Second funding period of FORTHEM
This two-day event on 5th and 6th June, will bring together rectors, vice-rectors, FORTHEM coordinators and Student Council representatives from the nine partner universities. A UV delegation, made up of the Vice-Rector for Internationalisation and Multilingualism, Carles Padilla Carmona, and the Rector's delegate for the FORTHEM Alliance, Esteban Sanchis Kilders, attended the meeting.
The second funding period of FORTHEM, which started in November 2022, has been accompanied by some important structural changes, including a new governing body called the "FORTHEM Presidency". For this first year, 2023, the presidency is held by the Rector of the University of Jyväskylä, Marja-Leena Laakso from the University of Jyväskylä (Finland).
Rector Marja-Leena Laakso has shared her hopes for this meeting: "I am looking forward to our joint face-to-face meetings and discussions, hoping that we can bring new ideas to support both the sustainability and innovative character of FORTHEM".
The vice-rector of the Universitat de València, Carles Padilla, also confirmed the value of these face-to-face meetings in order to advance the development of aspects such as the alliance's strategy.
Some of the many subjects on the agenda are:
- FORTHEM achievements since 2018
- national context and policy surrounding the place of alliances in higher education
- key topics and priorities on the national level
- complimentary national funding for alliances
- FORTHEM Alliance’s long-term ambitions
- strategy and risk management
During this meeting there were also many opportunities for informal conversations and networking, for example during the dinner hosted by the Mayor of Jyväskylä, Timo Koivisto, who in his speech emphasised the great opportunity for internationalisation that the Alliance represents for his city.
The position of vice-president of FORTHEM is held by the rector of the University of Valencia, María Vicenta Mestre Escrivá, who will preside FORTHEM during the year 2024, coinciding with the 525th anniversary of the University of Valencia.
FORTHEM in numbers
9 universities
232 000 students
32000 staff
A brief description of FORTHEM
FORTHEM Alliance brings together a new generation of creative Europeans able to cooperate across languages, borders, and disciplines to address the societal challenges and skills shortages Europe faces. FORTHEM is a network of nine multidisciplinary public research universities with a strong regional anchoring. We share a long history of cooperation and are experimenting new innovative forms of collaboration with the aim of creating a permanent multilateral and European cooperation environment. We believe our model will facilitate innovativeness in education and a close linkage between education, research and innovation. Our goal is to educate open-minded European citizens committed to our common democratic values, together solving the obstacles for seamless student and staff mobility and providing students with 21st century skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, flexibility, self-direction and good communication skills because we believe in intercultural dialogue and in Europe’s multiculturalism and multilingualism.
