Nearing the three-year mark of Circle U.’s existence, the General Assembly came together in Berlin on 1-2 June to discuss the outlook on the alliance’s future. All nine member universities were represented by their Presidents, Rectors or Vice-rectors for this exchange on strategic developments for the next project phase. They were joined by representatives of the Circle U. Student Union (CUSU) and the Management Board for the full assembly at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.
Strategic plans for the next phase
Key topics included the process of establishing a fourth Knowledge Hub, the continuation and expansion of the Academic Chair Programme, and the possible labelling and upscaling of joint learning and teaching activities. Matters of recognition, as well as potential for increasing engagement of students, researchers and external stakeholders also featured on the agenda.
“If launching the alliance has been mainly driven by the Presidents and Rectors, Vice-presidents and Vice-rectors, our cooperation has gradually become more bottom-up. We want to ensure that Circle U. is fully embedded in each university,” says Vincent Blondel, Circle U. President and Rector of UCLouvain.
“Our new proposal ‘Circle U. 2030’ will bring us to a new dimension in this joint transformative dynamic,” says Vincent Blondel, Circle U. President and Rector of UCLouvain. “If launching the alliance has been mainly driven by the Presidents and Rectors, Vice-presidents and Vice-rectors, our cooperation has gradually become more bottom-up. We want to ensure that Circle U. is fully embedded in each university. The European Commission is expected to publish the results of the call for proposals by the end of June, beginning of July. We are looking forward to this important next step for our alliance. If successful, the new proposal will guide our Alliance towards 2030, and beyond!”
Building trust within the alliance
Prior to the formal meeting of the General Assembly, Presidents and Rectors met to share experiences and practices in a more informal setting. At a meeting, the host presented Open Humboldt, the university’s forum for bringing together science and society – through various events, collaborative projects and platforms. The exchange on science communication on the local and alliance levels concluded with a joint visit to the Humboldt Lab, a HU-curated space within the Humboldt Forum museum at the historic city centre.
President Blondel underscores the importance of the biannual gathering: “Circle U. is built mostly on interactions between people, and mutual trust and understanding. It requires discussing, sharing and learning about the similarities and specificities of each partner. Therefore, it is essential that colleagues meet in person to discuss the strategic developments of our alliance.”
The next General Assembly is scheduled to take place in Oslo on 25 and 26 October.
