The future of EUGLOH at the heart of discussions during the 2025 Annual Summit in Porto
From 22 to 24 October, more than 400 participants from 35 institutions across 18 countries gathered at the University of Porto for the annual summit of the European alliance EUGLOH. This edition, held under the theme "From Vision to Impact: European Universities Shaping the Innovation and Competitiveness of the European Union", offered a valuable opportunity to take stock of the project’s achievements and look ahead to its future.
A strong commitment from Université Paris-Saclay
The Université Paris-Saclay delegation, composed of 36 participants including the President and five Vice-Presidents, reaffirmed the university’s active involvement in the alliance and made a strong contribution to the event’s programme. This was reflected through keynote interventions in plenary sessions, participation in round tables on educational innovation, contributions from global health experts, and the active engagement of doctoral candidates and students.
Student involvement was at the heart of the event, with dedicated sessions highlighting their role in research and innovation in global health. The EUGLOH Annual Student Research Conference, featuring a poster session, showcased the work of young researchers and underlined the central place given to the next generation of European scientists.
At the forefront of European and international cooperation
Hugo Pinto de Abreu, Higher Education Policy Officer at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education and Culture (DG EAC), highlighted the importance of this event in showcasing the key role of European universities in fostering transnational cooperation to attract, develop, and retain top talent in Europe.
The discussions and decisions made by the alliance’s governance bodies, experts, and partners helped shape and guide the next phase of the project, set to begin in 2027. EUGLOH also reaffirmed its commitment to global openness, as reflected in the presence of international partner universities¹.
A relevant programme, matching European ambitions
Over nearly 38 hours of discussions, the summit brought together 100 speakers across 9 plenary sessions, 31 workshops, 6 parallel events, and 9 artistic performances. On 23 October, Antonio De Sousa Pereira, Rector of the University of Porto, welcomed all participating delegations. Delphine Placidi-Frot, Vice-President for International and European Relations at Université Paris-Saclay and coordinator of the EUGLOH alliance, emphasized the importance of continuing to structure the alliance to facilitate and support collaborative efforts. Antonia Forte, from the EDCTP3 partnership for clinical trials (a public-public initiative bringing together European and Sub-Saharan African countries), highlighted that "no country can achieve health security alone", underlining the absolute necessity of international cooperation in global health.
On the final day, 24 October, participants in the session "Preparing Higher Education for the Future: Adapting Skills and Knowledge in the Age of AI", including Éric Briantais, Director of Pedagogical Innovation at Université Paris-Saclay, had the opportunity to reflect together on the current and future role of artificial intelligence in education. During the closing ceremony, a speech by Mónica Ferro, Director of the London Office of the United Nations Population Fund, provided an international perspective on global health and education challenges.
In September 2026, the University of Hamburg will have the honour of hosting the next meeting of the European EUGLOH alliance.
Notes
¹ Partner universities in attendance included: University of Exeter, Humanitas University, Medical University of Vienna, RCSI, Stellenbosch University, UCL, University of São Paulo, Wroclaw Medical University, and the Institut Pasteur.