United, digital, green and equitable universities: European higher education discusses its challenges in Barcelona

On Monday 23 October, the UOC centre in Barcelona will see the kick-off of a landmark meeting on the current challenges facing Europe's higher education institutions. Digital Universities Europe, which runs until Wednesday 25 October, will bring together hundreds of sector experts from universities and education centres, the business world, and governmental and non-governmental organizations from around Europe. Organized by Times Higher Education and hosted by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), the event's theme is "The path to digital, equitable and green higher education".

Higher education institutions in Europe face great challenges and joining forces to bring about collaborations with a large-scale impact is, according to experts, one of the keys to dealing with them. As the overall theme of the event suggests, some of the core talking points will be the digital transformation and accelerating innovation, as well as more inclusive and equitable access and greener education systems.

Digital Universities Europe will bring together more than 200 specialists from all over Europe and around 70 speakers, who will share information and knowledge through success stories, case studies and practical solutions. For UOC Rector Àngels Fitó, "our role as educational leaders is to spearhead these changes and challenges – some foreseeable, others unexpected – in order to adapt and create, share and transfer the new knowledge and skills required to be lifelong learners".

For Fitó, Digital Universities Europe is "an opportunity to move forward together towards a European higher education that is inclusive, high quality and transformative for people, organizations and the world." The event, added the rector, "will allow us to reflect on the steps that higher education institutions need to take in order to educate critical and responsible citizens, capable of fostering the digital and green transition and facing the urgent challenges that affect our progress, sustainability and social well-being".

Higher education in the age of artificial intelligence

Manel Jiménez-Morales, UOC vice rector for alliances, community and culture, will participate in the event's first panel discussion, which will examine how to transform higher education in the age of artificial intelligence. Other speakers include Eduard Martín, CIO and Director of Smart Connectivity, Mobile World Capital Barcelona and a UOC graduate, and Anna Armengol Torío, of the European Commission's Recovery and Resilience Task Force and president of the UOC Alumni Council.

Open resources, inclusive education

Early Tuesday afternoon will see a panel discussion on how to offer open education resources to improve accessibility in higher education, while also dealing with issues such as intellectual property. It will be moderated by George Ubachs, managing director of the European Association of Distance Teaching Universities, and will feature the participation of representatives from the Universidad Internacional de La Rioja and Portuguese and German universities.

How to ensure successful e-learning

On the same afternoon of Tuesday 24 October, the discussion will focus on the keys to the success of online universities, ranging from the importance of teaching models to the fundamental role of data. It will be led by Vijay Kumar, Senior Advisor to the Vice President of Open Learning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Albert Sangrà, professor and researcher at the UOC and Director of the UNESCO Chair in Education and Technology for Social Change.

In total, around forty sessions will be held over the three-day event, which will also see discussions around how the role of CIOs is evolving, the use of virtual reality to offer immersive higher education and the UNESCO document Beyond Limits: New Ways to Reinvent Higher Education. This document, which will be reviewed by Paz Portales, Programme Coordinator, UNESCO Higher Education Sector, makes an urgent call to prioritize cooperation over competition and to democratize access to knowledge.