The EAIE 2024 Conference, which took place from 17 to 20 September at the MEETT exhibition centre in Toulouse, made lasting history in the international higher education community. The event brought together academic leaders, experts and institutions worldwide, providing a platform for exchanging knowledge, experience and inspiration.
Founded in 1989, the European Association for International Education, better known as EAIE, is a European centre of expertise, networking and resources for internationalising higher education. EAIE is a non-profit, member-driven organisation serving those actively involved in the internationalisation of their institutions.
This year's conference theme, 'En Route!', highlighted the challenges and opportunities facing the academic community in its quest for a better future. Topics focused on key aspects such as digital developments, sustainable practices, innovative approaches to promoting academic diversity and other relevant issues shaping the higher education sector.
The 2024 edition of the conference attracted more than 7,300 participants, more than 200 exhibition stands and offered more than 240 thematic sessions. Among the exhibitors was the European University EUNICE, which presented its achievements and initiatives with representatives of 20 other European University Alliances. These alliances had a particular exhibition space next to the European Commission stand.
Delegates from Poland, Sweden, Portugal, and Spain represented EUNICE. EUNICE Secretary General Magdalena Sikorska was also present, chairing a session on support programmes within European universities and several meetings.
The conference was also attended by the Vice-rector for International Cooperation of the Poznan University of Technology, Prof. Mariusz Glabowski, who has taken up this position for the 2024-2028 term.
The team actively engaged in discussions with stakeholders, sharing experiences and best practices that can support the development of the idea of European universities. The EUNICE stand attracted a lot of interest from academics and other conference attendees, who sought information on possible pathways for collaboration within the initiative.
In addition, EUNICE had the honour of presenting at the European Commission's stand, organising a mini-presentation on pedagogical innovation and personalised learning pathways. This session attracted much interest and was an excellent opportunity to present the best practices implemented in the alliance.
Prior to the EAIE conference, a side event entitled ‘Internationalising European University Alliances: New Frontiers’ was organised by Université de Toulouse and the Occitanie region. The event aimed to facilitate dialogue between European university alliances, non-European institutions, and policymakers to explore the current situation and future opportunities for internationalisation. Vanessa Debiais-Sainton, Head of the Education, Youth, Sport and Culture Unit at the European Commission, attended the event.
At this year's conference, Poznan University of Technology was represented at the stand of the National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA) by Magdalena Zawirska-Wolniewicz, Head of the International Cooperation Department, who is also the University Coordinator of the Erasmus+ Programme. NAWA provided a booth to Polish HEIs interested in participating in the trade fair that is accompanied every year by this largest conference on the internationalisation of higher education in Europe. This year, a record number of more than 35 HEIs took advantage of the opportunity to present their offer at the Research and Study in Poland booth.
The conference was a perfect opportunity to realise several meetings with foreign partners with whom PP already has active cooperation, such as Nagoya Institute of Technology (Japan), Korea Tech (Korea), Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (Spain), Cukurova University (Turkey), ECAM Rennes (France) or IMT Atlantique (France). Topics of discussion included ideas for strengthening existing cooperation, potential new joint projects within NAWA or expanding academic exchanges to include new fields of study. As this year's conference took place in Toulouse, several French universities were in attendance interested in undertaking student and staff exchanges as part of the Erasmus+ programme. Centres from INP Bordeaux or Nantes University showed great interest in our wide range of English programmes.
The strong representation of the Poznan University of Technology, which is involved in international cooperation daily, left a lasting mark during the conference in Toulouse and left beautiful France full of inspiration and new contacts. However, this is no time to rest - we are already looking forward to the event's next edition, which will be held in Goteborg, Sweden, in 2025.
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