The ARQUS European University Alliance brings together universities of Granada (Spain), Graz (Austria), Leipzig (Germany), Lyon (France), Maynooth (Ireland), Minho (Portugal), Padova (Italy), Vilnius (Lithuania) and Wroclaw (Poland), nine longstanding comprehensive research universities who share extensive experience in joint projects and a common profile as internationalized institutions with deep regional engagement in medium-sized cities.
ARQUS MAJOR GOALS:
Effective barrier-free cooperation at all levels of institutional activity in order to better respond to existing and emerging societal challenges;
Joint evidence-based institutional learning, arising from acting as a common laboratory beyond the mainstream, innovating in pursuit of systemic, structural and sustainable impact;
Engaged communities of learners, academics, professionals and alumni in multi-level habitats working together for sustainable progress;
Co-created attractive flexible challenge-based and research-driven academic offer;
Joint transformational disciplinary and interdisciplinary research and innovation;
Enhanced intercultural competence, global understanding and respect for diversity throughout our communities.
For more information about the alliance please visite this website.
The Rectors’ Council is composed of the rector or president of each partner university. It is responsible for establishing general policy, long-term and medium-term strategies, and major goals for the Alliance.
The Vice Rectors’ Council is the policy and strategic decision-making body that processes different decisions and discussions before these reach the Rectors’ Council. It strengthens institutional links among partner universities.
The Steering Committee is composed of two representatives of each partner university, two student representatives elected by the Student Council, plus the project officer appointed by each university to manage the first three-year Work Plan and the overall project manager appointed by the University of Granada to oversee implementation and coordination. The Steering Committee is responsible for overall coordination, implementation and quality assurance of the Work Plan, and for executive decision-making between Rectors’ Council meetings. The project officers and the project manager make up the Project Management Team, responsible for day-to-day management and administrative and financial running of the Work Plan as such, and acting as a sub-group of the Steering Committee.
The Local Coordination Committees guarantee broad participation at the local level for each partner, including academics, students, doctoral candidates and specialists in each Action Line in the Alliance’s first Work Plan. They are responsible for the internal organization and coordination of local Arqus activities, for ensuring and collecting feedback from local students and staff, together with local dissemination of Alliance activities, events and policies, in coordination with the local communication officer.
The student council is composed of two student representatives from each partner university. It is responsible for coordinating student involvement and ensuring student input and feedback to Alliance activities and policies. It elects two of its members to sit on the Steering Committee.
The International Advisory Boardis composed of six independent and internationally recognized experts in higher education. Its members are not directly affiliated to any of the Alliance’s universities, ensuring objectivity and impartiality. The International Advisory Board is responsible for monitoring, quality assurance and external advice, including policy advice on the Alliance’s long-term strategy and goals. It provides feedback from an external expert perspective on methodological appropriateness, relevance, integrity, internal coherence and compliance with the established requirements, Work Plan and timelines.
ARQUS involves a network of more than 317000 students, 23800 academics and 14500 technical staff of different nationalities from all over Europe.
