Rectors from nine European universities will attend the STARS EU alliance conference at the ULL

The University of La Laguna will host, starting tomorrow, Thursday, March 30, and until the day after, the 31st, the annual conference of the alliance STARS EU, The Tenerife institution is participating in the event, along with eight other European higher education centers. The opening ceremony will take place at 9:45 a.m. in the Paraninfo auditorium and will be attended by eight rectors and vice-rectors from the invited universities, as well as representatives from the host institution.

Specifically, those attending the inauguration will include the Vice-Rectors of the University of La Laguna, Ernesto Pereda (Research and Transfer) and Lidia Cabrera (Outreach, Internationalization and Cooperation); from the Hanze University of Applied Sciences (Netherlands), its President, Dick Pouwels; from the Polytechnic Institute of Braganza (Portugal), its President, Orlando Rodrigues; from the Bremen University of Applied Sciences (Germany), its President of Financial Affairs, Human Resources and Infrastructure, Daniel Engelbrecht; from the University of Silesia in Opava (Czech Republic), its Vice-Rector of Studies and Social Affairs, Michaela Weiss; from the University of the West (Sweden), its Vice-Rector, Jan Theliander; from the Aleksander Moisiu University of Durrës (Albania), its Rector, Kseanela Sotirofski; and from the University of Franche-Comté (France), its President, Macha Woronoff.

Also present at the presentation will be the Island Director of Innovation of the Tenerife Island Council, María Aránzazu Artal Díez; the Vice-Rector for Internationalization of the University of Granada and coordinator of the ARQUS alliance, Dorothy Kelly; and, finally, the coordinator of the alliance that has facilitated this meeting (STARS EU), Rima Dijkstra, from the Hanze University of Applied Sciences.

The opening ceremony will provide an update on the current status of the STARS EU alliance, which aims to obtain the European University Label from the European Commission. This would enhance the international standing of the participating institutions, granting them access to specific funding opportunities. Therefore, a representative from ARQUS, one of the alliances that has already achieved the label, has been invited to share their experience.

During the afternoon, at the Guajara Campus, the hundred or so attendees of this conference will participate in simultaneous working sessions on topics of interest to STARS EU: digital transformation, healthy aging, energy transition, circular economy, entrepreneurship, arts and creative industries, and living spaces. There will also be more technical meetings of the alliance's management and governing bodies.