EUTOPIA made several announcements on the closing ceremony of the second EUTOPIA Week hosted by the University of Warwick, which took place online from 23 to 27 November 2020 and included significant conversations with leaders and external experts, counting senior representatives from the European Commission and the regional authorities.

EUTOPIA’s Strategic Board defined the alliance’s future frame as a confederation of universities. They also assessed a strategic sustainability plan, defined anew the vision and mission of the consortium, and reaffirmed EUTOPIA’s fidelity to European Higher Education values such as democracy, the crucial importance of the students, academic freedom, place-making and internationalization. The 6 partners reiterated also their commitment to the alliance in the context of political changes and when facing unprecedented global challenges.

EUTOPIA announced the designation of Eva Wiberg, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Gothenburg, as its new Chair from the 1^st December. The Chair acts as EUTOPIA’s head for policy conversations with the European Commission and administrative purposes. This rotating position was held since the launching of EUTOPIA in December 2019 by Igor Papič, rector of the University of Ljubljana.

Eva Wiberg is a professor in Italian and has a broad international background. Except for a short stay in Princeton, N.Y., in the USA, she has lived over 22 years in Italy, where she studied at the Deutsche Schule in Rome and at Università la Sapienza. She holds a PhD from Lund University in Romance Languages. She speaks Swedish, Italian, English, German and French. She has held important positions in national and international academic networks.

The Strategic Board also named Professor François Germinet, president of CY Cergy Paris University, as the Deputy Chair of EUTOPIA concurrently. Both Eva Wiberg and François Germinet will be operative together until the 1^st December 2021.