‘European Universities – Alliances for the Future’ conference
The Conference
While launching the event, Director Katarzyna Aleksy stated: ‘European alliances are the academic universe where ideas clash and that is also the purpose of the 2nd. European Universities Conference’.
‘It must be considered a great achievement that as many as 32 Polish HEIs are members of European alliances. The synergy of our efforts has shown that this is the right way to bring European science up to date,’ emphasised dr hab. Andrzej Szeptycki, prof. UW, and Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.
The opening presentation ‘Universities without borders: the transformative power of European university alliances as a new form of internationalization’ was delivered by Professor Dorothy Kelly, University of Granada.
The UNIgreen perspective
‘Academics and administration – two worlds or communicating vessels? Experiences and recommendation’
The event agenda allowed presenting UNIgreen’s perspective on two occasions.
On the first day of the event, the Vice- Rector for Internationalisation, dr hab. Marta Mendel, prof. SGGW, contributed her expertise and experience during the ‘Academics and administration – two worlds or communicating vessels? Experiences and recommendations’ panel. The panel was also joined by dr hab. Katarzyna Górak-Sosnowska, prof. SGH, the Chair of the Academic Administration Forum Association; dr hab. Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek, prof. UŁ, Vice-Rector for Internationalisation of Science and Education, University of Łódź; Grzegorz Robak, Director of the Centre for International Cooperation and the ENHANCE+ Alliance core officer, Warsaw University of Technology. The discussion was moderated by Ewa Kiszka, Chair of the IROs Forum, Head of the Internationalisation Office of the Gdansk Medical University.
‘The initiative to establish so-called European Universities is an initiative to build bridges, develop close cooperation and combine skills and resources. ‘We are to work together to make European universities a place that responds to societal challenges and the demand for competences in Europe’ said Ewa Kiszka (GUMed/IROs).
Rector Marta Mendel addressed the question of evaluating the impact of academics and administrative staff on the various tasks and functions faced by the Universities of the Future, and the question of where the clue to building an efficient, engaged, open and well-connected academic community may be found. Rector Mendel stressed the fact that ‘the cooperation and synergy between academic and administrative staff guarantees a diversity of perspectives and their mutual complementarity. ‘At UNIgreen, we work as a team and are in regular contact so that the flow of information and ongoing communication provides everyone involved in our Alliance with a sense of satisfaction with the activities carried out.’
The other opportunity to present UNIgreen was a discussion panel ‘The power of PR in the activities of EUI Alliances’, which was moderated by Anna Kiryjow-Radzka, President of the PR and Promotion of Polish Association of Polish Universities ‘PRom’, PR specialist at SGGW, the WP9 Dissemination and Communication coordinator, who invited female experts to join the discussion: Renata Czeladko, head of the Press Centre and Public relations Office, Spokesperson for SWPS University; Anna Kuczborska, Communication officer, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń; Marta Malepszak, Head of the European University Office at Poznan University of Technology; Anna Żmuda-Muszyńska, spokeswoman for the Centre for Communication and Marketing at the AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków.
The main purpose of the panel was to discuss the role and importance of public relations activities in creating the image and increasing the impact of the European University Alliances. The panellists shared with the audience their thoughts and experiences on the impact of PR activities on the awareness and reputation of the Alliances, the role of PR in creating the image of the EUI Alliances as promoters of European values and the role of PR as a trigger for internationalisation. The discussion also addressed communication challenges. The experts, among others, answered questions on how to build and promote a common Alliance identity while respecting the individual identities of each university. They concluded by discussing the greatest challenges in adapting PR strategies to diverse conditions – language
barriers, cultural barriers and differences in communication styles between Alliance members.
2nd European Universities Conference – Expectations and Challenges
The conference provided an excellent demonstration of the European Universities issue as being a major perspective that is both a source of international prestige and a great challenge for universities. Thanks to the panel discussions, the event participants learned about the most up-to-date activities implemented at all strategic and operational levels.
The conference took place on 4 and 5 September 2024 in Krakow, Poland.
Partners
Stowarzyszenie PR i Promocji Uczelni Polskich „PRom”
