From 7 to 9 October 2025, sunny Nicosia was a temporary home to the representatives of YERUN member universities for this year’s autumn General Assembly. Rectors, presidents, and institutional coordinators were welcomed by the Rector of the University of Cyprus, Prof. Tasos Christofides, Ph.D., while the Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs, Prof. Tatiana Eleni Synodinou, Ph.D., gave a short introductory lecture on research policies as drivers of research excellence at UCY.
After marking YERUN’s 10th anniversary in June this year with a successful conference in Brussels, the GA served as a perfect opportunity to reflect on the achievements to date and (re)define the future direction of YERUN. The focus of the discussions in Cyprus was on the new strategy, which will reaffirm YERUN’s vision, mission, and values, set priorities for the period 2026-2030, and provide clear guidance for the future membership model. The new YERUN Strategy is aligned with the priorities of the European Commission, and will therefore focus on policies and advocacy for the Multiannual Financial Framework 2028-2034 (MFF) and related proposals (including Horizon Europe, Erasmus+, and the new European Competitiveness Fund).
On the first day of the Cyprus meetings, participants toured the university campus and library, and visited KIOS Research and Innovation Center of Excellence, and CYENS – Centre of Excellence. The second day is traditionally booked for two simultaneous workshops – one for the coordinators and the other for university leaders. While the coordinators discussed in more detail the working methods that will accompany YERUN’s new strategy, the leaders closely analyzed the future European Research Area Act (ERA Act). More information on the content, purpose, and progress of this important document was provided by Magda De Carli, Head of ERA Unit at the European Commission, who joined the rectors and presidents online. Slaven Mišljenčević, Policy Officer at DG RTD, European Commission, also joined the afternoon part of the workshop online, reflecting on academic freedom in the ERA Act.
In January 2026, Cyprus will take over the six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union, 14 years after its first presidency in 2012. Hence, the meeting in Cyprus was an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas with Lina Tsoumpanou, Coordinator of EU and International Files of the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation, and Digital Policy of Cyprus.
During the General Assembly session, the YERUN Brussels Office informed the members about the progress of the CONNECT by YERUN platform, which has welcomed 35,000 researchers from all member universities since its launch in November last year. In September this year, there were 740 active users, and around 984,000 scientific papers and publications were available on the platform. The Brussels Office also highlighted successfully implemented projects in which the University of Rijeka participated as one of the partners, SECURE and OPUS, while the CoARA Boost project, started in 2023, is still ongoing.
Professor Dag Rune Olsen, Rector of UiT – The Arctic University of Norway, was re-elected for a two-year term as YERUN President, receiving unanimous support from all member universities. Members’ official representatives also adopted the 2025 Financial Report and the 2026 Financial Plan, which is somewhat different from previous years due to general price increases, inflation, and personnel changes.
YERUN members will meet again in mid-March 2026, when the spring GA will be hosted by the University of Southeast Norway (USN).
