The University of Konstanz hosted this year’s autumn YERUN General Assembly, gathering official representatives and coordinators from 21 YERUN members. From October 9 to 11, YERUN members discussed the future of European research and education, funding opportunities, and upcoming research priorities and policies in light of Ursula von der Leyen’s Political Guidelines for the next European Commission 2024-2029.
On the first day of the three-day meeting, YERUN members were welcomed by Prof. Dirk Leuffen, Ph.D., Vice-Rector for Research, Innovation, and Impact at the University of Konstanz, who briefly presented the university and the German Excellence Strategy. The three-day sessions were chaired by the YERUN President, Rector of the University of Tromsø, Prof. Dag Rune Olsen, Ph.D. The University of Rijeka was represented by Prof. Saša Zelenika, Ph.D., Vice-Rector for Strategic Projects.
On the occasion of marking YERUN’s 10th anniversary, set to be celebrated in Brussels in June next year, YERUN coordinators worked together on mapping and planning the activities that will be included in the 10th-anniversary program, including a communication campaign (internal and external), the 10th-anniversary publication (outlining YERUN’s history and identity), and the anniversary conference (including policy and networking reception).
During the Rectors’ workshop, the leaders of YERUN institutions had the opportunity to learn more about the European Commission’s approach to international collaboration, thanks to Nienke Buisman, Head of Unit for International Cooperation in DG Research & Innovation, who gave an overview of what to expect under the Commission’s new leadership. Furthermore, to introduce and initiate discussions on the European perspective on the topic of international partnerships from the Academic Cooperation Association, YERUN welcomed Veronika Kupriyanova, Deputy Director at the Academic Cooperation Association (ACA).
On Friday, October 11, during the GA meeting, university leaders and coordinators received updates on the Research Collaborative Platform (CONNECT by YERUN). Since March 2024, SDU has been actively incorporating the feedback received from beta testers, and by June 2024, the Silver version of the platform was ready. The Platform’s database now includes information on 34,000 researchers and 972,000 publications. The Platform is updated regularly and SDU is organizing numerous promotional activities and webinars to familiarize researchers with the platform and answer FAQs. YERUN’s Secretary General, Silvia Gomez Recio, presented the main goals and objectives related to the new YERUN Strategy 2026-2030 process, and YERUN leaders later approved the financial report for 2024 and were presented with a financial plan for 2025.
As the mandate of the current members of the Executive Board expires in November, YERUN members were invited to vote on the candidates to join the Board. During the three weeks for nominating candidates, the Board received several applications and eventually proposed 4 candidates for the election. All candidates were unanimously elected to the Executive Board for a two-year mandate, as follows:
- Prof. Adam Kola, Vice-Rector for Research, Nicolaus Copernicus University,
- Prof. Barbara Höhle, Vice-President for Research, Early Career Researchers and Equal Opportunities, University of Potsdam,
- Prof. Jens Ringsmose, Rector, University of Southern Denmark,
- Prof. Sophie Vanhoonacker, Professor of EU Administrative Governance and former dean of our Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASoS), University of Maastricht.
University leaders and coordinators will meet again in March 2025 at the University of Rijeka!
