From March 31st to April 2nd, 2025, the University of L’Aquila (UnivAQ) hosted the IV General Assembly of the EULiST Alliance.
The annual event is a fixed appointment of great importance to take stock of the state of the art of the Alliance and to focus attention on results achieved and future objectives. The event welcomed over 150 participants from across the 10 partner universities.
Rey Juan Carlos University (URJC) delegation was led by Maria Luisa Humanes, as Vice Rector for International Relations at URJC and leader of EULiST WP5; and Pablo T. Salvadores, as Director of Internationalization at URJC and Chair of EULiST Management Board. The event was also attended by the EULiST Office at URJC, a unit led by Juan Manuel García Camús, as Head of the International Alliances Service at URJC and EULiST Local Coordinator; and Bernardino Muñoz, Lía Blanco, Cristina Rodríguez and Alejandro Navarro as EULiST Officers at URJC.
The event took place in the historic setting of the “Luigi Zordan” Congress Centre at the San Basilio monastery. The main topics discussed during the three days included:
- Strategies for student and staff mobility in EULiST
- Sustainable EULiST Campuses
- STEM Education for Competitiveness
- EULiST Digital Campus
- EULiST Internship platform
- Internal and external communication in EULiST
- Managing European University Alliances – EU Challenges
- European degree, European brand and Quality Assurance
- EULiST Quality Assurance System
- Upcoming events: EULiST Global Conference and Student Conference
Additionally, parallel board meetings of the Governing Board, Management Board, Student Board, Coordination Office and Project Steering Committee were held during these days. The General Assembly was also an opportunity to set Work Package (WP) meetings to review the status of each activity and define the roadmap for the following months.
One of the most significant moments of the event was the inauguration of the 2024/25 academic year of the University of L’Aquila. A moment of meeting between the Italian Universities, represented by the guest Rectors, and the international institutions that are members of EULiST.
Furthermore, during the General Assembly, the first appointment of the series of webinars dedicated to the professional development of academic staff, promoted within the EULiST Alliance was held. The initiative, coordinated by Task Group 3.2 “Innovative Teaching and Learning Methodologies”, aims to offer innovative tools and advanced strategies to improve teaching and learning. The first meeting of the Webinar Series on Professional Faculty Development was entitled “Challenge-based Learning: An Active Pedagogy in Higher Education” and was held by Prof. Claudia Migliaccio of the Institut Mines-Télécom of Paris (IMT).
Finally, the EULiST Global Conference “Co-creating Sustainable Solutions for Climate-Resilient Societies” was introduced as an event hosted by the URJC, from 20th to 21st of November 2025, as a meeting space for research, innovation, and collaboration in the pursuit of sustainable solutions to the great challenges of our time. During the EULiST 2025 Global Conference, there will be explored four parallel sessions, each focused on key aspects of sustainable transformation: Knowledge Through Research, Academia-Industry Partnerships as Drivers of Transformation, Urban Resilience and Climate Neutrality, and Information and Society.
