2024

On 29 November 2024, the Council held its first formal meeting in its Competitiveness (Research) configuration since the approval of the new Commission. The Guild welcomes that the Council Conclusions on “strengthening the competitiveness of the EU, reinforcing the European Research Area and overcoming its fragmentation” endorse the new broad orientations of EU policy. It is now critical that the Council backs up its general endorsement with concrete commitments and clear actions.

With the world at ‘the cusp of an AI revolution’ (Mario Draghi), The Guild considers how universities can help the EU to respond in an effective and distinctive way, within the framework for the responsible use of AI in science. How can we strengthen European research on Artificial Intelligence (AI), and what do we need to ensure AI can boost our research across disciplines?

Last week The Guild members had an opportunity to exchange with peers, experts and policymakers on the fast-changing field of artificial intelligence (AI) in our members-only event “AI in European universities: Opportunities and challenges”. Supported by Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL) and Université Paris Cité, we discussed the impact of AI in research and educational activities at the inspiring PariSanté Campus.

At The Guild General Assembly in Nijmegen, Guild university Presidents highlighted the pivotal role of universities at this crucial moment in Europe’s societal, cultural and economic development. Reflecting carefully on the analyses presented by the Draghi and Heitor reports, they underlined that now was not the time for Europe’s governments to cut back on R&I spending, but to boost investment in universities.

More than 250 academics and researchers from over 49 institutions across more than 27 countries in Africa, Europe and beyond gathered in South Africa at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS) for the inaugural Africa-Europe Clusters of Research Excellence Conference.

Yesterday, the Expert group chaired by Manuel Heitor published its report on the interim evaluation of Horizon Europe and its recommendations for the next framework programme for R&I (FP10). The Guild welcomes the report and its recommendations to ensure that Horizon Europe and its successor programme help strengthen Europe’s scientific leadership, industrial competitiveness and societal resilience.

The Guild member universities are long-standing participants of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) and dedicated to ensuring that the scheme remains as successful, impactful and appreciated as it has been over the past years. Therefore, together with leading research and innovation organisations from across Europe, The Guild joins the call for the recognition the MSCA deserves, alongside an increased budget to unlock its full potential.

In open letters to Roxana Mînzatu, Ekaterina Zarahieva, Stéphane Séjourné, Henna Virkkunen, Wopke Hoekstra, Jozef Síkela, Olivér Várhelyi and Piotr Serafin, The Guild calls on the designate members of the next Commission to respond positively to the critical importance of research, innovation and skills recognised in the reports by Enrico Letta and Mario Draghi.

The Africa-Europe Cluster of Research Excellence in Mathematics (CoRE-Math) has been selected as the 21st CoRE to join the initiative led by The African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) and The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities (The Guild). The academic co-leads of the CoRE-Math will be welcomed into the fold by around 200 participants at the inaugural CoRE conference taking place from 30 September to 2 October, hosted by Stellenbosch University. 

The past academic year highlighted the growing importance of the R&I and higher education sector in Europe to respond to and anticipate global and societal challenges. Throughout the last few months, The Guild has continued its advocacy for EU programmes (Erasmus+, Horizon Europe, FP10), demanding an increase in investments and providing recommendations on how to further develop and improve the programmes to increase Europe’s competitiveness and resilience.

The Africa-Europe Clusters of Research Excellence (CoRE) has launched a new logo to mark the first anniversary since the initiative was established by the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) and The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities (The Guild).

As part of the #ResearchMatters campaign, leading research and innovation organisations from across Europe are calling for a significant increase in investments in research and innovation to tackle the continent's most pressing challenges, such as climate change, the rise of artificial intelligence, cyber security, environmental and energy crises, threats to democracy & security, and pandemics.

Last week, The Guild’s Presidents gathered at the University of Groningen for two days of rich discussions on topics such as Europe’s competitiveness, skills development, equitable partnerships, FP10 and research security.

The Guild welcomes the Commission’s focus on cross-border cooperation, through increased mobility and removal of regulatory obstacles. Ultimately, the European Education Area includes a vision for better teaching and learning. We also welcome the collaborative efforts that led to the publication of the package and look forward to further developing ideas on the European degree, Quality Assurance and Recognition System and attractive and sustainable careers in higher education.

The European Union is about to negotiate its tenth framework programme for R&I (FP10) while at the same time defining a new vision for its competitiveness and values in an increasingly turbulent geopolitical context. We trust that the renewed impetus given to Europe’s competitiveness and strategic autonomy could be a unique opportunity to reassert the crucial importance of further investing in research and innovation. However, we are concerned that this new policy agenda may instead regard research and innovation as simple instruments to achieve other objectives and not respect them as an independent and forward-looking policy area.

Last week, The Guild’s Deans of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities gathered at the University of Glasgow. In their statement they stress the importance of the reassociation of the UK to Horizon Europe and its successor programmes, full empowerment of SSAH research collaborations in EU framework programmes and the urgent need for Switzerland to associate to enhance Europe’s competitiveness and resilience to better address societal challenges.

On 20 March 2024, the Ambassador of Norway to the United Kingdom, H.E. Tore Hattrem, hosted an event on the green and digital transitions jointly organised with King’s College London and the University of Oslo. The event highlighted The Guild’s latest Insight Paper “The Twin Transition Century: The role of digital research for a successful Green Transition of Society?” authored by Morten Dæhlen and supported by The Guild Senior Policy Officer Julien Chicot.

Thought leaders from science, innovation and industry gathered in Brussels on 14 March to discuss how future investments in research and innovation should be optimised for the benefit of Europe’s competitiveness and resilience as a knowledge society.

The Sandbjerg Summer school in Global History has opened a call for PhD students in Europe to participate in their upcoming summer school (19-22 June 2024).

The European Universities initiative has put universities into the policy spotlight with a promise of linking education, research, and innovation across national boundaries. In the past year the discussion has focused on ensuring the transformative nature of alliances with appropriate funding (‘Investment Pathway’). The Guild members recognise the need to provide comprehensive support to alliances. More long-term funding coupled with greater flexibility is needed. However, European funding alone will never be enough. The sustainability of the initiative will require concerted efforts of national governments and institutional commitments.

The European Commission’s recently announced package of new initiatives to strengthen economic security is highly relevant for the research and innovation sector and The Guild is committed to co-developing enhanced systems of research security with Member States and EU-level policymakers. We are dedicated to providing them with recommendations for navigating these initiatives while safeguarding international collaboration as a core feature of our research and innovation system which is indispensable for building resilience in the face of global challenges.

Eight organisations, representing key actors in the public research and higher education sectors, released an open letter today addressed to Ilze Juhansone, Secretary-General of the European Commission, and colleagues demanding the Commission prioritise research and education in its ex-ante impact assessment process.

We entered the new year with The Guild’s Vice-Presidents meeting in Brussels on 10-11 January to discuss Europe’s policy priorities for research and innovation. On the agenda were timely discussions on the European Research Area, FP10 and the European Universities alliances.