The Guild Vice-Presidents discuss the European Strategy for Universities

The European Strategy for Universities and The Commission’s initiative to reform the research assessment system were among the key topics discussed at The Guild’s Vice-Presidents’ meeting on 9 September.

Ahead of the Commission’s final consultation meetings in mid-September, The Guild’s Vice-Presidents gathered on 9 September to discuss the European Strategy for Universities together with Apostolia Karamali, Head of Unit for R&I Actors and Research Careers at DG RTD. Vice-Presidents emphasised the importance of connecting the European Strategy with national contexts and highlighted the need for the strategy to support attracting top researchers globally.

In addition, a key issue in the future will be how to ensure the European sector stays attractive also for students. Both of these goals were closely connected to an overarching need, to enhance universities’ capacity to excel in a global context.

Vice-Presidents had also the pleasure to meet Konstantinos Glinos, Head of Unit for Open Science at DG RTD, to discuss the latest developments on the Commission’s initiative to reform research assessment. Vice-Presidents welcomed the effort to find ways to recognise how changes in the research system such as open science and collaborative research should be reflected in research assessment at the institutional level. At the same time, they foregrounded the importance of recognising research excellence as producing state-of-the-art discoveries. The participants also discussed how such an initiative might be implemented effectively.

Vice-Presidents also shared best practices on how the universities can maximise their Horizon Europe grant capture, exchanging views on the institutions’ individual strategies. They also considered what tools and services the universities have found supportive when applying for funding.

This article was first published on September 16 by The Guild.