New Ideas and Collaborations – the BAUHAUS4EU Forum in Castelo Branco in Pictures
After three days, the forum of the European university alliance BAUHAUS4EU came to an end last Friday, June 13. It was the first of four forums that will be hosted annually by a different partner university during the project period from 2025 to 2028. The focus was on getting to know each other and meeting up for joint working sessions with members of the various teams and committees of the alliance. Participants also included representatives from business and culture in the Portuguese region of Castelo Branco and from other university alliances.
The exchange of experiences with regional partners and participants from other universities provided a good basis for working in small groups, which were formed for eleven task areas, the “work packages,” and four councils (student, PhD, admin, academic).
The Alliance is currently still in the design phase, so the focus of the work is on measures for project implementation and exploring the institutional possibilities within the ten partner universities. Following the kick-off meeting in Weimar, which focused on structural management, the forum now served as an opportunity to address substantive issues such as joint degrees, European Bauhaus courses, the involvement of regional partners, and sustainability strategies.
It became clear how valuable additional face-to-face discussions are – especially in the intercultural context of the Alliance, which brings together people from over ten nations. In the mandatory intercultural training sessions, participants experienced numerous “aha” moments in relation to working with their colleagues.
The positive effect of this personal exchange was clearly noticeable on all three days, as the university president, Prof. Peter Benz, emphasised: "It's great to experience the continuous development of our alliance in direct exchange with the teams. The drive to achieve is palpable, and I am convinced that this ‘BAUHAUS4EU spirit’ is the foundation for us to actually create a sustainable, inclusive European university campus."
The second Forum will be held at the University of Economics in Katowice next year.
The picture gallery captures important moments and impressions at the Instituto Politécnico Castelo Branco, host of this year's forum.
