Sustainable connections in the spotlight as Tübingen welcomes the CIVIS Days
The CIVIS Days are the biggest event in our calendar, gathering the CIVIS community, partners and policy experts for a busy programme of internal workshops and public sessions. Each year a different CIVIS member university takes up the challenge of hosting, and for 2023 it was Tübingen’s turn to welcome the Alliance. The three-day event, held under the banner “sustainably connected universities”, was a great success for German hospitality and the future of our Alliance.
The public sessions began with a mini-conference exploring the theory and practice of “sustainably connected universities”. CIVIS leaders, students and policy experts all shared their thoughts on issues from green mobility to the long-term resilience of inter-university partnerships in a hybrid session showcasing digital connectivity.
There followed a series of workshops led by the CIVIS Hubs, highlighting the academic rigour and excellence which underpins our educational offer. With micro-lectures, interactive workshops, panel discussions and debates, these public sessions covered everything from the future of health to the future of our homes, via food cultures, heritage challenges and the problems of our anthropocene era. Our audiences in the room and online have a lot to think about!
Alongside these public events, the CIVIS Days were also an opportunity to gather the individuals who make our Alliance function day by day. Thanks to workshops combining multiple groups from the CIVIS governance and management structures who would rarely meet, especially in person, we were able to make big steps in our shared vision for education, research and civic engagement. The student voice was represented by the Student Council and CIVIS Ambassadors, while the RIS4CIVIS team also met to push ahead with our ambitious work on research and innovation.
CIVIS is a university alliance built on connections. Between our member universities. Between universities and their cities. Between Europe and the world. This was the message from Prof. Dr. Karla Pollman, Rector of the University of Tübingen, as she formally welcomed the CIVIS Days. As the event draws to a close, we can celebrate the fact that we look to the future more connected than ever.