Dear all,
This year comes to an end, and so does my tenure as President for Circle U. It has been exciting years, and although much work remains, I'm confident that we will reach our mission of establishing a common campus, where students and staff collaborate. It's an ambitious goal, but we are not the only European alliance working to realize this objective. Possible ways forward are being identified, and I am confident that we will pave new ground in the years to come.
While working on the new application, we should also acknowledge what we have accomplished. We know it can be difficult to coordinate across nine universities in nine countries, in seven languages, with different structures, resources, systems and cultures. It can be frustrating when plans don't materialize, when projects get delayed and when misunderstandings complicate. Still, when we collaborate, when we overcome obstacles, when ideas we've had years ago are put into life - when our individual differences become our common strength, when we inspire each other, learn from each other and gradually get to know each other - that's when the magic happens.
Let me repeat just a few of the highlights of what we have achieved together. We have expanded our alliance with two highly respected universities; Pisa and Vienna. We have established three Knowledge Hubs, led by our Academic Chairs, which already are playing an important part in the alliance, and will continue to do so in the next phase. We have launched multiple opportunities for researchers to collaborate; sandpits, mobility schemes, research networks, and staff weeks, etc. We have had calls for seed funding, which in turn will lead to exciting projects and collaboration. We are also developing successful initiatives for our students. We had five successful summer schools, and there will be new ones in the coming summer. We have arranged national conferences. We have launched hackathons and student challenges, where we cooperate with our associated partners. We've had numerous meetings, workshops and assemblies to plan future development of our alliance. And the writing team is well under way with expanding the educational offerings for students in the next phase. This will and must be our main priority.
The list could have been longer. It will continue to grow. There are exciting plans for the further development of the alliance.
I would like to wish my successor Professor Vincent Blondel good luck as the next President. I would also like to thank Berit Eika, who is stepping down as chair of the Management Board. My colleague from Oslo, Bjørn Stensaker, is replacing her.
Lastly, I want to thank you all for all the work you are doing for this alliance. We are everyone a piece in a giant puzzle, and we couldn't do without you. Keep up the good work.
I wish you all Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and a long, well-deserved holiday. Thank you.
