PROGRAMME Thursday, 28 April

EUA General Assembly - By invitation only

11.15-12.00 - Spotlight on Ukraine

• László Borhy, President, Hungarian Rectors’ Conference

• Jerzy Lis, Rector, AGH University of Science and Technology, Poland

• Olga Porkuyan, Rector, Volodymyr Dahl East Ukrainian National University, Ukraine

• Kseniia Smyrnova, Vice-Rector for International Cooperation, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine

• Chaired by Michael Murphy, President, European University Association

13.30-15.00 - Official Opening and Plenary Session I: Academic freedom – from policy to reality
Drawing from international frameworks for civil liberties, this session will address the role of academic freedom in safeguarding broader democratic values, ensuring self-reflection and striving for continuous societal enhancement. The session will also explore what universities can do in practice to ensure that academic freedom is and remains a lived reality.

• Official conference opening by Michael Murphy, President, EUA; Tibor Czigány, Rector, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Hungary; and László Borhy, President of the Hungarian Rectors’ Conference

• Vincent Blondel, Rector, Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium (joining remotely)

• Adam Bodnar, Dean of Faculty of Law, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw, Poland

• Christian Ehler, Member of European Parliament

• David Kaye, Director of International Justice Clinic/Co-Director of Fair Elections and Free Speech Center, UC Irvine School of Law, United States/ former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression

• Plenary chaired by Amanda Crowfoot, Secretary General, EUA Coffee break

16.30-17.30 - Plenary Session II: Nurturing a culture of open and respectful debate

Against the backdrop of debates around “cancel culture” and “de-platforming”, this session will look into the potential ramifications of such trends for freedom of speech in European universities: What can universities – and other actors – do to ensure free expression? In addition, what is the role of university leadership in such endeavours?

• Martina Darmanin, President, European Students’ Union

• Éric Fassin, Professor, University Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint Denis, France

• Iain Gillespie, Principal & Vice-Chancellor, University of Dundee, United Kingdom

• Chaired by Anne Lequy, Rector, Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences, Germany and EUA Board member Networking Reception and Gala Dinner

PROGRAMME Friday, 29 April

09.30-11.00 Breakout Sessions, Round II

11.00-11.30 Plenary Session III: Values in global cooperation
Higher education and research thrive on collaboration and universities are therefore by nature collaborative entities. The Covid-19 pandemic, during which universities around the world remained connected in order to find solutions to a shared challenge, is but the latest occasion that demonstrated this. Universities’ choice of partners is often guided by their strategic objectives as well as their values, and this latter factor becomes particularly central when considering partnerships around the globe. This session will discuss the mechanisms universities have in place to engage in partnerships that bring true added value, and the role values play in these mechanisms.

• Peter-André Alt, President, German Rectors’ Conference

• Carsten A. Holz, Professor, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

• Věra Jourová, Vice-President and Commissioner for Values and Transparency, European Commission (joining remotely)

• Sijbolt Noorda, President Emeritus, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands

• Chaired by Ivanka Popović, Professor, University of Belgrade, Serbia and EUA Board member

• Marita Hilliges, Secretary General, Association of Swedish Higher Education Institutions

• Kerstin Mey, President, University of Limerick, Ireland

• Marcin Pałys, Professor, University of Warsaw, Poland

• Chaired by Thomas Estermann, Director of Governance, Funding and Public Policy Development, EUA