On Europe Day 2022, Una Europa announced that UCD and UZH will join KU Leuven and eight other partner institutions in the alliance of European research universities.
University College Dublin (UCD) is a research-intensive university ranked in the top one per cent of higher education institutions worldwide. Established in 1854, UCD has played an important role in shaping modern Ireland, Europe and beyond, producing numerous political, business, and cultural leaders, most notably the writer James Joyce.
The University of Zurich (UZH) is Switzerland's largest comprehensive university and one of the foremost universities in the German-speaking world. Founded in 1833, UZH was Europe's first university established by a democratic political system – the words “by the will of the people” remain engraved on its main building to this day.
The new members will join nine partner universities in Una Europa: Freie Universität Berlin, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, University of Edinburgh, Helsingin yliopisto/Helsingfors universitet, Uniwersytet Jagielloński w Krakowie, Universiteit Leiden, KU Leuven, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, and Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. UCD and UZH already have strong links with these Una Europa partner universities: collectively, the new partners have published over 7,000 publications in collaboration with Una Europa alliance members in the last five years.
Professor Peter Lievens, Vice Rector for International Policy at KU Leuven and coordinator of Una Europa pilot project 1Europe, is pleased to welcome the new partner universities. “In a rapidly changing world, Una Europa stands united in the defence of European values: human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, rule of law, and human rights. By welcoming UCD and UZH, we reinvigorate our commitment to these fundamental values. Furthermore, growing our alliance boosts the collaborative structures and practices that will allow Una Europa to build a truly integrated European University of the Future.”
The two new partners bring fresh perspectives and new momentum to Una Europa, adds Professor Luc Sels, Rector of KU Leuven. “The membership of UCD and UZH will bring Una Europa to the next stage of its development. Furthermore, the membership of strong players from ‘third countries' like Switzerland is not only crucial for the research development of Europe but also sends a strong message as a symbol of European collaboration in times of Brexit and other challenges.”
This article was first published on 9 May by KU Leuven.
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