As an alliance of 10 leading university hospitals, EUHA is an important stakeholder in promoting excellence and innovation in healthcare education and research. For this reason, EUHA participated as a key panellist at the session on “Future Opportunities in Research Collaboration in the Context of the European Universities Alliances” organised by Circle U.
Circle U. is a collaborative, research-intensive and interdisciplinary alliance of nine European universities which aims to empower students and staff to mobilise knowledge and to develop new and creative approaches to teaching and learning, focusing on research-based and interdisciplinary knowledge. In addition, there is a significant synergy between EUHA and Circle U., as most of the universities within the latter are affiliated with EUHA members*.
In January, Circle U. celebrated the Week for the Future of Higher Education and Research in Paris and explored innovative teaching methods, research cooperation and the internationalisation of curricula. Catherine Tostain-Desmares, member of the EUHA Clinical Trials Working group and Head of European Research Development at Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), participated as a EUHA representative in a roundtable discussion on “Future Opportunities in Research Collaboration in the Context of the European Universities Alliance”. Accordingly, EUHA seems to be a key player in the discussion, given that its members, university hospitals, are in close contact with universities and therefore significantly contribute to fostering excellence and innovation in healthcare research and education.
More concretely, the roundtable explored the links between hospitals and their affiliated universities, highlighting the differences in the organisation between countries. Not only this but Catherine Tostain-Desmares emphasised how universities and hospitals can move forward together more quickly than either in opposition or mutual ignorance. During the roundtable, she presented some of the EUHA working groups and networks and emphasised the role of EUHA in strengthening the relationship between affiliated universities and hospitals and promoting both institutions to move in the same direction.
A recording of the roundtable is available here.
* Aarhus University, Université Paris Cité, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin & King’s College London are both Circle U. partners and affiliated with EUHA members.