10th EC2U Forum in Turku

From 18 to 21 May, the 10th EC2U Forum took place in the Finnish port city of Turku under the theme ‘Shaping European Futures through Quality Education’. Around 500 participants from the nine EC2U partner universities came together. Among them was a delegation of around 40 people from our university, comprising staff from various work packages, students and our University President, Prof. Dr Alexander Marx.

The four-day forum offered a varied programme of workshops, round-table discussions and other formats for exchange, focusing on the current challenges and future prospects of European higher education. At the same time, the working groups addressed their core topics during scientific sessions and engaged in discussions with lecturers from the relevant faculties at the University of Turku.

Highlights from the Workpackages:

• WP2 – Inclusive, Engaged and Mobile EC2U Community: The Mental Health Expert Group, in collaboration with colleagues from Jena, Umeå and Linz, developed an overarching concept for the next workshop at Student Week in Salamanca. The activities were linked thematically, and the various perspectives were tied together.
  
  
• WP4 – Good Health and Well-Being: Following the successful workshop “3 Ways to Ruin Your Presentation – and How to Fix It”, new initiatives for the EC2U PhD network were discussed. The open and inspiring exchange between PhD students from the EC2U universities was particularly valuable and will serve as the basis for further innovative workshop formats.
  
  
• WP5 – Quality Education: The focus was on the importance of multilingualism for inclusive and sustainable education in Europe. At the same time, key preparations were made for the joint Master’s programme in European Languages, Cultures and Societies in Contact, which will commence in the winter semester of 2026/27 at the University of Jena.
  
  
• WP6 – Sustainable Cities and Communities: A particular highlight was the series of academic lectures delivered by the universities of Jena, Iasi, Turku and Coimbra on the topic of “Healthy and Sustainable Cities in a Changing Climate”, held as part of the interdisciplinary collaboration between WP6 and WP4.

Other items on the programme included a discussion forum on entrepreneurship and innovation, as well as a think tank session on the topic: “Equitable and Universal Access to Education”. The Higher Education Roundtable provided an opportunity to discuss issues currently affecting the European higher education landscape. Students contributed their views through a “Voice of Students Poster Walk”. Panel discussions and dialogue sessions between EC2U and the city’s associated partners also took place.