The “engaged university” is the theme, 17 and 18 October are the dates, and Bled is the place of one of the highlights of this year’s European higher education events. The conference – named The engaged university – will be a co-production of ACA and its Slovenian member CMEPIUS.

What is an “engaged university”? It is one which reaches out to other countries and continents, or, an “internationalised” one. But it is also - and even more so - a university which reaches out to its closer vicinity, in its local and regional ‘habitat’.  The “engaged university” is one which interacts and collaborates with civil society at large, municipalities, companies, NGOs, and many other actors. Some would call a university which pursues the ‘third mission’ of higher education. We can also put it differently. Next to internationalisation, the themes of this event are social responsibility; civic engagement, active citizenship and ‘service learning’; innovation and knowledge transfer; diversity and inclusion, as well as ethics and values.

The target audience of the conference are representatives of higher education institutions as well as stakeholder organisations of the academic sector, governmental representatives and such from international organisations. To be precise, there will actually be two main target groups: staff working on international matters (international relations offices, vice rectors for international affairs, etc.) and staff dealing with the ‘third mission’ and with institutional outreach to and cooperation with local and regional actors and partners.

The main thrust of this conference is practical. Most presentations will be on concrete projects, studies or initiatives at the international, national and local level. One part of the programme - consisting of parallel sessions - will focus on jointly discussing and devising possible new ‘third mission’ projects by means of European and international cooperation. The conference will feature a mix of plenary interventions and of parallel sessions.

Who will be the stars at this conference? First and foremost, you, the audience, who will come with many fresh ideas, pockets full of curiosity and a thirst for interaction. Second, the stars are our speakers, leading experts of international renown. In selecting them, we followed a simple principle: only the best. And last, but not least, the star is Bled. Bled is this planet’s most wonderful village. A breath-taking beauty and yet an accessible one, only two dozen miles away from Ljubljana Airport. An ideal place for gaining new insights, relaxing in a tranquil environment, and spending heavenly moments with your loved one(s).

Register here!

Source: unsplash.com