EC2U: European Universities alliance enters new phase and welcomes latest member

The University of Coimbra (UC) hosted a delegation from the Johannes Kepler University Linz (JKU) from the 27th to the 29th of February, the 8th European university to become a member of EC2U - European Alliance of City-Universities. JKU now joins the seven founding universities of the Alliance: University of Coimbra, University of Poitiers (France), Friedrich Schiller University of Jena (Germany), Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi (Romania), University of Salamanca (Spain), University of Pavia (Italy) and University of Turku (Finland).

This three-day visit is a key component of the integration strategy for the new EC2U partner university, which includes visits and meetings at the seven universities to showcase the work that was carried out by the different working groups during the pilot phase of the alliance (from 2020 to 2023), covering a range of areas from sustainability, health and communication to academic management.

The main objective of the visit, organised by the University of Coimbra, was to show the diversity of the institution's research centres, faculties and services that are actively involved in the EC2U, highlighting how they all interact and engage in dialogue for the development of the alliance at the University of Coimbra.

On the first day, the team was welcomed by the UC Vice-Rector for External Relations and Alumni, João Nuno Calvão da Silva, and the local EC2U coordinators at the UC, Diogo Gonçalves, Filipe Rocha and Sílvia Silva Dias. This was followed by a meeting with students - who are key to building the EC2U community - who shared their experiences of participating in and organising events as part of the Alliance's activities, such as the first EC2U Students Week - a collaboration between the UC, the Associação Académica de Coimbra (Coimbra Academic Association) and Coimbra City Council. The week also included a session to share insights and best practices on event organisation, academic management, accreditation and communication.

One of the highlights of the Johannes Kepler University Linz delegation's visit to the UC, consisting of local coordinator Adriana Estrada and WP6 representative Maria Buchmayr, was the meeting held on the second day under Work Package 6 - UNSDG#11 Sustainable Cities and Communities. Led of UC Professor Manuel Gameiro, WP6 has resulted in one of the Alliance's joint Master's programmes, in which JKU will also be involved. The discussion focused on training programmes, and future academic initiatives in the field of sustainability.

On the last day, they also met with the representatives of Work Package 4 - UNSDG#3 Good Health & Well-being at the UC, Paula Santana and Ricardo Almendra respectively; and Work Package 5 - UNSDG#4 Quality Education, coordinated at the UC by FLUC professors Clara Keating and Susana Araújo, to discuss the work being done in these areas at the University of Coimbra. Coimbra City Council, an EC2U partner from day one, also welcomed the team from Johannes Kepler University in Linz to reflect on the link between universities and municipalities and their strategic role in the alliance. As sustainability is a priority area for the Alliance, the UC Office for Sustainable Development also welcomed the JKU team to present the work being done at the UC in the field.