French President Emmanuel Macron came up with the idea in 2017 of forming a European University out of a network of universities across Europe. Now just five years later, some 41 European Higher Education Areas have been formed around a shared vision of superior education characterized by research and teaching in close coordination and international mobility for students, instructors and researchers.
Launched in 2020, the NeurotechEU alliance, to which the University of Bonn is member, is comprised of eight university partners. The top-level governance board of this consortium is constituted of rectors from its member universities, and the board meets twice a year to discuss project progress and plan the next steps. The initial phase of consolidation is to be followed by a project implementation phase for realization of the long-term planning regarding students, researchers and instructors. University of Bonn Rector Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Michael Hoch commented: “NeurotechEU pools expertise from many different European institutions to create an international research environment that is multidisciplinary and without parallel. The European University is a concept that will have lasting impact and be a definitive marker in Europe’s higher education and research landscape, and the University of Bonn is proud to be playing an active role in this process.”
The meeting delegation was the first strategy-related travel undertaken by the Rectorate since outbreak of the Corona crisis. In addition to Professor Hoch the University delegates attending the board meeting from May 16–18 in Romania were Prof. Dr. Birgit Ulrike Münch, Vice Rector for International Affairs, and Dr. Katharina Fuchs-Bodde, Director of the International Office. The delegates were accompanied by University of Bonn Research Director Prof. Dr. Christian Henneberger, Project Coordinator Dr. Anna Thorwart and two Student Council representatives. Discussions, lectures and intense work sessions were held on expansion of the alliance to include further European universities.
“One of the core objectives behind the University of Bonn’s Europe strategy is increased cooperation on research and teaching between European partners. Our membership in the European university network NeurotechEU is an embodiment of this strategy and a clear commitment to the idea of Europe,” commented Vice Rector Münch.
The NeurotechEU Board of Rectors will meet next in Alicante, Spain in the fall of 2022 to discuss the further strategic growth of the alliance.