CONFERENCE
The presidency meeting took place on 14 May. It is the governing body of the Alliance, composed of the rectors and presidents of the nine partner universities. The university leaders discussed common strategic objectives, institutional synergies and a shared vision for the future development of the Alliance. The meeting resulted in the issuance of a declaration - the Palermo Declaration in Defence of Academic Freedom of the FORTHEM Alliance of European Universities. With this step, the Rectors reaffirmed their shared responsibility to safeguard the autonomy, integrity and fundamental values of higher education and research throughout Europe and beyond.
At the same time, a meeting of the FORTHEM Student Council took place, attended by student representatives from each FORTHEM university. The Council plays an important role in representing students' interests and ensuring that students' views are included in the Alliance's strategic planning.
The event also included a meeting of the FORTHEM Coordination Commission, which brought together the institutional coordinators of the universities. During the meeting, the FORTHEM Sustainability Plan was discussed, improvements and proposals were made, and responsible persons were identified to complete the plan. The Sustainability Plan is one of the FORTHEM project deliverables to be submitted to the European Commission.
In the Entrepreneurship Workshop, innovative methods for teaching entrepreneurship were explored in practical activities in cooperation with local partners.For example, how the gamification approach can be used to generate ideas and change the traditional learning model in entrepreneurship education, or the use of LEGO to reconstruct, design and develop solution-oriented strategies and activities.
The FORTHEM Coordination Commission meeting brought together the institutional coordinators of the universities to discuss the FORTHEM Sustainability Plan document, make improvements and suggestions, and identify the responsible persons for updating the document. The Sustainability Plan is one of the FORTHEM project deliverables to be submitted to the European Commission.
The meetings and discussions were complemented on 14 May by a three-kilometre fellowship run on the University of Palermo campus to support cooperation, health, sustainability and the promotion of the FORTHEM Alliance's values and opportunities. On 15 May, the guests travelled to the University of Palermo's branch in Trapani, ‘Polo didattico di Trapani’, where the results of the Entrepreneurship Workshop were presented with the participation of local representatives of the local authorities and partners, e.g. SICINDUSTRIA (Enterprise Europe Network), a business association with over 70 years of experience in Sicilian economic growth at the heart of its activities.
The 2026 FORTHEM Presidency will be hosted by the University of Opole in Poland, where FORTHEM Rectors will meet again in the second quarter of the year.
