The second Euroregion University Meeting was held on February 12 in Biarritz (France), attended by over 150 professionals from New Aquitaine, Euskadi and Navarre. The event was an opportunity to officially present the new UNINAEN digital cooperation platform, designed to foster synergies between the region’s university agents.
The aim of the forum was to encourage participants to share experiences and promote new opportunities for academic collaboration within the Euroregion. This initiative is part of the Euroregional university cooperation strategy launched at the first university forum in 2022, which focuses on three areas: networking local players, research and training, and student and teaching staff mobility within the European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC).
The event was chaired by Jokin Bildarratz, Regional Minister for Education of the Basque Government, Patricia Fanlo, Regional Minister for University, Innovation and Digital Transformation of the Government of Navarra, and Gérard Blanchard, Vice-President in charge of Higher Education and Research of the Regional Council of Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
The three elected representatives agreed on the importance of this day organized by the Euroregion, stressing the need to build on a network approach and strengthen cross-border cooperation, which represents a crucial tool for the region’s economic and social development.
UNINAEN, the new digital platform for university cooperation
The UNINAEN platform is directly in line with this logic of deepening local university relations. As a genuine information and exchange portal for university staff, it will make it easier to consult the universities and higher education centers that make up the Euroregional university network, and will help to strengthen the networking of the academic community in the three regions (professors, researchers, mobility managers and project leaders).
UNINAEN has been designed as a “living” meeting point, facilitating the sharing of experiences and concerns that will materialize in new cross-border projects.
Identifying new opportunities for cooperation
During the forum, presentations and thematic meetings were also organized to provide a better understanding of the Euroregional university environment and its key players.
Three working sessions were held in parallel:
- a meeting of the rectors and vice-rectors of the 11 universities from the three territories present at the event, with the aim of sharing the challenges and opportunities for cooperation between the three regions.
- a meeting of those responsible for mobility and internships, with the aim of moving towards a more integrated Euroregional university system, through the promotion of student and faculty mobility, and the internationalization of proximity.
- a session bringing together around 100 researchers from different universities to identify future joint projects.
In addition, B2B meetings and pitches enabled participants to get to know each other, discuss their projects and identify new opportunities for collaboration.
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