The UOC introduces the OpenEU alliance to its Brussels community

OpenEU, an alliance formed to create the first pan-European open university, benefiting over 368,000 students and 24,000 teaching, research and administrative staff at Europe's leading open and distance learning universities, is led by the UOC. Àngels Fitó, rector of the UOC and president of OpenEU, together with Pastora Martínez Samper, commissioner for international action at the UOC and coordinator of the alliance, will explain the benefits of the network to the UOC's Brussels-based members.

The benefits of this remarkable alliance include international experiences for students in the form of virtual, hybrid and face-to-face exchanges. Furthermore, students and teaching, research and administrative staff will enjoy opportunities for mobility between the universities in the consortium. OpenEU is also committed to improving students' career prospects through initiatives such as a shared job and internship bank to provide transnational hybrid, virtual and face-to-face experiences, and an online employment fair, which will launch in the project's third year.

"The UOC has always led the way in the fields of online learning and educational innovation, and the OpenEU alliance, establishing the first pan-European open university, is another step forward," remarked Fitó. She also explained "This initiative will help increase the UOC's international presence and provide its members with new opportunities for international collaboration, learning and research." Pastora Martínez Samper noted that: "As an OpenEU member, we can join forces with other universities whose values and vision are aligned with our own, fostering new mobility, collaborative research and teaching innovation opportunities." She added that "This alliance is driving us towards a higher education system without borders, where everyone can enjoy a truly European educational experience."

Ester Borràs Andreu, the Catalan Government's delegate to the European Union, will also take part in this meeting for the UOC's Brussels-based community. The event, titled "The UOC's challenges in Europe: knowledge, technology and alliances", will be held on Friday 28 February at 12.30 p.m. at the Delegation of the Government of Catalonia to the EU.

The occasion will also mark the official establishment of the first international chapter of UOC Alumni. "This initiative provides an opportunity to build a graduate network that encourages its members to exchange experiences, knowledge and opportunities, and highlight this community's talent and ability to bring about change," said Anna Armengol, president of the Alumni Council.

Meeting with other European universities

In addition to this meeting with the UOC community, on Wednesday 26 February, Àngels Fitó and the rector of Bifröst University (Iceland) will meet 190 other rectors from European alliances and Roxana Mînzatu, Executive Vice-President for Social Rights and Skills, Quality Jobs and Preparedness, to discuss the strategic significance of the European Universities initiative, the key role played by universities as drivers of systemic change and how to improve the European Higher Education Area. And on Thursday 27 February, the rectors (with Pastora Martínez Samper, commissioner for international action; Diogo Casanova, vice rector of the Universidade Aberta in Portugal; and Àlex Hinojo, secretary general of OpenEU) will participate in the Shaping the future: European universities alliances for a competitive Europe conference, in which representatives from 65 European universities and MEPs (among other attendees) will review the milestones achieved to date and identify challenges for the future.

This project has received funding from the European Union (EUROPEAN EDUCATION AND CULTURE EXECUTIVE AGENCY - EACEA) under grant agreement No 101177241.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.