The Board of Rectors of the European University CIVIS in Athens under the Presidency of NKUA

On Wednesday, September 7, 2022, between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., the Board of Rectors of the European University CIVIS met under the Presidency of NKUA in the Kostis Palamas building in Athens. NKUA has been holding the Presidency of the alliance since April 1, 2022, and will hand it over by late September, at a time coinciding with the conclusion of the first phase of the Project.

The Board of Rectors of the alliance’s ten member Universities met in the presence of the Rector of NKUA and current President of CIVIS, professor Dimopoulos, the Vice-Rector for Academic and Student Affairs and Head of the Project at NKUA, professor Karadimas, and the Rectors of the other member Universities. At the meeting were also present on behalf of NKUA: Ms Dimopoulou, Associate Professor of Legal History at the School of Law and Work Package (WP) Leader of Mobility for CIVIS at NKUA; Ms Apostolou, Associate Professor of History of French Civilization at the School of Philosophy and Coordinator of NKUA Academics Participation at WPs of CIVIS; and Mr Antoniou, Administrative Project Manager of CIVIS at NKUA. The meeting began with a greeting from professor Dimopoulos, who stressed the significance of the work done within the CIVIS framework. The debate that followed focused on the next steps of CIVIS, and the Board addressed, among other things, the issue of the approval and launch of CIVIS Hub 5 entitled Digital and Technological Transformation. The objective of this thematic area of European interest is the development of joint educational and research actions in the respective fields. The successful operation of CIVIS during the first phase of the Project and the preparation and agreed procedure for the official launch of the second phase of CIVIS, given the EU’s decision to extend its funding for four more years, in the framework of Erasmus+ and the European Universities Initiative, dominated the subsequent presentation of the external evaluator’s report. Of equal significance was the decision on the participation of CIVIS in an EU call for developing joint European programmes and degrees.

For the second phase of CIVIS, based on the agreement of the Board of Rectors, NKUA undertook WP9 entitled Civis Educational Offer: Bachelor and Master Level. NKUA will also co-coordinate with the Free University of Brussels and the University of Bucharest WP13 entitled Impact and Dissemination. Finally, NKUA will participate in all Task Forces and WPs undertaken by the other Universities of the alliance.

NKUA has been a founding member of CIVIS since 2019. The 10 member Universities of the alliance are the following: Aix-Marseille University (Aix-Marseille Université, Aix-en-Provence and Marseille, France); the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, Athens, Greece); the Free University of Brussels (Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium); the University of Bucharest (Universitatea din București, Bucharest, Romania); the Autonomous University of Madrid (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain); the Sapienza University of Rome (Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy); Stockholm University (Stockholms Universitet, Stockholm, Sweden); the University of Tübingen (Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany); and the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg (Paris Lodron Universität Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria). The University of Glasgow (Glasgow, United Kingdom) is an associate member of CIVIS. All members of CIVIS are top Universities—Higher Educational and Research Institutions, active in a wide range of subjects and scientific fields; they combine excellence in teaching and research with a commitment to defend academic values and support the growing involvement of citizens.