FORTHEM meeting in Finland
A review of the FORTHEM alliance's achievements as of 2019 and action plans for the following years or national top-up funding for alliances in individual countries - these were the topics addressed by representatives of the FORTHEM Alliance member universities at a meeting taking place at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland on 5 and 6 June 2023.
The meeting was attended by the UO Vice-Rector for Development and Finance, Prof. Rafał Matwiejczuk, Dr Barbara Curyło from the UO Institute of Political Science and Administration, FORTHEM coordinator in Opole, Dr Sylwia Frach from the UO Institute of Political Science and Administration, and Jarosław Kubiak, Director of the UO Office for Research and Project Management.
The first meeting of the presidency took place in Finland, as the Rector of the University of Jyväskylä, Marja-Leena Laakso, is the chair of the FORTHEM Presidency, a new governing body which was created as a result of some structural changes introduced in the second funding period of the Alliance. The meeting was attended by rectors, vice-rectors, FORTHEM coordinators and representatives of students’ unions from the nine partner universities. Its agenda included discussions of key themes of the alliance's joint activities and strategy and risk management. It was also an opportunity for informal talks and networking.
The organisers of the meeting conclude that after four years of intensive cooperation, the Alliance has become an important part of the day-to-day activities and guiding strategies of all member universities. It has also established contacts and created strong partnerships beyond the universities in each of the nine countries: Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Romania and Spain.
According to the FORTHEM materials ‘To date, 39 collective short-term mobilities have been organised, involving 813 students. There have been four semester-long FORTHEM Campus events with rotating host universities, hundreds of staff mobilities and semester-long student exchanges, and dozens of collaborative research and academic outcomes. We have created well-functioning laboratories addressing societal issues such as climate and resources or diversity and migration.’More about the meeting at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland and the activities of the alliance can be found HERE
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The University of Opole belongs to the network of European Universities and is part of the FORTHEM Alliance, which also includes Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz (Germany), Université de Bourgogne (France), Jyväskylän yliopisto (Finland), Università degli Studi di Palermo (Italy), Latvijas Universitāte (Latvia), Universitat de València (Spain), Universitetet i Agder (Norway) and Universitatea 'Lucian Blaga' din Sibiu (Romania). The Alliance was established in 2019.