Meeting of the UniGR Council at the University of Liège
The seven partners of the Université de la Grande Région met at the Château de Colonster (ULiege campus) to take stock of current collaborations and outline the future of the consortium.
As a public university open to the world and is anchored in the scientific, cultural and economic development of its region, the University of Liège relies on its three pillars: teaching, research and civic engagement.
ULiège trains responsible citizens who are provided with cutting-edge knowledge and critical thinking, are able to share knowledge and can push forward an increasingly complex world.
ULiège develops and promotes excellence in research, multidisciplinary and direct engagement with its instruction.
Global exposure is a top priority at the University of Liège. The institution offers a wide range of international mobility opportunities to students, researchers and staff, enabling them to enhance their cross-disciplinary skills and language knowledge.
ULiège: an experience of daily living. Located in 3 cities and 4 campuses, the university is a key player in terms of the environment and mobility.
The European University UNIC project brings together universities located in post-industrial cities: Bilbao, Bochum, Cork, Istanbul, Oulu, Rotterdam, Zagreb and Liège. The UNIC project aims to promote the role of these universities as actors of social, technological and economic transition and as drivers of inclusion in regions characterised by the superdiversity of their populations.
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n 5 February 2020, at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the rectors of eight European universities signed the UNIC mission statement "The European University for Post-Industrial Cities". Together, the Universities of Deusto in Bilbao, Bochum, Cork, Koç in Istanbul, Oulu, Rotterdam, Zagreb and Liège have the mission to stimulate mobility and social inclusion in societies marked by superdiversity.
Post-industrial cities in Europe face many common challenges in parallel with the transition from a manufacturing-based to a service-based economy. These challenges include youth (un)employment, the impact of new technologies, the transition to renewable energy sources and evolving health-related challenges.
Superdiversity is an important feature of post-industrial European cities in socio-economic and socio-cultural terms. Superdiversity requires the development of more innovative, accessible and inclusive ways of researching, teaching and learning that respond to the needs of populations.
The application of the UNIC project will be submitted to the European Commission in order to be officially recognized among the European Universities.
UNIC, coordinated by the Erasmus University of Rotterdam and developed in close cooperation with students from different universities, is a long-term alliance based on three pillars.
Rector Pierre Wolper signed a mission statement for the University of Liège:
"The student population of the University of Liège is strongly marked by the diversity of origin of the populations historically coming and going to Liège today. We thus share this characteristic of what sociologists call superdiversity with many other post-industrial cities in Europe. It is a considerable challenge to ensure that this superdiversity has a positive and lasting impact on the development of these cities and regions. In this context, access to inclusive university education, which is free of all forms of discrimination, stimulating cultural exchanges, debates and student mobility is essential. This is the objective of the UNIC alliance of European universities, to which ULiège will contribute by sharing its concrete experiences of involvement in the socio-economic and cultural life of its region. »
The eight Universities of the UNIC Alliance
Crédit photos © Arie Kers
The seven partners of the Université de la Grande Région met at the Château de Colonster (ULiege campus) to take stock of current collaborations and outline the future of the consortium.
ULiège and its partners FOREM and IDELUX are inaugurating a sustainable housing technology platform on the Arlon campus to meet the needs of the wood and construction sectors.
Coordinated by the University of Liège, the project aims to continue to position the Greater Region as a European model for the efficient management of technological resources and waste.