Arqus Alliance representatives visit UWr
Today, the University of Wrocław hosted representatives of the Arqus European University Alliance- the coordinator Professor Dorothy Kelly and the consortium manager Mr Fernando Galan of the University of Granada. The meeting, chaired by the Vice-Rector for Projects and International Relations, Professor Patrycja Matusz, was aimed at presenting to the representatives of the UWr community the experiences of the universities cooperating within the Arqus alliance to date and the plans for the future.
Professor Dorothy Kelly, who is also the Vice-Rektor for Internationalisation at the University of Granada, emphasised that the last three years have been both a great adventure and a huge challenge. The goal of the Arqus initiative is to build a strong network of universities, creating a common research and teaching space, enhancing the mobility of staff and students, which, given the cultural, organisational and legislative differences between the countries, is not an easy task . In addition, Arqus had to face a pandemic, which from the very beginning of the alliance existence forced a change of plans and the implementation of many activities in an online format.
We couldn’t help but ask about the biggest challenges the alliance has faced so far. It turned out that these were related to the creation of joint curricula by alliance members, leading to obtaining a joint degree. Indeed, this was not legally possible in all countries. Thanks to efforts on the part of the academic community, however, legislative changes were brought about that made it possible to approve joint degree programmes. Another obstacle to overcome is the misperception of Arqus as a project, whereas it is a long-term initiative to build a joint international academic community. However, what has brought the most satisfaction during this period has been the positive feedback from students on Arqus activities.
Arqus representatives discussed the existing Action Lines, i.e. Widening Access, Inclusion and Diversity, Entrepreneurial University & Regional Engagement, Multilingual & Multicultural University, Student-centred Frameworks for Quality Learning, Engaged European Citizens, Research Support and Early-Stage Researcher Development. They also presented the complex structure of the entire alliance, which includes, among others, the Rectors’ Council, the Steering Committee, the boards of the different action lines, the Students’ Council and the International Advisory Committee.
In the next four years, following the accession of the University of Wrocław and the University of Mino to Arqus, the alliance will focus on three areas of cooperation: artificial intelligence, climate change & sustainability, and European identity & cultural heritage.
Listen to what Prof Dorothy Kelly and Fernando Galan have to say about Arqus:
