CIVIS and the University of Bucharest proposed the new directions for academic diplomacy during the European Universities alliances week in Toulouse

 Between September 17^th – 20^th 2024, a delegation of the University of Bucharest was present in Toulouse and attended the European Universities alliances week next to representatives of more than 20 European consortiums. The event aimed at enhancing the collaboration between European university consortiums and strengthening internationalization processes.

During the event, the University of Toulouse organized Tuesday, September 17^th 2024, a conference which explored why and how European Universities alliances build strategic partnerships with universities and stakeholders beyond the European Union. In this context, European university alliances discussed their internationalization strategies and approaches and presented case studies about how alliances can forge successful international connections.

With over 300 attendees on site and more online, the conference was a great opportunity to share stories about successes and challenges in the internationalization of European higher education.

Moderated by Dorothy Kelly (Arqus), the panel included: Vanessa Debiais Sainton (DGEAC, European Commission), Carle Bonnafous-Murat (Permanent representative of France Universités in Brussels), Marie Azuelos (CIVICA), Mattia Bellotti (EUTOPIA), John Gardiner (ULYSSEUS) and Romiță Iucu (CIVIS). Charlotte Kedslie, from the University of Glasgow (CIVIS), was the panel’s rapporteur.

The European Degree as a European Global brand, rethinking Erasmus frontiers and advancing the Bologna Process, among the academic diplomacy directions proposed by the University of Bucharest and CIVIS

For the CIVIS Alliance, which the University of Bucharest is part of, the event represented the perfect occasion to present a groundbreaking vision for internationalization. Thus, professor Romiță Iucu, PhD, president of the Board of Trustees of the University of Bucharest, proposed 5 points towards new frontiers and a new diplomacy for education:

Breaking down trans-institutional barriers

By creating world-class, civic universities that engage fully across institutions through innovative models of learning, unlearning, and relearning.

Advancing the Bologna Process for globalization and internationalization

To achieve this goal, universities must push the boundaries of the Bologna Process and embrace non-traditional approaches to internationalization, all while fostering more dynamic human involvement in the promotion of internationalization by diversifying roles.

Rethinking “Erasmus frontiers”

A special focus should be put on transcontinental mobility arrangements and by exploring new forms of mobility, including innovative experiments that cater to both traditional and non-traditional students.

The European Degree as a European global brand

By advocating for Europeanisation and accelerating the validation process for the European Degree, not just as a formal recognition process, but as a flexible and innovative framework for new learning models, it can become a recognized label.

“European Universities Diplomacy”

Promoting a new kind of European academic diplomacy by, for instance, professionalizing new roles, such as global officers, who act as ambassadors for European academic and research initiatives on the global stage, is key.

In the same context, professor Romiță Iucu also added that the universities in the Republic of Moldova should become members of European university alliances.

Professor Romiță Iucu’s proposals are available here.

Cooperation with Ukraine and Partnerships with Africa at the centre

CIVIS’s strategic partnerships with six universities in Africa were presented by Mahomed Moolla, from the University of the Witwatersrand. Highlights of Mr. Moolla’s presentation included the participation of African universities in all formats of CIVIS academic activities, the recent seed-funding that will benefit over 20 projects connecting European and African University and the Jean Monnet network PolyCIVIS, that brings together 21 universities in the two regions, including CIVIS’ 11 European members and 6 African associate members to confront the polycrisis through research and education.

EAIE24: on the road to the future of higher education

CIVIS welcomed members, visitors and all those curious about European Universities alliances and internationalization of higher education to the CIVIS Station, where the theme On the road to the future of higher education attracted hundreds of visitors during the two and a half days of the exhibition. The CIVIS stand was also the meeting point of members of the CIVIS community, who held over 10 meetings during EAIE24.

During three full-house sessions, CIVIS representatives had the  pleasure to share the lessons they learned while developing a transdisciplinary joint/multiple master’s degree, they presented the results of the successful implementation of nearly 200 Blended Intensive Programmes (BIPs) and debated about the challenges of green mobility, quality assurance and inclusiveness of these programmes.

The CIVIS Head of Unit for Education, Alexandru Cartis, explained how BIPs are the building blocks that are allowing CIVIS to scale up to other kinds of educational typologies. At the same time, CIVIS representatives shared experiences and critical questions about EU-Africa mobility during a Fishbowl session.

Our session on how to promote African-European student mobility showed that, while universities often share similar challenges, from visa issues to a lack of knowledge and funding constraints, we can still learn a lot from each other in terms of approaches to address them, said Christian Möllmann, Global Partnerships Officer at CIVIS.

For Möllmann, investing in the training and personal networking of staff in International Offices, developing short-term and online mobility or rethinking the reciprocity principle to achieve a more equitable mobility partnership in often unequal settings were some of the inspiring examples given during the session.