The fourth Arab Euro Conference on Higher Education (AECHE) on “Research for sustainable societies – the role of universities” took place at the University Mohammed V in Rabat, Morocco from 24 to 26 April.
Enhancing research collaboration and facilitating research capacity building were among the topical issues that were discussed at the event. Most Arab countries (except for some of the Gulf countries) tend to have generally low public and private investment in research accompanied by a lack of policy support and leadership. At the same time, higher education institutions are facing difficulties, with low funding, excessive pressure to publish and infringements on institutional autonomy and academic freedom, which undermine their ability to contribute to society and hamper research. More...

Over 600 marches took place around the world last Saturday. Many EUA members and national rectors’ conferences also participated in the march. To mark the event, EUA collected tweets that showcase universities, institutions and individuals supporting the march in Europe. More...

The event will be hosted by Tallinn University in Estonia on 15 and 16 June and will focus on digitalisation in doctoral education.
EUA-CDE annual meetings have become the largest and most comprehensive gatherings of academic leaders and professionals working on doctoral education and research training in Europe. The 2016 event welcomed 230 participants from more than 100 institutions in 26 countries. More...

The March for Science movement started in Washington, D.C. earlier this year and quickly spread with parallel marches now being organised in more than 500 cities. What unites those behind the various demonstrations is the concern that parts of society and policies are moving away from evidence-based decision-making. Post-factual politics and scorn for experts are marginalising researchers politically. More...

EUA would like to invite all higher education institutions (EUA members and non-members) to participate. The TRENDS 2018 Report, the 8th in the series of EUA’s flagship TRENDS studies, will be submitted to the European higher education ministers at the next Bologna Ministerial Conference, which will be held in Paris on 24 and 25 May 2018. The first results will be presented at the EUA European Learning & Teaching Forum, also in Paris, on 28 and 29 September 2017. More...

Representatives from institutions in the Western Balkans are invited to complete a short questionnaire on local research capacity, which is part of a study funded by the European Commission through the SPHERE project (Support and Promotion for Higher Education Reform Experts). More...

The survey is composed of three questionnaires, one for universities, one for funders and one for individual researchers. The survey is open for contributions until 15 May 2017. The ERA SGHRM is the group composed of member states supporting the implementation and the monitoring of progress of EU policies for researchers and researchers’ careers and sees this initiative as a way to gather evidence across Europe to support the definition of appropriate Open Science policies in the years to come. More...

Communia, an association advocating for policies that expand the public domain and increase access to and reuse of culture and knowledge, is campaigning for a copyright reform fit for education in the digital age.
Its online Copyright for Education Campaign will run until 14 May 2017 and is set in the context of the European Commission’s proposal for a copyright directive in the Digital Single Market. More...