Bragança will host the third edition of the International Conference on Cooperation in Higher Education (In2CoP), taking place from January 27 to 31, 2025. Under the theme ‘Multicultural Co-creation for Future Societies,’ the event will include the celebration of IPB’s 42nd anniversary on January 28, featuring the awarding of the International Medal of Honor to STARS EU, the European alliance of universities of which IPB is a partner.

The recognition of STARS EU highlights the alliance’s significant impact in promoting internationalization, innovation, and co-creation in European higher education. The formal ceremony will be attended by Portugal’s Minister of Education, Science, and Innovation, Fernando Alexandre, and will include awards and honors, such as the Alumni of the Year Award and distinctions for UPB’s top-performing students.

STARS EU in Focus at In2CoP

STARS EU will take center stage during a day (January 29) dedicated to the impact of European university alliances. The program will feature presentations on the alliance’s achievements and opportunities, emphasizing IPB’s active role as a key partner in STARS EU. A collaborative event will engage the academic community, reinforcing the alliance’s commitment to innovation, co-creation, and multicultural skill development.

Other Highlights of the Conference

In2CoP 2025 will also offer several presentations of research and innovation projects, the launch of the book Design Thinking, by Joana Mendonça, and debates focused on European competitiveness in higher education. Another topic that will become a key part of the discussions is the future of higher education in Europe, with a focus on intensive blended learning programmes and the strengthening of international cooperation. Both topics will take place on January 29 and 30.

One of the most relevant aspects for STARS EU at this meeting, in addition to the special recognition by its partner IPB, is the celebration of a day dedicated to the IGNITION project. Implemented under the umbrella of the alliance, IGNITION is a three-year project that started in May 2022 with Hanze University of Applied Science (The Netherlands), Hochschule Bremen (Germany), South-East Technological University (Ireland) and Polytechnic Institute of Braganza (Portugal), four partner institutions out of the nine that make up STARS EU.

IGNITION’s objective is to strengthen project partners in their efforts to enhance awareness on and development of digital literacy skills of faculty and teaching staff, students, and the external parties they collaborate and engage with for innovation in their regions. Their results will be presented at the conference.

The awarding of the International Medal of Honor to STARS EU reflects IPB’s commitment to internationalization and consolidates its position as a leader in European higher education.

For more information and the full program, visit: https://in2cop.ipb.pt/

 

 

 

The alliance set out the long-term collaboration plan and achievements

STARS EU presented its strategic plans to the members of the STARS EU International Advisory Board (IAB). It was the first meeting between the alliance’s leadership and international experts who will be responsible for providing strategic advice to the STARS EU Commission and the STARS EU Steering Committee (SC) over the next three years.

The meeting was aimed at introducing the alliance, presenting its achievements and asking the international experts share their insights and advice. The international experts will help to design the future long-term strategy for the alliance forming the directions and strengthening the objectives in the fields of higher education, research and innovation. At this point, the five IAB members present ─ Maurits Van Rooijen, Norah McRae, Günter Koch, Pam Fredman and Mirela Muca ─ stressed the need to provide the guidelines  that the IAB could contribute to the development of the alliance in appropriate way.

The AIB stressed the importance of conceptualizing a multidisciplinary and inter-university model of knowledge creation based on challenges that enables teaching and research staff to generate significant advances, as well as to promote the connection between industry and students in order to increase their participation in regional development.

Another of the aspects addressed was the importance of using specific methods of connection to achieve greater involvement of the Chambers of Commerce and industry actors to promote collaboration between the academic and industrial sectors was emphasized.

All these inputs will be discussed in-depth during the next STARS EU Commission meeting, which will take place on 19 March, during the STARS EU Conference to be held at Aleksandër Moisiu University (Durrës, Albania) and to which IAB members are invited to the Conference aiming to strengthening the collaboration and enhancing discussions.

STARS EU thus reaffirms its commitment to advance higher education, research and innovation, with the support and expertise of the International Advisory Board to achieve its strategic objectives.

The IAB, which will meet with the STARS EU Steering Committee twice a year to ensure continuous and effective interaction, is composed of the following members: Maurits Van Rooijen, President of University of Europe for Applied Sciences; Norah McRae, Vice-Chair of World Association of Corporate and Workintegrated Education (WACE); Günter Koch, President of Humboldt Cosmos Multiversity; Pam Fredman, President of International Association of Universities (IAU); Mirela Muca, Director of National Agency for Scientific Research and Innovation (NASRI) and Holger Burckhart, President of Expert Commission ‘Universities’ Future Programme’ and Board Member of European University Association (EUA).

 

 

 

 

With only ten days left until the deadline for the Erasmus+ 2023 European Universities call, the STARS EU Alliance partners have met in Crakow (Poland) to finalise the work started several months ago on the design of the application for funding. The Cracow University of Technology, with its Vicechancellor of Research, Dariusz Bogdal, as respresentative and organizer, held this Steering Comitee meeting during two intensive days of working, 19th and 20th of January.

Fort he first time, the Erasmus+ 2023 European Universities call is open for participation as full partners in the alliances to higher education institutions from all Western Balkans countries, and STARS EU is proud to apply with the Aleksandër Moisiu University of Durrës (Albania). Moreover, this is the first time that our French partner, University of Franche-Comté (France), participate in the call as a full integrated partner.

The Steering Comitee has dedicated these two intense days of work to review the actions carried out during these years of the Alliance; to adjust the actions to be developed in the new four-year period, marked by this call, to the objectives; and to update the ongoing tasks to the incorporation of the new partners.

The new call also offers the opportunity for STARS EU to renew energy and introduce new work packages, in line with the experience acquired, the needs generated by regional realities and the guidelines set by the EU in its policies and objectives.

During this meeting, professor Valeriy Yaschuk, from the department of General Physics at the Nationa Taras Shevchenko University from Kyiv, an associated partner of STARS EU, presented his university’s key figures and the results of his team’s recent research on biological physics, more concretely on telomers structure and function.

The members of the STARS EU alliance plan to keep a strong collaboration with this university and with Prof. Yaschuk’s team in the context of the TIG on Healthy Ageing. They also expressed their sympathy to their Ukrainian colleague for the current situation in his country and conveyed to him their best wishes and their desire for a prompt termination of the war.

The spirit of the STARS EU alliance is strongly Europeanist, of public service, by accelerating the transition to a green and digital model for making our future sustainable, following the 2030 Agenda and always having citizenship at the centre of its actions.

This new Erasmus+ call for proposals will continue the rollout of the European Universities initiative with a record total budget of €387.2 million.

The European Universities’ work encompasses all higher education institutions’ missions of education, research, innovation and service to society. These alliances have diverse models of systemic, structural and sustainable transnational cooperation which reinforce the quality, performance, attractiveness and international competitiveness of higher education across Europe, for the benefit of their students and staff, while promoting our democratic values.