EC2U Alliance pays tribute to Cesário Silva and signs partnership with Ukrainian university

^{Translation by Diana Taborda}

The European Campus of City-Universities (EC2U - European Campus of University Cities) alliance, a consortium integrated by the University of Coimbra (UC), paid tribute on the 6th of April to Cesário Silva, President of Associação Académica de Coimbra (AAC), deceased on the 12th of March. The moment took place at the opening session of the EC2U Forum - which is being held in Pavia (Italy) until today (Thursday, the 7th), during which a partnership was signed between the consortium and the University of Lviv (Ukraine).

The memorandum of strategic partnership was signed between the European Campus of City-Universities and the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, one of the leading Ukrainian higher education institutions. The partnership, particularly symbolic in the current context of war in Ukraine, was signed by the representatives of the seven universities comprising EC2U and the Rector of Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Volodymyr Melnyk (who participated in the event remotely), and aims at strengthening relations between the parties, within the framework of the activities developed by the consortium.

The Forum in Pavia includes conferences, workshops and debates dedicated to topics such as digital education, sustainability, micro-credentials, research and innovation, among others. Every six months, the Alliance organises the EC2U Forum to gather students, staff, citizens, local and regional authorities to foster open dialogue on pressing issues in society and to share good practices.

EC2U is a multi-cultural and multi-lingual European Universities Alliance that includes the University of Poitiers (as coordinator), the University of Coimbra, the University Alexandru Ioan Cuza of Iasi, the University of Salamanca, the University of Pavia, Friedrich Schiller University of Jena and the University of Turku. Its ambition is to develop an open and innovative space allowing seamless mobility among the universities and cities, thus overcoming clichéd views of regional and national identities. The Alliance is based on a unique cooperation between universities and cities, involving academic communities, municipalities, regional authorities, socio-economic actors and citizens. EC2U will promote and unprecedented challenge-based global initiative that leans on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).