The Arqus Annual Conference is a flagship event of the Arqus European University Alliance, bringing together university leaders, academics, students, and key stakeholders to reflect on the evolving landscape of European higher education.
Each edition is built around a specific theme that serves as a framework for discussions on the future of both the Arqus Alliance and the European Universities Initiative. These discussions focus on strategic topics that highlight the essential role of university alliances in shaping a sustainable and inclusive European Higher Education Area.
When we were preparing to host our first Arqus Annual Conference in Lyon in 2020, the outbreak of the pandemic made it completely impossible. Consequently, the first Arqus Annual Conference did not take place until October 2021 in Vilnius. Since then, five more annual conferences have taken place, hosted by the universities of Padua, Graz, Minho, Leipzig and Maynooth.
The next Arqus Annual Conference will take place in 2027 at University Claude Bernard Lyon 1.
Maynooth University – 2026
Under the theme: “Voices of Impact: Weaving Stories Across Europe”, the Arqus Alliance community explored how European University Alliances are creating meaningful impact for individuals, institutions and society through a programme of keynote addresses, plenary sessions and community discussions. And, as well as offering a space of reflection and encounter, the 2026 annual conference was marked by a series of major milestones for Arqus.
Leipzig University – 2025
The 2025 theme was “European Universities at the crossroads” serving as a framework to discuss the future of the Arqus Alliance and of the European Universities Initiative as a whole, focusing on the future of higher education, the innovation brought by the Alliance(s), the strengthening and resilience achieved through cooperation between higher education institutions and the key role of these alliances to attain a sustainable and inclusive European Higher Education Area.
University of Minho – 2024
The University of Minho hosts the four Arqus Annual Conference under the title “Promoting Human Rights in Arqus”. The conference was integrated as part of the University of Minho’s 50th-anniversary celebrations and aims to advance the Alliance’s education, research and societal engagement initiatives, strengthening the bonds between its member universities and fostering a fruitful dialogue with other European university alliances and higher education institutions.
University of Graz – 2023
3The third Annual Conference (2023) went under the title “Building bridges towards a shared future”, echoing the commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights, the event counted with one plenary session about human rights in Arqus and a second one devoted to addressing the Conference’s key insights and main conclusions from the members of the Arqus Action Line Boards and the Arqus Student Council.
University of Padua – 2022
The second Annual Conference (2022) went under the title “Free to Choose. Fostering Access to Higher Education in European Universities”, echoing the theme of freedom, a cornerstone value that was celebrated in the 800th anniversary of the host university, Padua, and which became a keyword for the construction of the academic model of the future, in which the right to study and research is unconditionally guaranteed.