Impact, future, and role of students – FORTHEM Presidency 2026 meeting in Opole

Key challenges facing European university alliances—including measuring their real impact, student engagement, and the future of institutional cooperation—will be the main topics of the FORTHEM Presidency 2026 meeting, which will take place at the University of Opole on 22 April.

Chaired by the Rector of the University of Opole, Professor Jacek Lipok, the event will bring together rectors of partner universities, as well as experts and representatives of the academic community, creating a platform for strategic debate on the further development of the FORTHEM Alliance.

The impact of FORTHEM – from the European to the local Level

The first session of the meeting will focus on analysing the impact of FORTHEM’s activities both at the European level and within individual partner universities. Participants will be presented with examples of the Alliance’s impact, on the University of Opole and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz.

The central part of this session will be a discussion on how to increase the Alliance’s influence more effectively in the areas of research, teaching and international cooperation.

Spotlight on students’ input

The second session, organised jointly with the FORTHEM Student Council, will highlight the growing role of students as active co-creators of the Alliance. The programme includes a presentation of student achievements, such as the work of student ambassadors, initiatives supporting the quality education,and their contribution to the Alliance’s funding application process.

The discussion will also focus on strengthening cooperation with student self-governance bodies and on integrating FORTHEM actions into study curricula.

Strategic decisions for the future of the Alliance

The afternoon session of the Presidency meeting will be dedicated to key strategic issues. Reports on current activities and future projects will be presented, along with initiatives aimed at increasing the visibility of FORTHEM at partner universities.

A Platform for decision-making and cooperation

The FORTHEM Presidency 2026 meeting in Opole marks an important moment for the future development of the Alliance. Decisions made here will shape the direction of cooperation between European universities, strengthen their influence and define their role in the future of European higher education.

The conference is funded under the project entitled “Support for the activities of the University of Opole within the FORTHEM Alliance of European Universities”, contract no. BPI/WUE/2024/1/00003/U/00001, financed by the European Social Fund 2021–2027 (ESF). NAWA project entitled “Support for European University Alliances”, project no. FERS.01.05-IP.08-219/23.