4th Arab-Euro Conference on Higher Education (AECHE 4)

UNICA, member of the Arab-Euro Conference of Higher Education (AECHE) Steering Committee, is pleased to announce the 4th AECHE Conference:

Research for sustainable societies – the role of universities

24-26 April 2017

University Mohammad V, Rabat, Morocco

The Fourth Arab-Euro Conference on Higher Education (AECHE 4) focuses on research collaboration and capacity building among Arab and European universities. It addresses university leadership from both regions, but also heads of doctoral schools, individual scholars and project leaders involved in bi-regional research collaboration in energy, water and sustainability, from sciences, engineering and social sciences, and last but not least, policy makers and representatives from enterprise and innovative industries related to the issues.

The conference will explore how universities can develop research capacity and collaboration in research, addressing issues of high national, regional and global priority: water, energy, and the related environmental and sustainability challenges, which also require social sciences. In tackling these specific and strategic topics, the conference will discuss more generally the question how Arab and European universities can work closer together in promoting research and research based education, and will also explore relevant policy and funding frameworks. Involving university leadership along with policy makers, it will seek to provide concrete recommendations for policy making at inter-regional level.

Target audience

• University leadership (Rectors, Vice-Rectors for Research and Education)
• Heads of doctoral schools, individual scholars and project leaders involved in bi-regional research collaboration in energy, water and sustainability, from sciences, engineering and social sciences, and in social sciences contributing to bi-regional reflection
• PHD candidates, involved in Arab-Europe cooperation
• Policy makers from Europe and the Arab world
• Representatives from industry and civil society organisations, interested in the issue.

Programme

• Seminar (24 April) - with contributions by experts from 4 UNICA member universities: University of Zagreb, University of Vienna, University of Lausanne, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa
• Conference (24 April - 26 April)

About the workshop on doctoral education (24 April):

Prior to the Conference, a workshop “Lessons learned from collaborative doctoral education” will be organised on 24 April, and will address in particular:

• Scholars / project leaders/ heads of doctoral schools involved in bi-regional research collaboration (in particular in energy, water and sustainability) from sciences, engineering and social sciences
• PHD candidates and Master students from both regions

Participation

Registration will be soon available at: http://scholar.um5.ac.ma/aeche4/register

Please note that universities intending to participate should be members of AARU, UNIMED or EUA.

About AECHE

The Arab-Euro Conference on Higher Education is a joint initiative of the Association of Arab Universities (AARU) and the European University Association (EUA) that brings together both AARU´s and EUA´s members, with the collaboration of the University of Barcelona (U. Barcelona), which keeps the AECHE Secretariat.

The aim of AECHE is to open a sustainable process of dialogue and mutual understanding, to exchange knowledge and to increase cooperation between Arab and European Universities.

 AECHE organises different activities and projects, holds regular leadership conferences and thematic events. The AECHE3 Conference hosted by the University of Barcelona in April 2016 was attended by around 200 participants. The last thematic conference was hosted by TU Berlin at its Campus in El Gouna, Egypt, in October 2015.

The initiative is guided by a Steering Committee which – in addition to AARU, EUA and U. Barcelona- comprises the following permanent members: Mediterranean Universities Union (UNIMED), Network of Universities form the Capitals of Europe (UNICA), Union for the Mediterranean. In addition, institutions and organisations involved in ongoing activities participate in the enlarged Steering Committee.

AECHE has been recognised in the conclusions of the Arab League and the European Union.

For more information about AECHE and its activities, please refer to http://www.ub.edu/aeche/ .