwick), doctoral researchers will have the possibility to engage with the work of peers from different European universities with different academic traditions. This diversity in perspectives and approaches will enable the participants to enhance their understanding of methodological questions and ideally also benefit them in their own research projects. Moreover, this conference constitutes a great networking opportunity for PhD researchers and early career scholars with colleagues across Europe at a similar stage in their career.

    Interested researchers should send a proposal comprised of a 500-words abstract and a short biography to PAIS_EUTOPIA@warwick.ac.uk. The deadline for proposals is May 30th, 2021.

    For any question or enquiry about the conference or the paper selection process, please contact us at PAIS_EUTOPIA@warwick.ac.uk.

    Organisers: Nicolai Gellwitzki (Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick) and Anne-Marie Houde (Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick)

EUTOPIA Student Career Ambassadors Workshops

Working closely with our partner universities' Career Centers, the EUTOPIA Student Career Ambassadors have made it their mission to prepare you for the ever-changing, perhaps slightly daunting, landscape which is the jobmarket.

Ranging from sessions dedicated to the EPSO selection processes, to science communication, to jobhunting, the Student Career Ambassadors are here to coach you!

Curious about working abroad?
In this second part of the "Life as an expat" workshop series, 5 panelists will be sharing the good and the bad about the expat life. Ask these VUB alumni all your questions on international work experiences.

Join our panel on
Tuesday, 4 May, 2021  
6 p.m. CET

Register here

 

Co-create the EUTOPIA PhD curriculum

As explained by our very own vice-rector for Education and Students Jan Danckaert in the video below, the EUTOPIA educational model evolves around the establishment of EUTOPIA Connected Learning Communities. In these communities, academic staff, students and stakeholders co-create course content fit for the European University of the future.

How can you become an active member of one of the EUTOPIA Connected Learning Communities, you ask?

Check out our current PhD level Learning Communities, and the PhD student opportunities on offer within them below: 

BA/MA/PHD – UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK

MultiDiv is a unique hub that brings together senior academics as well as UG (undergraduate) / PG (postgraduate) research developed through the formal curriculum and relevant extracurricular activities. It takes the form of an intensive, face-to-face week-long activity and involves workshops, data training, and sessions on interpreting research for wider audiences, policymakers, and the media most notably.

TEAM: Jo Angouri & Chantal Wright (UoW – learning unit leads), Vicent Climent-Ferrando (UPF), Ann Peeters (VUB), Alex Housen (VUB), Tommaso Milani (UoG), Tamara Pavasovic Trost (UoL), Claire Carles-Hugue (CY), Joanna Nowicki (CY)

STUDENT ACTIVITIES: 

  • Cross-EUTOPIA student seminar on Linguistic Landscaping – When? Feb 4th2021 – Where? online – more info
  • MultiDiv Research Conference – When? June 2021 – Where? TBC – more info
  • Virtual Buddy Scheme – more info will be provided soon
  • Student-led EUTOPIA module on Multilingualism & Diversity – more info will be provided soon

HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?

Contact the EUTOPIA curriculum team: Jo Angouri (J.Angouri@warwick.ac.uk) and Linde Moriau (Linde.Moriau@vub.be)

MA/PHD,  VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT BRUSSEL

In this course, master students from different programs work together in interdisciplinary groups. Based on real-life research results, emanating from the research departments of the university (VUB), students engage in a so-called ‘technological business development project’. The university researchers of these labs are then involved in the definition of the project and the coaching of the students.

TEAM: Thomas Crispeels (VUB _ – learning unit lead), Oriol Amat (UPF), Johan Magnusson (UoG), Sue Newell (UoW), Matej Cerne (UoL), Miha Skerlavay (UoL), Olivier Fourcadet (CY)

STUDENT ACTIVITIES: 

  • cross-EUTOPIA student teams and feedback sessions – When? Oct 2020 – June 2021 – Where? online – more info
  • cross-EUTOPIA research seminar on Technological Business Development – When?              Jan 27th 2021 – Where? online – more info

HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?

Contact the EUTOPIA curriculum team: Jo Angouri (J.Angouri@warwick.ac.uk) and Linde Moriau (Linde.Moriau@vub.be)

Doctoral degree programs

EUTOPIA partners offer various PhD opportunities. Regularly check this section to stay tuned!

The University of Ljubljana has launched its call for enrollment into 21 doctoral degree programs for the academic year 2020/2021. The call and more information about application deadlines and application documentation can be found through this link.

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Open call for Early Stage Researchers position within H2020 MSCA-ITN-ETN project PARENT

University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Computer and Information Science offers Early Stage Researcher (ESR) position for 3 years (36 months) within a EU-funded project (Marie Curie Action) PARENT. 
PARENT is an EU-funded project (Marie Curie Action) aiming for early diagnosis of motor/cognitive impairments in preterm children. PARENT combines the efforts of a multidisciplinary network of leading European research groups, industry partners, pediatric hospitals and parents’ associations to develop a technological infrastructure that will train Early Stage Researchers (ESR) to conduct top-notch research in leading academic institutions, hospitals, and industry R&D divisions. During the research there will be strong emphasis on career development and on achieving impact. 

For more information about the ESR position, please go on the Euraxess Jobs&Funding page.
For additional information about this specific ESR call, please contact Asst. Prof. Dr. Aleksander Sadikov; Email: aleksander.sadikov@fri.uni-lj.si

If you need more information, please contact Tomažin, Jelena (Jelena.Tomazin@uni-lj.si)

PhD opportunities at Warwick’s School of Modern Languages and Cultures

 
Thinking of studying for a PhD?
The School of Modern Languages and Cultures (SMLC) at the University of Warwick offers MPhil/PhD programmes in French Studies, German Studies, Hispanic Studies, Italian, and Translation and Transcultural Studies. The SMLC warmly invite expressions of interest from students interested in applying for one of a number of internally and externally funded PhD scholarships.

PhD Scholarship ERC Starting Grant 'CURIAE VIRIDES' in the area of sustainable development law

The Institute for European Studies is looking for a PhD-student with a doctoral grant. 

About the Institute for European Studies (IES):

The IES aims to excel at cutting-edge, multidisciplinary and applied policy research on the most urgent governance challenges confronting policymakers in Europe and the wider world. Most notably, these include (i) the governance of sustainability transitions in Europe and  internationally (ii) the impact of migration on the economic potential, political cohesion and diverse identities of European societies, (iii) the implications of the return of great power competition for European security, diplomacy and defence policies, and (iv) the way in which digital technologies challenge the organisation of the public and private sectors as well as our understanding of democracy writ large. 

In this call, the IES is seeking an innovative and original PhD project within the first of the noted research themes, i.e. the sustainability transitions, more specific conducting research on “judicial (and social) activism on ecological governance gaps”. 

More information here

Doctoral schools

   

University of Ljubljana, School of Economics and Business
DOCTORAL WINTER SCHOOL online

The School of Economics and Business of the University of Ljubljana offers Doctoral winter schools online, from 15th to 19th of February of 2021.

The courses are aimed at PhD students, post-docs, academics and professionals from various fields.
They are offered in the same week, so it is possible to register for only one course.
All participants will receive an official certificate of attendance at the end of the course.
Participants who need ECTS credits for their doctoral studies: an official transcript of records can be issued after fulfilling all course obligations with a passed final exam/assessment. 

Please find below the separate links to the three programmes offered:
 
University of Ljubljana, School of Economics and Business in cooperation with University of St. Gallen 
GLOBAL SCHOOL EMPIRICAL RESEARCH METHODS (online)

Global School in Empirical Research Methods – GSERM is high-quality integrated programme, teaching methodology for PhD students, postdocs, researchers from leading universities and professionals from outside academia from all around the world.
It will take place from the 8th to the 15th of January 2021. The programme will help participants in mastering advanced methodological skills that will empower them to conduct cutting-edge academic research.

Participants are welcome to choose among six intellectually stimulating empirical research courses. All courses are accredited with 4 ECTS credits and taught in English. Classes will be held by some of the top academics within their research area. Participants in the GSERM courses will have the opportunity to network with faculty and fellow students from around the world.
 

Staff opportunities

EUTOPIA offers several opportunities for academic and non-academic staff, but we also call on the initiative of staff members to develop strong ties with our partners.

Young Leaders Academy - call for applications

The ambition of the EUTOPIA Young Leaders Academy (YLA) is to support research exchanges between high-potential, early to mid-career researchers from all EUTOPIA partner universities and support their career development.

Members of the EUTOPIA Young Leaders Academy will constitute a community of promising independent research leaders at the scale of EUTOPIA, sharing and promoting European values and the EUTOPIA vision of an interconnected academic environment.

Young Leaders Academy is open to early to mid-career researchers, preferably between 2 to 12 years after PhD completion. YLA Fellows will be appointed for a period of 2 years.

Opening date for applications: 30 April 2021
Closing date for applications: 30 June 2021

Young Leaders Academy (YLA)

The ambition of the EUTOPIA Young Leaders Academy (YLA) is to support research exchanges between high-potential, early to mid-career researchers from all EUTOPIA partner universities and support their career development.

Members of the EUTOPIA Young Leaders Academy will constitute a community of promising independent research leaders at the scale of EUTOPIA, sharing and promoting European values and the EUTOPIA vision of an interconnected academic environment.

 

EUTOPIA Young Leaders Academy Fellows will be given the opportunity:

  • To develop their research leadership skills through a dedicated training programme;
  • To take part in interdisciplinary scholarly exchange and research networking activities, among Fellows and with the broader EUTOPIA research community;
  • To initiate research collaborations within the EUTOPIA Alliance
  • To contribute to the development of a challenge-based and student-shaped curriculum, through the development of research-led learning units open to undergraduate and graduate students;
  • To act as EUTOPIA ambassadors, contributing to the Alliance’s activities and fostering the emergence of an integrated research community at the EUTOPIA scale.

Young Leaders Academy is open to early to mid-career researchers, preferably between 2 to 12 years after PhD completion. YLA Fellows will be appointed for a period of 2 years.

Applicants should already be formally appointed with one of the Universities of the EUTOPIA Alliance and hold a tenured or tenure-track position or major research fellowship; 

 Opening date for applications: 30 April 2021
Closing date for applications: 30 June 2021 

For full information on the call and the application and selection criteria,
please consult the documents below:

CALL DESCRIPTION (link)

APPLICATION FORM (link)

The EUTOPIA Young Leaders Academy will enrol the first cohort of 18 Fellows, starting in September 2021. A second call for applications is scheduled to open in early 2023.

Contact Information for local managers of the EUTOPIA Young Leaders Academy:

EUTOPIA Researcher Mobility Program

The Researcher Mobility Program will support research visits of EUTOPIA researchers across EUTOPIA partner universities. The main objective of this program is to foster research collaborations and to allow the sharing of expertise and infrastructures and the development of joint research activities (e.g. common publications, PhD co-tutelles, joint applications for external research funds etc.), in line with EUTOPIA’s mission to promote a connected and inclusive academic community, addressing global and local challenges and advancing excellence and inclusion.

Objectives

The Researcher Mobility Program will support research visits of EUTOPIA researchers across EUTOPIA partner universities. The main objective of this program is to foster research collaborations and to allow the sharing of expertise and infrastructures and the development of joint research activities (e.g. common publications, PhD co-tutelles, joint applications for external research funds etc.), in line with EUTOPIA’s mission to promote a connected and inclusive academic community, addressing global and local challenges and advancing excellence and inclusion.

The program is developed as part of the EUTOPIA 2050 Erasmus+ project. It will allow each EUTOPIA university to finance a minimum of 4 research mobility projects, for a total of 24 research visits over the duration of the EUTOPIA 2050 project.

All visits financed under the EUTOPIA Researcher Mobility Program should be project-led and allow the development and furthering of research collaborations between the researchers of the EUTOPIA Alliance. The program is open to all academic disciplines and topics. Projects addressing key societal challenges of our time, and related to EUTOPIA’s overarching theme “Planetary well-being” are especially encouraged.

Eligibility and funding

Who can apply?

  • Faculty from all EUTOPIA partner universities, including post-doctoral fellows – 
  • Pre-doctoral researchers are not eligible to this mobility program (but a dedicated doctoral mobility program is in preparation).
  • Faculty from international partners of the six universities of EUTOPIA, within the frame of research projects involving researchers from multiple EUTOPIA member universities.

What can be funded ?

  • The program supports short research visits of 2 to 3 weeks and covers travel, accommodation and living expenses during the stay, within the limit of 3000 euros per project.
  • For EUTOPIA faculty, coverage and reimbursement will be defined in accordance with the financial rules of the home university of the researcher. For international faculty, the financial rules of the host university will apply.

Application procedure overview

A complete description of the application procedure will be provided online on 6 July 2020. 

The application will include:

  • A description of the research project, to be carried out during the visit;
  • The identification of a host researcher co-responsible for the conduct of the research project during the visit; who shall also be the main contact person for the visiting researcher in the host institution in the preparation of the project and during the visit; 
  • the endorsement of the director of the host research center, confirming the research center’s capacity of offering good research conditions for the visit.

Research collaboration opportunities

For an overview of the research activities of the EUTOPIA partners and to establish contact with researchers or research centers at partner institutions, please refer to the following links:

Contact for general inquiries:

Nicola Ebenburger, Director of International Scientific Development, CY Cergy Paris University, nicola.ebenburger@cyu.fr

Local referents of the EUTOPIA Research Mobility program will be nominated by each partner university early July.

Fellowships

    

The Paris Seine Institute of Advanced Studies has launched a new scheme, the EUTOPIA Visiting Fellowships, to facilitate the hosting of EUTOPIA researchers wishing to collaborate with Paris Seine faculty.

Applications are open and welcome! 

More information.

  • Supported by the University of Warwick, the Fernandes Fellowships aim to develop lasting research collaborations between Warwick and Europe, in particularly with EUTOPIA partners.
    The Fellowships will allow those in research, tenure-track or early academic positions at European institutions to undertake a three-month visit to Warwick (possibly split over two or three visits) in order to develop long-term research collaborations by participating in a specific program of research and scholarship with their host and other collaborators, and engaging with the wider Warwick research community.

    The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) at Warwick has recently released details of projects that have been awarded Fernandes Fellowships. Researchers from the University of Pompeu Fabra, Vrije Universiteit Brussels, CY Cergy Paris Université and the University of Ljubljana have all notably been successful and will visit Warwick as Fellows for research projects.

    The scheme remains open for new applications but please contact the IAS ahead of applying to discuss the timings of planned visits in light of COVID-19. See below for further information.

    More information.

    Fernandes Fellowships

Upcoming events

Only exciting things ahead of us!

EUTOPIA Science Fair

The EUTOPIA Science Fairs are one of the ways the EUTOPIA alliance chose to display the variety and the quality of its PhD and post-doctoral research. Due to the pandemic, the first EUTOPIA Science Fair will be organised as a virtual event—a Research Posters exhibition on EUTOPIA’s website—starting 15 February 2021.

Join the Science Fair's inauguraution February 15th, 11h30 - 12h30, or the roundtable discussion on Scientific Communication February 25th, 14h - 15h30, both broadcasted on our Youtube Channel. 

EUTOPIA Science Fair

Think Europe is out of reach during the pandemic and these #blijfinuwkottimes? Think again!  EUTOPIA unites 6 universities, among which VUB of course, across Europe in a prestigious and innovative cooperative project aimed at transforming European Higher Education once and for all. And you can be part of this European network!

HOW?

By visiting EUTOPIA's online Science Fair, for example! The EUTOPIA Science Fairs are one of the ways the EUTOPIA alliance chose to display the variety and the quality of its PhD and post-doctoral research. Due to the pandemic, the first EUTOPIA Science Fair will be organised as a virtual event—a Research Posters exhibition on EUTOPIA’s website — starting 15 February 2021.

WHAT?

A virtual exhibition of research posters and short videos pitching some of the core issues EUTOPIA's researchers are currently tackling. During the kick-off session on February 15th at 11h30, visitors to the exhibition will have the possibility to talk to the researchers via specific Zoom links. Some round table talks will also be organized at the end of February, so stay tuned!

WHEN?

The Science Fair will open on 15 February 2021, and will remain open until 31 March 2021. One or two round-table discussions will be organised on a transversal thematic at the end of February 2021.

WHY?

Why take a look? Because EUTOPIA is a European international alliance, and the research posters on display may open new perspectives for researchers of the consortium, including senior academic staff. The Science Fair round table discussions can also be the occasion to get to know an intercultural and integrated community of likeminded universities and researchers across Europe.

INTEREST PIQUED?

Of course it is! More information here

EUTOPIA Student Career Ambassador Workshops

Working closely with our partner universities' Career Centers, the EUTOPIA Student Career Ambassadors have made it their mission to prepare you for the ever-changing, perhaps slightly daunting, landscape which is the jobmarket.

Ranging from sessions dedicated to the EPSO selection processes, to science communication, to jobhunting, the Student Career Ambassadors are here to coach you!

Participate in the two workshops "Life as an expat" organised by EUTOPIA's Career Ambassadors!

Moving to another country can be very rewarding but is always connected to difficulties.
Especially when you plan to move to another country more permanently and not only for your studies or an internship, planning your move can be challenging. But you are not alone! There is help!

In this first of two workshops, we will look at what you will need to keep in mind regarding the administrative aspects of moving abroad! 
Besides giving helpful hints about what to consider, you will learn about EURAXESS and get to ask questions to a panel of people that have left their home countries to live abroad. 

Join our Zoom Webinar on 
Monday, 26 April, 2021  
6 p.m. (CEST) / 5 p.m. (GMT+1)

Registrations are open under: 
https://link.webropol.com/ep/eutopiacareerexpat1

Curious about working abroad?
In this second part of the "Life as an expat" workshop series, 4 panelists will be sharing the good and the bad about the expat life. Ask these VUB alumni all your questions on international work experiences.

Join our panel on
Tuesday, 4 May, 2021  
6 p.m. (CEST) / 5 p.m. (GMT+1)

Registrations are open for “#3 – Alumni about Working Abroad”: 
https://communicatie.vub.be/alumni-webinars-2021

Past events

Take a look back at our past events with us, and reminisce about the good times.

BeEUTOPIAn

EUTOPIA invites students to the first annual BeEUTOPIAn Student Conference: 20th to 22nd of April 2021. A conference organized by students, for students. Theme of this edition: the impacts of covid-19 on international education

Full programme

Register here - First 20 students to register will receive a BeEUTOPIAn goodie bag!

1st BeEUTOPIAn Student Conference: 20th to 22nd of April 2021 

THE FIRST BEEUTOPIAN STUDENT CONFERENCE – THE IMPACTS OF COVID-19 ON INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION

The first BeEUTOPIAn Student Conference will be focusing on the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on different aspects of international education. We will host professors, academic experts and students from many European universities, to talk about experience and problems that we have faced during this one year of the pandemic. 

A lot has changed in the educational systems – we have faced the move of classes and other activities online, social distancing has left campuses across European Union empty and all of that has had a big impact on education. 

During the three days of the conference we will organize 5 lectures dedicated to many aspects of impacts of the pandemic. 

 

CONFERENCE PROGRAM

April 20th - DAY 1 [4 PM - 7:45 PM]

Lecture 1 [4 PM - 5:15 PM]: Digitalization & COVID-19

- 15-minute break-

Lecture 2 [5:30 PM - 7:45 PM]: The impacts of COVID-19 on mental health

 

April 21st - DAY 2 [4 PM - 7:45 PM]

Lecture 1 [4 PM - 5:15 PM]: The effects of COVID-19 on student formation and work perspective

- 15-minute break -

Lecture 2 [5:30 PM - 7:45 PM]: COVID-19 consequences on specific cases (the future of Erasmus program)

 

April 22nd - DAY 3 [4 PM - 5:30 PM]

Lecture: Future & Solutions

 

REGISTRATION

Participants can fill out online registration form via this link. 

! THE FIRT 20 PEOPLE TO REGISTER WILL RECEIVE BEEUTOPIAN GOODIE BAG !

 

LECTURES DESCRIPTION

Day 1 | 20 April 2021: Digitalisation, COVID-19 and mental health

The first day provides an opportunity to assess how digitalisation created a new experiential concept about learning and mental health. Discussion will focus on how students and lecturers adapt to a digital form of learning and teaching and a new paradigm became part of everyone’s primary and secondary identity. This session will also discuss on how assessments have been transformed in higher.  In the second part of the program, we will focus on the mental health characteristic of online learning and digitalisation. Here, we look at different supports and provisions that, or the lack of it, might have been available during the height of the pandemic.  This part of the session will focus on the implicit and explicit feature of mental health.

Day 2 | 21 April 2021: The consequences of COVID-19

The cost of COVID-19 is axiomatic. Providing platform with the aim of discussing the consequences of COVID-19, in this second day, we will talk about how the pandemic created a vacuum on equality, accessibility, and possible missed market opportunities. The purpose is to gain understanding into the complex result of the pandemic and the need for a collaborative and multilateral engagement. In the afternoon, specific details regarding the cost of COVID-19 will be examined and how to solve chronic problem that has been looming since lockdown. This includes support provision for international students, zeal of COVID-19 graduates to join labor force, robustness of academic output in an e-learning environment, and the availability of face-to-face internship to bridge the gap between academic theories and its practical trait.

Day 3 | 22 April 2021: Future and possible solutions

The last day of this three-day Student Conference will put in the spotlight on how to connect and engage various stakeholders to find solutions to these challenges. To be used as a stepping stone, this last session will offer pathways to discuss lessons that can be learnt and success that can be built; evaluate pedagogical tools and the expansion of blended learning; and the closure of any educational gaps and mental health issues as a result of the pandemic.

EUTOPIA Week 3 hosted by University of Gothenburg - Join our journey!

Get your agenda and pencil in some extensive Swedish Fika time, EUTOPIA week 3 is coming!

EUTOPIA Week 12-16 April 2021

Organized by the University of Gothenburg

The University of Gothenburg is looking forward to hosting the third EUTOPIA Week online from 12-16 April 2021. Celebrating the existence of our EUTOPIA alliance, this week will be packed with workshops and seminars on a wide range of topics, relevant to students, staff and researchers within the alliance and beyond. There will also be some great networking opportunities for everyone, and even a few fun activities planned.

The full programme, plus information on the speakers and on how to register, will be published shortly on the University of Gothenburg’s EUTOPIA Week website at www.gu.se/en/eutopia-week-spring-2021.

So come aboard and join our journey!

EUTOPIAn Futures

The future of Europe and the role of Higher Education in shaping it - a conversation with Federica Mogherini, Jonathan Holslag and Luc Soete

Zoom webinar, 13 April 19h - 21h CET

How is Higher Education best organized in order to rise to its infinitely ambitious goals? 

#EUTOPIAnFutures, EUTOPIA wants to stimulate reflection on this very topic. On 13 April, join EUTOPIA, Brussels School of Governance and College of Europe  in a conversation with rector Federica Mogherini, Prof. Jonathan Holslag and Prof. Luc Soete.

And when we say ‘join our conversation’, we mean that in the most literal way. What have you always wanted to ask rector Mogherini, prof. Holslag or prof. Soete?

Send us your questions on this matter, and perhaps you’ll be one of ten selected students from across Europe to join our virtual panel debate as a panelist! 

Register here

Send us your questions here (before April 7th 2021)

The future of Europe and the role of Higher Education in shaping it - a conversation with Federica Mogherini, Jonathan Holslag and Luc Soete

 

“We are at a critical and indeed historical point with regard to the significance of education for the new Europe”, the OECD stated back in 1973. It’s 2021, the roaring twenties are hopefully about to kick in, and this statement still holds unequivocally true.

Universities operate in turbulent times, and innovative ways of thinking, working, learning and researching together, locally and globally, are needed to face today’s and tomorrow’s grand societal challenges.

So how is Higher Education best organized in order to rise to its infinitely ambitious goals? 

With EUTOPIAn Futures, EUTOPIA wants to stimulate reflection on this very topic.

EUTOPIAn Futures: the future of Europe and the role of Higher Education in shaping it - join EUTOPIA, Brussels School of Governance and College of Europe in a conversation with rector Federica Mogherini, professor Jonathan Holslag and professor Luc Soete.

And when EUTOPIA says ‘join our conversation’, we mean that in the most literal way: we want to hear from you. 

What have you always wanted to ask rector Mogherini, professor Holslag or professor Soete? Perhaps you want to know more about the societal challenges calling for a transformation of Higher Education? How can we strengthen the position of the EU in the global Higher Education market? Or maybe you’re concerned about employability for young graduates? 

Send us your burning questions and most pressing concerns, and perhaps you’ll be one of ten selected students from across Europe to join our virtual panel debate as a panelist! 

Speakers: 

  • Rector Federica Mogherini (rector of the College of Europe and former High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission),  

  • Professor Jonathan Holslag (professor International Politics at VUB, former special adviser to the Vice-President of the European Commission)  

  • Professor Luc Soete (Dean of the Brussels School of Governance, Honorary Professor of International Economics at Maastricht University) 

  • Students of EUTOPIA, Brussels School of Governance and College of Europe

Agenda: 

  • 19.00: Introduction by professor Luc Soete

  • 19.15:  Intervention by rector Federica Mogherini 

  • 19.30 - Intervention by professor Jonathan Holslag 

  • 19.45 - Panel debate with students of EUTOPIA, Brussels School of Governance and College of Europe 

  • 20.45 - Closing remarks by professor Luc Soete

Send us your questions here (before April 7th 2021) 

 

EUTOPIAn Futures: the future of Europe and the role of Higher Education in shaping it - a conversation with Federica Mogherini, Jonathan Holslag and Luc Soete is a virtual event organized by EUTOPIA European University in the context of EUTOPIA week, in cooperation with Brussels School of Governance and College of Europe. 

weDISCOVER.brussels - Come discover Brussels with EUTOPIA!

During the weDISCOVER.brussels week (29 March – 1 April 2021), some 70 students from all EUTOPIA universities —  participating in the EUTOPIA Open Innovation Challenge — will virtually join forces with local partners in finding meaningful solutions to glocal urban challenges.

While these students and stakeholders feverishly labour away and bravely face the contemporary challenges of today’s complex and multi-faceted society, the EUTOPIA community is invited to join them during the more relaxed and informal activities.

In short, YOU are cordially invited to come discover the capital of Europe and virtually join weDISCOVER.brussels activities!

Virtual city tour of Brussels – 29/03/2021 12h00 – 13h00 CET

Artist, architect and city guide Olaf Winkler will guide you through the city of Brussels and its unique areas. During the tour, Olaf will take you to three main areas of the capital of Europe:

  1. The canal zone is being developed at an incredible pace and it shows in its social dynamic. In under 2 kilometres you walk from new high-rise luxury projects to Brussels’ most impoverished areas.  
  2. A four-lane highway used to cross right through the historical centre of Brussels. Initiated by citizen activism, this zone has been completely reconstructed over the last couple of years.
  3. The number of European institutions situated in Brussels has shifted the social dynamic of the European District. The city of Brussels’ approach to these urban challenges lies in District Contracts, these durable district contracts contain a section housing, public space, infrastructure and social initiatives.

    Registration: send an email to ian.komac@vub.be

Virtual exhibition tour PILAR – 30/03/2021 11h30 – 12h30 CET


Pilar is VUB’s cultural hub, not only for its students, but for the entire region of Brussels.  Get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of Pilar’s inner workings, and how their latest exhibition come to be. During this virtual visit, we’ll also focus on broader questions: Which function does this artistic hub play in the urban network around the central VUB campus? How does Pilar support local artists and the Brussels art scene? 
 
Registration: send an email to ian.komac@vub.be


Workshop ‘How to pitch’ by Start.VUB – 31/03/2021 10h00 – 11h00 CET


One of the most important career skills these days is being able to do a convincing and passionate pitch presentation. How to convince an audience of the importance of your idea? Start.VUB, the university’s start-up hub, organises a ‘How to pitch’ workshop. In this one-hour session, you’ll get tips and tricks, do’s and don’ts, and can ask all your burning questions in a Q&A session. 
 
Registration: send an email to ian.komac@vub.be


Masterclass Waad al-Kateab ‘For Sama’ – 1/04/2021 11h - 12h CET


In this masterclass, Syrian director Waad al-Kateab talks about diversity, current affairs, media perspectives, citizen journalism and her experience creating her Oscar-nominated documentary ‘For Sama’. Introduction by VUB rector Caroline Pauwels, masterclass followed by debate and Q&A session. We highly recommend watching ‘For Sama’ in preparation of this masterclass.
 
Registration: send an email to tim.raats@vub.be


Virtual concert 70 '80 '90: The Hip Hop Edition by Supafly Collective x Lefto – 1/04/2021 20h00 CET - …


Dive into the hip hop scene from the 70s 80s 90s with concert hall Ancienne Belgique, VUB’s cultural hub Pilar and VUB student associations Limburgia and Campina. Together with Lefto and Supafly Collective, we dance the lockdown away. Release the brakes on April 1st in the comfort and safety of your home.
 
More information and registration here

EUTOPIA Student Career Ambassadors Workshops

Working closely with our partner universities' Career Centers, the EUTOPIA Student Career Ambassadors have made it their mission to prepare you for the ever-changing, perhaps slightly daunting, landscape which is the jobmarket.

Ranging from sessions dedicated to the EPSO selection processes, to science communication, to jobhunting, the Student Career Ambassadors are here to coach you!

EUTOPIA Student Career Ambassadors present: Career Opportunities with the EU Institutions and EPSO selection processes

Find out more about employment and traineeship opportunities within European Union institutions

Missed this event? Not to worry! Rewatch here

Students of the Eutopia alliance, come join us January 20th 2021 4pm-5pm to find out about employment and traineeship opportunities within European Union institutions.

EUTOPIA is an alliance of European universities that is working towards adapting the model of higher education to the needs of the twentyfirst century.

The EUTOPIA alliance is made up of six universities: Vrije Universiteit Brussel, CY Cergy Paris Université, the University of Gothenburg, the University of Ljubljana, Universitat Pompeu Fabra and the University of Warwick.

To find out more about working for a European Institution, sign up and learn about:

✔ Working at a European institution (student profiles, criteria and eligibility benefits)

✔ The selection procedure for Permanent Officials

✔ The selection procedure for Contract Agents

✔ Traineeship opportunities (e.g.: at the European Commission, the European Parliament or the Council of the European Union).

Sign up and discover what opportunities the European Union holds for you! Guillem Martínez, EU and Eutopia Careers Student Ambassador and UNICAT Ambassador at Pompeu Fabra University, and POLITICO's EU Studies and Career Fair Ambassador, will be happy to talk you through all your options.

Sign up here

Calling all students, PhD students, post-doctoral researchers and even veteran professors for this session on effective science communication!

Hosted by EUTOPIA's Student Career Ambassadors and the University of Ljubljana, this session aims to:

  • cover good practices in science communication and storytelling,
  • share some tips on how one can promote one’s work,
  • provide some practical tips on how to improve poster and oral presentations, especially given today’s “virtual” restrictions.

When?

The workshop will take place online on the 17th of February 2021, 3pm - 4pm CET.

How?

Here’s how to register :

  1. Go to POPR (https://popr.uni-lj.si/unauth)
  2. If you are a student, click on “Student UL brez statusa / Other students”. Il you are a staff member of a professor, click on “Ostali / Others”
  3. Click on « Registracija » and fill in the form
  4. Within 24h you will receive an email linked to you new account
  5. Register for the workshop by clicking on this second link : https://popr.uni-lj.si/leap/event.html?id=623&service=Careers+Service

More information here

The Career Ambassadors from the University of Warwick have prepared a great workshop for all students aiming to find job opportunities in the United Kingdom.

What will you learn ?

First, the career ambassadors will present the situation of the labour market in the UK, and the current major job opportunities, as well as the major websites students should be using to look for them.

Then the workshop will be divided into four sections, focusing on the different steps necessary for a job application :

Having a good CV :

  • Importance of tailoring your CV for the job offer
  • Researching on employers
  • Example of a typical CV

Having a good cover letter : 

  • Importance of a good cover letter
  • Example of a typical cover letter

How to fill in application forms : 

  • Tips when answering questions from an application forms
  • Example of typical questions and how to answer them

How to handle job interviews :

  • Tips on how to handle interviews
  • Example of typical questions and how to answer them

The workshop will end with a QnA session with the Warwick Career Counselor : Anne Wilson.

When and How ?

This workshop will take place on Monday 22nd February 2021, at 6 p.m CET (Paris), 5 p.m GMT (London)

To register, please fill this form 

If you have some further questions about this workshop, please address them to Neha.Mutagi@warwick.ac.uk

What is it about ?

Would you like to develop your skills and broaden your expertise in an international environment?

Join the EUTOPIA Student Career Ambassadors and the University of Ljubljana for the on-line presentation of opportunities for internships and summer work at Hisense Europe, one of the leading European providers of home appliances.

The Slovenian company Gorenje, part of the Hisense Group, is present in the homes of customers in more than 160 countries worldwide. Gorenje is a global player with more than 75,000 employees, 6500 of which are development engineers.

Since June 2020, the company has established in Slovenia an R&D center for cooking appliances serving the needs of the entire group.

Barbara Mladovan, Senior Expert in Human Rresources at Hisense Gorenje, and Tomaž Bregar, Chief Research Engineer at Hisense Gorenje, will be present for the event.

For whom ?

If you are in technical studies and fluent in English, join us for the presentation of opportunities in:

  • RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
  • COMPUTER AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
  • QUALITY MANAGEMENT
  • PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
  • PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT

When and How ?

The event takes place online on the 10th of March 2021 at 3 p.m. CET.

How to apply if you are EUTOPIA alliance student:

Enter POPR , first you must register as “Student UL brez statusa / Other students”.

After completing the registration form, wait for registration confirmation (it should arrive to your email in 24 hours) and then apply to the event through this link.

EUTOPIA-SIF info webinars

Missed the EUTOPIA-SIF infowebinars? Not to worry, rewatch here

EUTOPIA-Science and Innovation Fellowships (EUTOPIA-SIF) offers 76 post-doctoral researchers a 2-year fellowship position. International post-doctoral researchers with a strong research proposal can apply for a fellowship at VUB, and VUB post-docs interested in international mobility can apply for positions at EUTOPIA's partners.

Selected researchers will first conduct research at their home institutions, followed up by two research secondments at international partners: one at one of the EUTOPIA partner universities, and one at a third party partner institution (academic or extra-academic stakeholder). Researchers will also enjoy unique training opportunities, career advice and academic guidance throughout their 2-year fellowship.

The first call for applications is now open, and closes January 11 2020. Research proposals in one of the four following transdisciplinary fields are eligible for funding: materials engineering, data & intelligence, health, sustainability, welfare & inclusion.

EUTOPIA-SIF is a case study in the recently published European Research Area (ERA) report ‘Towards a 2030 vision on the future of universities in Europe’ (p121), and was lauded extensively! 

"An example of the positive societal impact of universities being deeply integrated into innovation ecosystems are the EUTOPIA Science & Innovation post-doctoral Fellowships (EUTOPIA-SIF), which aims to fully exploit the integration between universities and local, regional, national, European and sometimes also global innovation ecosystems.” 

Ergo, EUTOPIA-SIF offers a prime opportunity to help build the university of the future! 

Interest picqued? Make sure to join the EUTOPIA-SIF info webinars November 9 and December 14 , or contact our project manager Cristina.Macovei@vub.be for more information.

EUTOPIA Week 2

Second EUTOPIA Week organized by the University of Warwick nov 23 - nov 29 2020

The EUTOPIA Week brings together key actors - students, researchers, subject matter experts and strategic partners - from across our European alliance network, every six months. The University of Warwick hosted a number of additional online events, open to all, to provide unique insights and enable important discussions on topics impacting society today.

The programme included a range of workshops, panel debates and open forum Q&A’s to choose from. We engaged a range of high-profile speakers from across our networks to participate in important topical discussions relating to Higher Education and the wider global operating context.

All open sessions will be made available on the EUTOPIA Youtube channel, so you can re-watch endlessly!

WEDISCOVER DAYS BARCELONA

 

Missed the WeDiscover Days BCN? Not to worry! Rewatch the WeDiscover Days BCN sessions here

WEDISCOVER DAYS BARCELONA: EUTOPIA AND THE CHALLENGE OF EUROPEAN CITIES

One of the main missions of EUTOPIA is to prepare future generations to face the constant changes and challenges that our society is experiencing. Higher education is undergoing radical transformations to adapt to the university of the future. EUTOPIA intends to prepare students, staff, teachers and researchers to become empowered European citizens for today’s disruptive world.

The Pompeu Fabra University organises the wediscover days barcelona on 28, 29 & 30 October 2020, as the first step of the Open Innovation Challenge initiative, which forms the axis of the Place Making policy of EUTOPIA.

This virtual event will be achieved thanks to the joint work, efforts and close collaboration with experts, institutions, cultural centres and local entities and industries. The objective is to discuss the current social problems that the main European cities are going through today.

The wediscover days barcelona  will help students to start a discovery and research process to acquire knowledge beyond the university campuses. With the motto “from local to global”, the idea is that students find inspiration in common problems and concerns of our societies, seeking practical solutions to issues that could also be implemented on a global scale.

With a programme that includes conferences, talks, seminars, screenings, debates, visits and workshops , the wediscover days barcelona  intend to familiarize students with an array of contemporary issues related to the main Sustainable Development Goals: Climate Emergency, Transport and Mobility, Healthy Food and Sustainable Food Production and Consumption, Social Inclusion and Fighting Inequality, Making Cities and Human Settlements Inclusive, Safe, Resilient and Sustainable.

The event will merge students from the six universities that have previously focused on the effect of the world emergencies at a local level. They will meet with some of UPF’s public and private partners, academics and journalists, bringing a plurality of voices to the idea that European cities are confronting similar difficulties.

The wediscover days barcelona are open, not only to EUTOPIA students who will be able to participate further in the challenge, but also to college students from all around Europe. High schoolers of Catalonia are also invited to engage and discover what the university of the future will look like. 

Given the evolution of the pandemic, the event will be entirely digital this time. The wediscover days barcelona will be broadcasted live through the following link: https://www.upf.edu/web/eutopia/wediscover-live.

Challenges are one of the attractive peculiarities of the EUTOPIA methodology of co-construction of answers to global problems that Europe is about to face in the near future, for students, helped by academic staff and public-private partners, are impelled to work collectively.  With its four stages, in four different cities, the Open Innovation Challenge is a good example of it. After Barcelona, the students should meet again in Brussels next spring, hosted by the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, where the team's projects will be outlined. The University of Gothenburg should then organize a European hackathon by the end of 2021, selecting the teams that will go to the finals hosted by the University of Warwick at the commencement of 2022.

For further information, visit the Pompeu Fabra University website (www.upf.edu) and the EUTOPIA website (www.eutopia-university.eu). Download in high-resolution the banners and A2 posters of the WeDiscover Days.

* * *

 

ICUR 2020

Rewatch the presentations and relive the conference by downloading the ICUR App for mobile, and joining the Zoom webinars via the Desktop App, and support our six VUB students!

ICUR2020 – the 8th International Conference of Undergraduate Research – took place on 29-30 September 2020. ICUR is where students present their undergraduate research. This year, presentations were set up in video-linked sessions with all participating universities involved from 11 countries across 4 continents with spoken and poster sessions across 48 hours, all digitally! 

EUTOPIA students presented their research projects in video-linked sessions to ICUR partner universities around the world. A range of topics were presented and discussed, from “Housing in Saint Petersburg: providing access to safe, adequate and affordable housing for all” to “The lytic life cycle of the bacteriophage GIL01 infecting Bacillus thuringiensis is activated by the gp6 protein”. In total, ICUR ran 109 sessions across the two days with over 2500 unique views.

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Together with its EUTOPIA partners, VUB is participating for the second year and we are proud to have six of our students present. They are all in action on 29 September, and we encourage the whole VUB community to join in and support them. All presentations can be followed via the ICUR App – check out the icurportal.com for more info and to see the programme of the two-day event. Our VUB students are Alisa Spriet (geography), Loyle Campbell and Paulina Rios Maya (political sciences), Yael Kahn (medicine), Sophie Coenen (biomedical engineering), and Arthur Meul (communications). 

"The ICUR allowed me to present my bachelor research to an audience of global peers from multiple leading universities. Not only was this a unique chance to present my work, but it also connected me to a cohort of like-minded students all around the world." - Loyle Wesley Campbell, Political Sciences, VUB

Through the app, anyone can attend ICUR 2020 virtually, watch sessions, participate, interact and ask questions without leaving your home. No matter what time zone anyone is in, participants can access any panel that is taking place while you are logged on the app. It’s a great opportunity to meet fellow students from across the world, to network, to ask questions, to interact with the presenters and audience and be part of a truly interdisciplinary international academic conference. 

It’s almost impossible to get more international than this event. Presenters from the EUTOPIA partners - Warwick University (UK), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium), Pompeu Fabra University (Spain), University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), and CY Cergy Paris University (France) - join forces with those from Monash University (in Australia and Malaysia), Nanyan Technological University (Singapore), University of Leeds (UK), Baruch College, City University of New York (US), University of British Colombia (Canada), University of Nebraska (US), and Stellenbosch University (South Africa).

"I am very grateful for the opportunity that I have had to present my research at The International Conference of Undergraduate Research 2020. Through this enriching experience you meet students from around the world, all with different fields of study and disciplines. Prior to the conference my co-panelists and I organized a roundtable. We got to know each other better, supported one another, discussed our presentations and scripts. During the ICUR journey, I had the chance to improve my presentation and academic writing skills. My best advice: enjoy the moment!” - Yaël Kahn, medical student at the VUB

 

Keynote by Helen Keen

This year the keynote will be given by Helen Keen, on Wednesday 30 September (9am, Belgian time). She is an award-winning performer and popular-science writer. In her BBC Radio 4 show about the history and development of human spaceflight, “It is Rocket Science”, she combines science with comedy. The critically-acclaimed show on the 2013 WISE Media Award and was nominated for the 2015 Writers’ Guild of Great Britain. During her career, she has hosted first live comedy night at CERN in Switzerland and was featured in a National Geographic series, StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson where she talked about making connections between pop culture and science. Her innovative approach to factual matters was recognised by WIRED magazine who appointed her as an Innovation Fellow. 

Monash University Opening Speakers 

This year Monash University will be hosting two distinguished guests to officially open the conference, hosted by the Monash ICUR Student Directors Ryan Buhagiar & Brooke Maat: Simone Pianko a current Monash Engineering Honours student and founder of the Borrow Cup Sustainability Initiative at Monash University & Dr. Brian Martin the Associate Dean, (Indigenous) and Senior Lecturer at Monash Art, Design & Architecture.

Undergraduate Research Alumni Panel 

You can also attend the alumni panel session, hear from past presenters about the value of undergraduate research, for their own careers and personal development.  

More information on ICUR 2020: https://www.icurportal.com/

ICUR 2020

Two Days - Eleven Countries - Four Continents

ICUR

Western Balkans Workshop 1

On September 3-4 2020, the University of Ljubljana hosted the first EUTOPIA - Western Balkans workshop through a virtual format, aimed at regional inclusion, and the establishment of long-lasting partnerships between European Universities and Western Balkan universities.

Attendees from Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzogovina, Macedonia, the Republic of Kosovo and Montenegro talked with experts from the European Commission and ERC, PhD students and representatives from EUTOPIA about topics related to EU research programmes and initiatives.

The University of Ljubljana successfully hosted the first Western Balkans workshop on September 3-4, 2020. Throughout the three-year lifetime of EUTOPIA2050 project, there are six workshops planned. The primary goal of the online workshop was not merely regional inclusion, but the establishment of strong and long-lasting partnerships between European Universities and Western Balkans universities, as well as transfer of knowledge on relevant topics about research and development. The Western Balkans attendees that participated in the two-day workshop come from Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Republic of Kosovo and Montenegro. Topics covered during the workshop primarily related to EU research programmes and initiatives, as well as ways to increase research activities at universities of Western Balkans.  The said topics were presented by experts from the European Commission and ERC, PhD students and representatives from Western Balkans and EUTOPIA, with whom the Western Balkans participants had the opportunity to discuss different matters on the topics. The participants were interested in issues such as brain circulation, research funding and support, and ERC programme, producing highly interesting and useful dialogues among the participants and presenters. Videos of the workshop will be made available of EUTOPIA University YouTube channel soon. The next online Western Balkans workshop in the series is planned for the end of November 2020. Everyone is invited to join and enrich the workshop with their participation.

EUTOPIA Week

The first EUTOPIA week (Eweek) was organized by CY Cergy Paris Université from Monday June 29th to Friday July 3rd 2020 entirely online, through social networks and videoconferencing software.

It was an intensive week which we hope: brought cohesion, strengthened a common Eutopian culture and disseminated EUTOPIA to a wider audience through: 

  • 31 events organized during the week for a total of more than 400 participants  
  • 31 videos disseminated through the EUTOPIA social networks made of cultural visits, Discover CY videos and Student’s associations’ videos 
  • More than 1400 views for the different events on EUTOPIA’s YouTube channel 
  • 2 contests launched, results here: Photo Contest & Pitch My EUTOPIA 
  • 2 conferences and 3 Noon Talks broadcasted live on YouTube 
  • 2 workshops uniting staff from all 6 universities around 2 topics: “Good practices on welcoming students in post-crisis situation” and “European calls: towards a EUTOPIA strategy” 
  • A Student Forum, including students from all 6 universities, bringing a debate on sustainability and launching the European Universities Student Think Tank (EUSTT) 
  • 14 Work meetings and 4 Board meetings  

Do visit our YouTube channel and our Facebook page to check the content posted during the Eweek. 

Thank you to all the students, staff members and academics from the EUTOPIA community who made this first Eweek possible, and a special thanks to the members of the EUTOPIA community who actively participated in the conferences, Noon Talks and who sent us videos for the Discover CY and the Student’s associations’ Videos. 

If you participated at the Eweek, your opinion on the organization and events of the Eweek is valuable to us.  A couple of minutes of your time to answer to the survey would be greatly appreciated.

Contact

Ask your questions or pitch your initiatives to the VUB EUTOPIA officer

For more information, inquiries, or comments, please contact us through eutopia@vub.be , visit www.eutopia-university.eu , like us on Facebook, check out our Youtube channel, or follow us on Twitter or Instagram. And make sure to subscribe to the EUTOPIA Update, our bimonthly newsletter!

Or come say hello and drop by our EUTOPIA office!
     Usquare.brussels (Building F, mezzanine)
     Kroonlaan 227
    1050 Elsene