Over the past two months, our project has been actively represented at several important international events in Europe and the United States. With a focus on fostering collaboration, accelerating digital transformation and building synergies among European University Alliances, our team has engaged with stakeholders, researchers and innovators from around the globe.

 

Conferences' Highlights

The journey began with INORMS Congress 2025, hosted for the first time by EARMA in Madrid, on May 7 and 8. Here Project Coordinator Jesus Alcober hosted two round tables focused on AI-driven research funding support and institutional transformation through expert collaboration platforms. These sessions explored innovative tools like the AI Research Funding Support initiative and the Open Agora platform (Metagora), both of which are part of the aUPaEU project. They highlighted how technology and cross-border cooperation can promote sustainability and inclusiveness in research management. The event fostered a strong sense of community and forward thinking, offering valuable networking opportunities and cross-cultural dialogue in a truly international setting, as well as practical takeaways.

From there, we headed to Odense, Denmark, for the Epicur Forum. There, Lauren Ciancio from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology connected with members of the Epicur Alliance, displaying a poster showing how aUPaEU supports European University Alliances by developing and sharing service models that accelerate collaboration, innovation, and transformation in Higher Education.

In the first week on June, we took part in the EUNIS 2025 Conference in Belfast, which brought together stakeholders involved in the management, development and policymaking for Information Technology in Higher Education in Europe, under the theme of “Connecting Communities and Empowering Creativity.” Michael Anger, Open science and transfer Lead at aUPaEU, presented From Silos to Synergies - Empowering HEIs through Agora platforms, which sparked thoughtful conversations about the Agora digital platform can strengthen collaboration between institutions.

Just days after EUNIS, our project reached Amsterdam, for the UIIN Conference. Here we presented the poster “The Agora Research Infrastructure Catalogue”, developed jointly by aUPaEU and EUTOPIA members. The catalogue is a digital solution designed to improve access to research facilities, resources, and services across universities and institutions.  

Valencia was the next stop for us, for the 2025 HEAd'25 Conference, where Farnaz Haji Mohammadali presented the research paper, The European University Alliances Challenges and Acceleration Services Solutions.  The paper examines how platforms like Agora can help European universities overcome collaboration barriers in research, communication, and innovation: a tangible contribution to the broader conversation about accelerating digital transformation in Higher Education.

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, another opportunity awaited. The US-Poland Science and Technology Symposium , held at Stanford University and in San Francisco, brought together researchers, entrepreneurs and innovators from both sides of the Atlantic. Here, Jacek Marciniak, System Sustainability Lead at aUPaEU, presented the poster From Silos to Singularity: A Scalable Framework for Collaborative Growth in Higher Education , introducing our vision for how scalable digital frameworks can encourage institutional growth and collaboration.

Finally, we hosted the Agora Hands-on Lab for the uninovis Alliance at Universidad de Málaga. Alba Gomez from aUPaEU led the session, working closely with representatives from all uninovis universities. Together, they explored the capabilities of the Agora platform, by working live on the Alliance’s objectives for acceleration services, based on our shared commitment to strengthening digital collaboration across European universities.

 

Looking Ahead

Don’t miss out on the Interreg e-workshop Connecting regions, empowering universities through stronger R&I policies on October 2, 2025. Our presentation : The role of digital services in accelerating transfer activities.