More than 520 participants from across Europe will take part in the European Campus of City-Universities (EC2U) Forum, with over 460 participants attending in person in Turku. The Forum, taking place May 18–21, is the tenth in the series and is hosted by the University of Turku. The event focuses on the role of high-quality education in building a stronger Europe.
Held annually, the Forum is the flagship event of the EC2U Alliance. It brings together students and staff from the Alliance’s member universities, representatives of cities, and other stakeholders from across Europe to exchange ideas and develop solutions to key societal challenges.
The themes of the Forums are based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This year’s Forum theme, Shaping European Futures through Quality Education, highlights the importance of high-quality education. The programme focuses, among other things, on sustainability, wellbeing, multilingualism, inclusion, accessible education, talent retention, and active European citizenship.
“The distinctive features of our EC2U Alliance include close ties to the cities where our campuses are located, as well as significant investments in a common European education system. In the current global situation, I consider our efforts to develop the European Higher Education Area, EHEA, to be particularly important. We also aim to contribute to the development of the European Research Area, ERA. Europe now has a chance to prove itself. I warmly welcome all teachers, researchers, and students to Turku,” says Vice Rector Tapio Salakoski from the University of Turku.
Diverse programme brings a record number of participants to Turku
The EC2U forum in Turku will bring together a record number of participants from across the Alliance. During the four-day event, representatives from the Alliance’s nine partner universities, associated partners, and stakeholder groups from the participating cities will discuss the future of higher education, European cooperation, and the role of universities and cities in addressing global societal challenges.
The programme includes scientific sessions, meetings, panel discussions and networking events. The Forum also features a playful Science Contest, where teams of researchers tackle different questions and compete with each other, and the EC2U Student Challenge, where international student teams work together on topical societal themes.
“Organising this event has been both exciting and inspiring, especially as this year’s programme introduces several new concepts that further enrich the Forum experience. For example, the programme includes sessions for exchanging best practices on Joint Master’s degrees and doctoral training,” says EC2U Project Manager Liisa Järvinen.
EC2U strengthens European university collaboration
EC2U is an alliance of nine European universities and more than 60 local partners. It is part of the European Universities Initiative supported by the European Commission. One of the core principles of the initiative is building a stronger Europe through deeper cooperation in higher education, research and innovation.
Through EC2U, member universities develop joint activities and promote mobility and collaboration among students and staff. The Alliance offers, for example, Joint Master’s Programmes and networks for doctoral researchers. It also provides short-term mobility opportunities, courses, and events. Many of these activities are designed to be short-term, often lasting around one week, making them easily accessible for both students and staff.
"The EC2U Alliance has been created in late 2020, and after more than 5 years now, it is a vibrant community of students, staff, teachers, researchers and partners. The impressive number of registrations to the EC2U Forum in Turku is a clear proof that the Alliance has now become a mature space for priviledged cooperation in education, research and innovation, at the service of Society,” says Professor Dr. Ludovic Thilly, Coordinator General of the EC2U Alliance.
“On a personal note, I remember that exactly 5 years ago, the first EC2U Forum was also organised by the University of Turku but because of the COVID pandemic, we had to turn it into a digital event. It is therefore particularly important to be back in Turku for this important moment in the Alliance's life, with so many people in presence! I really look forward to meeting all the colleagues and partners in Turku," Professor Thilly concludes.
