Legal Entity: The future for European University Alliances
2 April, 10:30-12:00: Prof. Barbara Gagliardi from UniTo will talk about the UNITA experience with the legal entity during the online session “Legal Entity: The future for European University Alliances”, in the framework of the 2025 Arqus Annual Conference, which will take place on 2 and 3 April at Leipzig University (Germany). Broadcasted live on the Arqus YouTube channel.
Great Participation in the UNITA Annual Conference on Fascism and Authoritarianism
A heterogeneous audience of 130 attendees, including university professors, administrative and technical staff, university students, and high school students from Turin, followed the discussions of the UNITA-Universitas Montium Annual Conference, titled “Fascism, Authoritarianism, Military Regimes, and European Integration: Histories, Interpretations, Perspectives.”, that took place in the Aula Magna of the Cavallerizza Reale in Turin and featured distinguished national and international scholars. Organized as part of UNITA’s “European Citizenship Initiative”, in collaboration with all the universities of the Alliance, Polo del ‘900, and Europe Direct Torino, the conference opened with institutional greetings from the Rector of the University of Turin, Stefano Geuna, and Matteo Bagnasco, representing Polo del ‘900. A highlight of the day was the Lectio Magistralis delivered by Professor Anne-Sophie Nardelli-Malgrand from Université Savoie Mont Blanc, who analyzed fascism, neo-fascism, and post-fascism from a transnational perspective, covering the period from 1932 to the present day. The first session, titled “Democracy and Authoritarianism: Assessing the Past and Risks for the Future,” featured experts from various European universities. Among the most appreciated contributions was that of Professor Mauro Forno from the University of Turin, who examined Italian fascism as the first authoritarian experiment in Europe. Dr. Amaia Álvarez Berastegi from Universidad Pública de Navarra illustrated Spain’s long transition from dictatorship to democracy. Other key interventions included Professor Andreea Verteș-Olteanu from Universitatea de Vest din Timișoara, discussing Romania’s transition from authoritarianism to European integration, and Professor Nuno Amaral Jerónimo from Universidade de Beira Interior, analyzing Portugal’s transformation from an intercontinental empire to a European democracy. After a lunch break, the conference resumed with the second session, titled “A Broader Perspective: Common Problems and Prospects.” Among the speakers, Federico Trocini from the University of Bergamo examined the evolution of political language in authoritarian regimes between the 20th and 21st centuries, while Martina Coli from the University of Florence discussed the role of EU law as a potential safeguard against emerging authoritarianisms. The conference concluded with remarks by Professor Anna Mastromarino from the University of Turin, emphasizing the importance of an interdisciplinary approach in understanding both past and present authoritarian tendencies. The event sparked extensive debate among participants, confirming the relevance and urgency of the topic. The success of the conference further strengthens UNITA-Universitas Montium’s role as a key academic forum for international discussions on major historical and political issues. Want to stay updated on UNITA’s initiatives? Follow @universitasmontium on Instagram.
A Franco-Colombian research project born of the GEMINAE meetings
The GEMINAE program fosters global academic cooperation in Romance language-speaking regions. A collaboration between Sabine Forero Mendoza (UPPA) and Universidad del Rosario led to a research project on Colombia’s collaborative artistic practices (1991-2021), funded by ECOS Nord. The study explores art’s role in social change and resilience. Supported by French and Colombian institutions, it runs until 2027, reinforcing ties between Europe and Latin America. Le programme GEMINAE, réseau extra-européen de l’alliance UNITA, vise à renforcer la coopération internationale entre des universités du monde entier où sont parlées des langues romanes. C’est dans ce cadre que s’est nouée la collaboration entre Sabine Forero Mendoza, professeure spécialisée en philosophie et histoire de l’art à l’Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour, et ses partenaires colombiens de l’Université du Rosaire (Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá). Lors des rencontres GEMINAE tenues à Pau en septembre 2023, ces partenaires ont pu initier un ambitieux projet de recherche consacré aux pratiques artistiques collaboratives en Colombie, qui vient de décrocher un financement du programme ECOS Nord. Une reconnaissance par le programme ECOS Le projet, intitulé « Pratiques artistiques collaboratives en Colombie : enjeux sociaux, processus créatifs et élaborations d’espaces communs (1991-2021) », a récemment obtenu une bourse ECOS Nord. Le programme ECOS (Nord et Sud) soutient des collaborations scientifiques d’excellence entre la France et des pays d’Amérique latine en finançant des échanges entre chercheurs et doctorants sous forme de missions et de stages de perfectionnement. Il est important de noter que les bourses ECOS sont rares dans le domaine des sciences humaines et sociales, ce qui renforce la valeur et la reconnaissance de ce projet. Une étude sur les liens entre art et engagement politique L’objectif de la recherche est d’explorer comment les pratiques artistiques participatives ont accompagné des transformations sociales et politiques majeures en Colombie, depuis la mise en œuvre de la Constitution de 1991 jusqu’aux mobilisations citoyennes de 2021. En s’appuyant sur des entretiens et une analyse approfondie des contextes, l’équipe franco-colombienne étudiera des œuvres collectives produites dans des disciplines variées : arts plastiques, théâtre, littérature et cinéma. Ces réalisations revêtent bien souvent une finalité réparatrice en Colombie, contribuant aux processus de résilience et de reconstruction sociale dans un pays marqué par des conflits internes. Une collaboration scientifique structurée Le projet est mené par une équipe internationale et interdisciplinaire : en France, des chercheuses appartenant à trois universités sont impliquées (Université de Lorraine, Université Rennes 2 et Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour), ainsi qu’une doctorante de Cergy Paris Université. En Colombie, des chercheurs en arts plastiques, en philosophie et sciences politiques, ainsi qu’une doctorante en droit spécialisée dans la justice transitionnelle et le droit des minorités, contribuent aux travaux. Cette coopération s’appuie sur un cadre institutionnel solide, incluant des accords bilatéraux et un financement jusqu’en 2027. Le premier départ de mission est prévu pour août : il marque le début des travaux de terrain, qui incluront un recensement des propositions artistiques et des entretiens avec des artistes et acteurs culturels. L’Université du Rosaire, partenaire du projet, entretient des liens privilégiés avec l’Université de Saragosse, qui, en tant que membre de l’alliance UNITA, l’a désigné comme un partenaire stratégique. C’est dans ce cadre que cette université colombienne a participé aux rencontres du réseau GEMINAE organisées à Pau en 2023, renforçant ainsi les collaborations académiques entre l’Europe et l’Amérique latine que l’UPPA a à cœur de développer. Le projet bénéficiera du dynamisme de la faculté d’art récemment créée au sein de l’Université du Rosaire, qui constitue un espace clé pour l’étude, l’évaluation et la valorisation de pratiques artistiques à fort impact social, dans un pays particulièrement touché par diverses formes de violence.
Cultural Heritage Meets Technology at the Casa Mureșenilor Museum in Brasov
On March 6, 2025, the Casa Mureșenilor Museum in Brasov hosted an engaging online presentation by Valer Rus, the museum’s manager, for professors and students involved in the CONNECT WONDERS project. This project, funded through UNITA Starting Grants, aims to explore the connections between literature, tourism, and European cultural heritage, contributing to knowledge integration based on The World Literature Knowledge Graph, a semantic resource developed by researchers at the University of Turin. With an impressive archive of over 25,000 documents, the Casa Mureșenilor Museum was the perfect partner for organizing an event aligned with the project’s theme. The museum is widely recognized for adopting innovative solutions that make history accessible to the public. During the virtual tour, participants discovered three initiatives that make this museum particularly appealing to younger generations. The first, launched in 2017, enables visitors to explore the museum through virtual reality, offering an immersive experience with historical archives. Since 2019, an interactive artificial intelligence-powered avatar has provided personalized information about exhibits, enhancing the visitor experience. In 2022, a gamified virtual tour was introduced, blending history with digital interactivity and inviting users to uncover the secrets of the Mureșianu family. The museum manager’s captivating presentation sparked curiosity and encouraged participants to explore the museum further. As a result, a future activity within the CONNECT WONDERS project, scheduled for October 2025, will take place at this museum.
UPNA celebrates the NOCHE UNITA, a moving event on the UNITA values
UPNA organised, within the framework of the UNITA WEEK, the so-called UNITA NIGHT, a moving event with the aim of recalling and highlighting the values that identify UNITA and to reinforce the feeling of belonging to the alliance. The session interspersed short talks by researchers from five different countries of the Alliance, with musical pieces representative of each country by the Escolanía del Orfeón Pamplonés, one of the most prominent children’s choirs in Navarre. The topics discussed, all of them substantial values for UNITA, were European identity, sustainable innovation, the role of Romance languages and the links they create, nature-friendly solutions and, finally, the historical relations between the member countries of the alliance. Each of the speakers spoke in their native language and the audience, made up exclusively of those attending UNITA Week Pamplona, was able to follow the proceedings thanks to a simultaneous translation into English, projected on a screen. The speakers were the following: Francisco Beltrán Lloris (Universidad de Zaragoza), Elisa Corino (Università degli studi di Torino), Frank D’Amico (lUniversité de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour), Bruno Ferreira Costa (Universidade da Beira Interior) and Alexandra Petcu (l’Universitatea de Vest din Timişoara). The event was presented by UPNA student Meghavi Chapman Azpirotz.
UNITA Week Pamplona addresses key issues for the future of the alliance
Between 25 and 28 February, Public University of Navarra (UPNA) hosted in Pamplona UNITA Week 2025, the Alliance’s most important annual meeting and work event. More than 150 people, representing all the universities that make up UNITA, met for three intense days of work to assess the state of progress of the project and to establish future strategies for the consolidation of the Alliance. New organisational structure In the framework of the meetings and activities scheduled at UNITA Week, key issues for UNITA were addressed, such as a roadmap towards a UNITA blueprint, conformed by its fundamental strategies, the preliminary results of the project´s quality review, the progress in the impact observatory, new refinements in the sustainable financial model and the identification of the needs for digitalisation of the different tasks. Other key issues concerning the structure, organisation and consolidation of the alliance were also addressed. These included the approval of a new organisational structure more aligned with the governance of universities, as well as the signing of the so-called Brescia Declaration, drawn up in October 2024 in Brescia, which is committed to an ambitious institutional model capable of carrying out, on a European scale, all the activities of a university. The UNITA Week also served as the setting for the change in the Presidency of the Alliance, a position now held by Ramón Gonzalo, Rector of UPNA, replacing Marilen Gabriel Pirtea, Rector of Universitatea de Vest in Timisoara. The Pamplona meeting also set up a specific programme of meetings for the students who are part of the UNITA Student Assembly. These parallel meetings were mainly aimed at finalising the details of the upcoming Student Assembly elections and the creation of an alumni network for former students. Values, training and sustainability Among the parallel activities, the organization of Noche UNITA stood out, an outreach event in which talks by five researchers from UNITA universities were interspersed with songs performed by a children’s choir in five languages of the alliance. The goal: to remember and highlight the values that define and unite the university communities that are part of UNITA. The programme also included a lecture on European joint degrees by Dorothy Kelly, coordinator of the ARQUS Alliance of universities and professor at the University of Granada, and a training session on Agile methodology for project management. It is also noteworthy that the organisation of this meeting by the UPNA was carried out in accordance with one of UNITA’s fundamental values: sustainability. In this sense, criteria were followed to reduce the consumption of paper and plastic as much as possible, replacing it with other more ecological alternatives. The aim was to reduce as much as possible the ecological footprint of an event that brings together such a large number of people.
Extending UNITA Green Day to all campuses: UPPA’s multi-site approach
At the University of Pau and the Pays de l’Adour (UPPA), the Green Day initiative went beyond a single campus. By extending the event across all its sites and integrating it into its Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility framework, the university successfully maximized its impact on sustainability awareness. Un Green Day multi-campus : un défi relevé par l’UPPA Dans le cadre du Green Day de l’alliance UNITA, l’UPPA a organisé l’évènement en s’appuyant sur un modèle décentralisé. Plutôt que de concentrer l’événement sur un unique site, l’université a fait le choix d’une diffusion multi-campus, impliquant Pau, Mont-de-Marsan, Tarbes, Bayonne et Anglet. Cette démarche a permis d’assurer une participation élargie et de toucher l’ensemble de la communauté universitaire. L’UPPA a mis en place une série de ciné-débats autour du documentaire Bigger Than Us, un film mettant en lumière l’engagement des jeunes à travers le monde. Chaque session, animée par des étudiants impliqués, a permis de favoriser l’échange et la réflexion autour de l’engagement des jeunes et de leurs motivations. Un événement intégré dans la démarche DD&RS de l’université La participation de l’UPPA à cet événement UNITA s’est parfaitement inscrite dans sa démarche de Développement Durable et Responsabilité Sociétale (DD&RS). Cela a permis d’ancrer l’événement dans une stratégie globale et cohérente, en lien avec les objectifs de transition écologique et sociétale portés par l’établissement. Prolonger la dynamique : les prochaines étapes Après avoir réalisé les trois premiers Green Day sur les campus de Pau, Mont-De-Marsan et Tarbes, l’UPPA poursuivra ses actions avec une nouvelle projection-débat prévue à Bayonne/Anglet fin mars lors de la Semaine des transitions, qui se tiendra du 24 au 28 mars 2025.
UNITA Code of Ethics and Conduct: a step toward creating a safe, fair, and inclusive academic environment
UNITA is proud to launch its Code of Ethics and Conduct, a thorough framework designed to define and encourage ethical behavior throughout the alliance’s activities. Crafted in partnership with experts, member universities, and dedicated task teams, this Code represents a significant step forward in reinforcing the core values that unite the UNITA community: integrity, commitment, professionalism, diversity and inclusion, and sustainability. This Code is more than just a symbolic gesture; it serves as a practical guide for the everyday decisions and actions of students, academic staff, and administrative personnel involved in UNITA’s collaborative projects. It lays out clear expectations for respectful communication, responsible resource management, inclusive practices, and environmentally friendly choices. For example, it advocates for transparency in decision-making, fairness in workload distribution, and support for underrepresented groups. Additionally, it encourages low-impact mobility, aligning with the alliance’s environmental goals. Laura Corazza, expert in Sustainability accounting and one of the Code’s co-authors, shares: “This document reflects who we are as an alliance and serves as a guide for our future direction. It empowers us to act ethically, consistently, and collectively, even amidst diverse institutional cultures.” Maurizio De Tullio, Executive Coordinator of the UNITA alliance and one of the Code’s co-authors, shares : “The Code is the product of a collective intelligence effort of all the partners, who with their insights and feedbacks collected through several iterations, contributed to elevate the quality of the document“ To ensure that the Code is not just a document but a living practice, UNITA will set up a dedicated Ethical Committee. This committee is made up of a diverse group of representatives, including a student, faculty, staff, and ethics and quality assurance experts. They play a crucial advisory role, provide training sessions, monitor ethical compliance, and address any concerns or complaints. A secure whistleblowing platform will also be implemented, guaranteeing complete confidentiality and protection for anyone who reports misconduct. For the UNITA community, the launch of this Code signifies a collective commitment to fostering a safe, fair, and inclusive academic environment one that embodies our values not just in theory, but in action. By weaving ethics into its core, UNITA strengthens its vision of a European university alliance grounded in trust, accountability, and mutual respect. Read the Code in the UNITA website.
A tool created by UNITA alliance universities that assesses the level of internationalisation of degrees
UNITA alliance universities have developed a digital resource called the Self-Assessment Tool, which allows them to assess the level of internationalisation of their degree programmes. The tool offers a detailed diagnosis and provides specific recommendations for designing and implementing effective strategies to foster more global, inclusive and accessible higher education. The presentation of the tool took place at the Public University of Navarra (UPNA) during a meeting (called ‘Multiplier Event’) organized by Paloma Fernandez-Rasines (coordinator), Aneider Iza-Erviti, Rebeca Echavarri and Julia Amorena as part of the Erasmus+ project UNITA RECIPES for INTERNATIONALISATION. The meeting, held at the Arrosadia campus in the city of Pamplona (Navarra), brought together representatives of universities and entities linked to the project. Jorge Elso Torralba, Vice-Rector for Internationalisation and Cooperation of the UPNA, welcomed them and highlighted the importance of the project as a key tool for the internationalisation of degree programmes, with the advantage of offering ‘a practical and accessible approach’ to put it into practice, which ‘helps to overcome cultural and geographical barriers’. Internationalisation consultancy The UNITA RECIPES for INTERNATIONALISATION project, launched in December 2023 for a period of three years, aims to facilitate the internationalisation of the degree programmes of the universities of the UNITA alliance through the support of a new professional figure: the internationalisation advisor. This innovative role aims to accompany the people in charge of the degree programmes through personalised support (‘coaching’) to develop competences that promote inclusive and effective internationalisation in order to reach students with fewer opportunities and to promote ‘internationalisation at home’. With a budget of 400,000 euros, funded by the Erasmus+ programme and co-funded by MOVETIA (the Swiss Agency for the Promotion of Exchanges and Mobility in the Education Sector) and the participating universities, the project underlines the commitment of European universities involved in the improvement of higher education in a global context. The project is coordinated by the University of Savoie Mont Blanc (France) and involves the following partner universities: Brescia (Italy), Transilvania University of Brasov (Romania), the Polytechnic Institute of Guarda (Portugal) and the Public University of Navarra (Spain). In addition, ARACIS (the Romanian National Evaluation Agency) and the other universities of the UNITA alliance are partners: Zaragoza (Spain), Turin (Italy), Beira Interior (Portugal), Pau and Pays de l’Adour (France), West Timisoara (Romania), the Higher Specialised School of Western Switzerland – HES-SO (Switzerland) and the Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University (Ukraine).
4th annual EELISA Roundtable on Gender gap in STEAM education
The 4th annual Roundtable organised by the European Alliance EELISA, held in celebration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, will focus on addressing the gender gap in STEAM education and exploring the transformative role of European University Alliances in advancing gender equality within higher education. When: Tuesday, 11th February 2025, from 11:00 to 12:30 (CET) Where: Online, via Zoom For: Everyone! This roundtable will feature representatives from EELISA, ENHANCE, and EUt+ Alliances, who will share insights into their initiatives and discuss both challenges and successes in implementing gender equality plans. You’ll also hear from students, whose voices are critical in shaping these efforts. Please register here: https://upm.zoom.us/meeting/register/bsuasybtSCib-eoIY6LtFQ