«EWP Back to the Future»: Transforming student mobility in Europe

Debiais-Sainton addressed the audience in the Aula Magna to highlight the "common ambition to build a Europe of the future", and the importance of "working together and sharing information and lessons learned" to simplify the process of managing international student mobility.

Křížová then encouraged participants to "join forces to digitize the administration of European mobility" and find joint solutions to any obstacles that may arise. The aim of the conference, she said, is to "find mechanisms to improve efficiency in the organization of student mobility and improve its quality, through cooperation between European universities". To conclude her speech, the president of the EFU had a few words of remembrance for the victims of the attack at Charles University in Prague, and praised the shared values of the European academic community: "mutual respect and freedom of thought".

The rector of the UB, Joan Guàrdia, closed the speeches by wishing the public to enjoy the conference and all that the University and the city of Barcelona have to offer. In his speech, Guàrdia emphasized that "mutual interest between universities is a direct consequence of the Erasmus programmes", through which a network has been created that provides "a way of accessing a new European reality". He called for further analysis of the most effective ways of tackling the adversities of international student mobility: "the future depends on our efforts and dedication", concluded Guàrdia.

The conferences, for which the available places have been sold out, will have as speakers, trainers or moderators several key players in the process of digital transformation of mobility management. With these sessions, the UB shows its commitment to the promotion of the EWP initiative, a commitment that is reinforced by its selection in the EWP Champions programme, along with forty-eight other European universities with extensive and successful experience in the digitization of the Erasmus+ programme.

The summit is organized by the UB's Vice-Rector's Office for Internationalization Policy, within the framework of the University Internationalization Hub initiative, created in 2020 by the UB and the EUF to improve the internationalization of universities. The EUF is a network of European universities that, for twenty years, has been working to modernize higher education in Europe — with special emphasis on mobility — and has become a benchmark for European Union policy in this area.