As we all start counting down the days to the New Year, 2023, it is time to look back and take stock of what we have had. For ATHENA European University, 2022 has been an exciting year! A lot has happened, so here is a brief overview of ATHENA 2022 highlights.
ATHENA Alliance grows!
There is no better news than that the Alliance is growing. In 2022 University of Vigo (Spain) and Maria Curie-Skłodowska University (Poland) joined ATHENA as partners. Our associate partners' family grows too with Carinthia Applied Science University (Austria), National Technical University of Ukraine (Ukraine), Lviv Polytechnic National University (Ukraine), Association of 157 African universities – RUFORUM (Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture) and Association of Federal higher education institutions in Brasil – CONIF (Conselho Nacional das Instituições da Rede Federal de Educação).
January – starting a year at the Forum of Universities for the Future of Europe
In January, ATHENA contributed to the online Forum of Universities for the Future of Europe, organised under the French Presidency of the European Union, where the Alliance's joint courses and competence cluster approach was presented in the International Cooperation section.
January was also a busy month establishing ATHENA alliance governance structures and bodies as well as planning future activities for 2022.
February – ATHENA Alliance signs a Consortium Agreement
February was dedicated to a real business – as part of the French Presidency of the European Union, a round table discussion about the future of "European Universities" was organised at the University of Orléans. The ATHENA alliance rectors signed the Consortium Agreement, confirming the partners' commitment to jointly pursue the European University Initiative's ambitious goals.
March – the launch of ATHENA Soft Skills Academy
March was about getting soft skills! This month the ATHENA European University launched the ATHENA Soft Skills Academy! 90-minute online courses are dedicated to the development of leadership, collaboration, resilience skills, emotional and cultural intelligence etc. Each course is independent, therefore, easily accessible for ATHENA students and staff.
April – very first ATHENA's Blended Intensive Programme
In the spring semester of 2021/2022, VILNIUS TECH organised the first "Smart Community" Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) for the students of the Alliance.
In April, we focused on intellectual property – ATHENA organised World Intellectual Property Day 2022, dedicated to "IP and Youth: Innovating for a Better Future".
May – ATHENATHON got us moving
From May to June, the ATHENA Alliance community members ran, cycled, walked and recorded their movement in ATHENATHON. Together we covered 31,518.43 km, almost triple the distance connecting all ATHENA partner campuses!
ATHENA intensified links with industry: companies from Siegen and the region of South Westphalia met researchers from the ATHENA partner universities at the networking event organised at the research and education centre "Campus Buschhütten" in Kreuztal (Germany). This was a great opportunity to exchange ideas and discuss future cooperation in the Internet of Things and Robotics.
June – strengthening the Alliance!
ATHENA European University representatives from the University of'Orléans and VILNIUS TECH were participating in the Campus of European Universities in Versailles – a unique event organised under the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union. 41 European University Alliances and more than 300 higher education institutions showcased their achievements. They highlighted their contribution to developing the globally competitive and attractive European Higher Education Area.
The 4th ATHENA Alliance annual meeting, hosted by the Hellenic Mediterranean University in Heraklion (Greece), took place in June! Members discussed the Alliance's progress, and all work groups set the plans for ATHENA's future actions.
October – Fifth ATHENA European University meeting in Porto
The 5th ATHENA European University meeting landed in Porto (Portugal). Hosted by the Alliance's coordinating institution, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, the meeting was attended by more than 90 representatives from all partner universities and associated partners. ATHENA partners also explored regional industries – visited start-up incubator and local companies.
October was also rich for events. ATHENA Career Event for students took place online and involved 10 international and local organisations from partner countries.
Alliance launched the Shared Research Infrastructure Directory, allowing partner university researchers to find facilities, equipment and team members for their research, innovation, and technology transfer activities.
Moreover, ATHENA European University promoted the European University Initiative at the ICP2DC6 – 2022 event at Yerevan Armenia MIFP.
November – launch of ATHENA ESN Board and ATHENA Research Book
In November, ATHENA established the ATHENA ESN (Erasmus Student Network) Board, the first ESN body among the European university alliances.
November was also a fruitful month for research, with the publication of the ATHENA Research Book, Volume 1. The open-access book is available via DOI here. Check to download!
That's not the end – in November, ATHENA launched a collaboration between partner universities FabLabs and makerspaces with the first meeting at FabLab Siegen (Germany).
December – summing up and moving forward
In December, the University – Business collaboration model of the ATHENA alliance was presented at the 18th RUFORUM Annual General Meeting in Harare (Zimbabwe). Great to share our expertise with ATHENA associate partners beyond the EU!
We also counted 25 ATHENA Talks, organised by the Hellenic Mediterranean University in cooperation with partner universities in 2022. What a number, right? From laser printing to hydrothermal carbonisation of biomass – the ATHENA Talks are the source of knowledge delivered by the highest-class academics and industry experts. The good news is you can find all ATHENA Talks here.
We are grateful to all those who contributed and joined us on this journey. We are looking forward to seeing what 2023 will bring!
