EUA Annual Conference: Diversities and Commonalities – the changing face of Europe’s universities, Palermo, Italy (20-23 October 2010)

July 01, 2010

EUA is pleased to announce that registrations will soon be open for its Annual Conference that will take place at the University of Palermo in Italy from 20 to 23 October.

The Palermo conference will explore the evolving nature of Europe’s universities. It will take account of the impact both of external pressures to respond to different demands at the national level and of internal developments, examining the complex interplay of factors shaping the modern university. This includes rapidly evolving legal frameworks and governance structures, covering mergers, partnerships and other arrangements, as well as funding mechanisms and incentives, QA procedures and other accountability requirements, all of which drive convergence or diversity.

Similarly the conference will also consider the attitudes and values by different actors in higher education systems, e.g. policy makers, institutional leaders, academics and external stakeholders who are also important in shaping the development of Europe’s universities.

The key objective is to assist institutional leaders and senior staff in understanding better and in responding to the different pressures they face, in particular to focus and sharpen their specific institutional profiles. It will highlight examples of strategies and practices adopted by university leaders in different contexts and designed to enhance specific institutional missions, as well as to attract and retain high quality staff, cater to diverse student profiles, and consider incentives for developing diverse research strategies and research portfolios. The current economic crisis, increasingly limited financial resources and serious government cutbacks in many countries make consideration of these topics crucial, with many institutions under pressure to make difficult decisions as a result of mergers or other change processes as well as fierce global competition.

Please click here to see the full programme or visit the conference website.