2022 in review

2022 featured three lead website editorials from our Members addressing some of the biggest issues facing universities of science and technology and the wider world today, from the devastating war in Ukraine to the ongoing climate crisis.

Our 2022 in review rounds up commentary contributions from our Members over the past year. If you would be interested in submitting an editorial or op-ed in 2023, then you are kindly invited to consult our dedicated article inviting contributions.

Editorials:

Summer: Scientific cooperation in Europe – quo vadis?

The President of the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) Martin Vetterli reflected on scientific cooperation in Europe in the light of fading hope for association of Switzerland and the United Kingdom with Horizon Europe.

Autumn: Agile and resilient society calls for strong universities of science & technology

Our association’s Envoy to the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union Stefan Bengtsson (President of Chalmers University of Technology) reflected on the roles of universities of S&T to future-proof agile and resilient societies.

Winter: Future of Ukraine in Europe and innovation ecosystem ‘Sikorsky Challenge Ukraine’

Our newest Member, the National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute”, shared a poignant account of their role in standing against the Putin regime’s brutal invasion of Ukraine and their hopes for the rebuilding of Ukraine and the contributions to peace and development in Europe.

Op-eds:

Summer:

• (Members-only article; login needed) Recovery – Power – Belonging: a successful French Presidency of the EU - Christian Lerminiaux (ParisTech)
• Enacting transformative change to academic careers? Ask an Early Career Researcher - Various authors (UCLouvain and Ghent University)
• The European University of Technology for competitive engineering education - Inga Lapiņa and Kārlis Valtiņš (Riga Technical University).

Winter:

• As European Parliament shows teeth in defence of academic freedom, universities ought to follow suit - Dieter De Bruyn (Ghent University) and Stefan Bengtsson (Chalmers University of Technology)
• The future is broad - Guillermo Cisneros Pérez (UPM) and Louise Drogoul (Advisor for Innovation & Sustainability)
• How can universities respond to energy crises and societal challenges of green transition? - Jarek Kurnitski (Tallinn University of Technology)
• The impact of the Green Transition and the Russian war in Ukraine on maritime affairs - Ulla Pirita Tapaninen (Tallinn University of Technology)
• Giving room to discussing mental health taboos among international researchers - Pieter Detombe (Ghent University)

For more information, please contact the Secretariat.