In December 2020, the European Commission approved the request to integrate the University of Glasgow into the CIVIS alliance of universities, as an associate partner. The excellent and complementary profile of the University of Glasgow opens up remarkable possibilities for CIVIS in developing key actions in innovation, education, research and civic engagement in Europe and the MEA region.
With the integration of the University of Glasgow, as an associate partner, CIVIS is now a university community of about 450.000 students, 65.000 members of staff (including over 30,000 academics and researchers) whose expertise, insights and shared values will not only strengthen CIVIS’s role in shaping the future of Higher Education but tackle, hands-on, pivotal societal challenges.
Professor Marian Preda, Rector of the University of Bucharest and President of the Board of Rectors of CIVIS, said: “The eight pioneer universities of CIVIS, one of the very first European universities, are positively delighted to welcome the University of Glasgow as an associate partner. The amount of talent, experience and reach of the University of Glasgow, will significantly strengthen the alliance at a time when CIVIS is developing a range of groundbreaking initiatives in education, research, innovation, and links with society.”
Indeed, The University of Glasgow is a world-renown Higher Education Institution, currently ranked in the top 100 of the world’s best universities (THE and QS World University Rankings) and a member of the prestigious Russell Group. It was the Times Higher Education 2020 UK University of the Year. At the forefront of cutting-edge research, education and innovation, the University of Glasgow also enjoys a long-standing tradition in civic engagement which will contribute to CIVIS' joint effort to nurture and sustain a civic identity within our communities and all of our activities.
While the arrival of the University of Glasgow strengthens the ranks and the teams of CIVIS, it also opens up a hitherto unexplored world of possibilities.
Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Glasgow, said: “Like the CIVIS alliance, the University of Glasgow is a collaboration-oriented civic university with its roots in our local community, but with global ambitions and impact.”
Rachel Sandison, Vice Principal, External Relations at the University of Glasgow, said: “Being part of the CIVIS European University alliance means growing our international collaborations and partnerships in Europe, providing many opportunities for both staff and students to engage.”
Welcoming a Scottish university into a European alliance (with partners from Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Romania, Spain, and Sweden), at this particular time in European history is, by itself, utterly significant. Rachel Sandison, Vice Principal, External Relations at the University of Glasgow, said: “In this post-Brexit landscape, Glasgow continues to consider itself a proudly European institution with much to contribute to, and many benefits to be had from, collaboration with European partners.“
Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Glasgow, said: “We are an institution which has always been, and will always remain, proudly European. We celebrate our international outlook while committing to social transformation and civic engagement at a local level.”
About CIVIS
Selected by the European Commission as one of the first 17 pilot European Universities, CIVIS is a European Civic University formed by the alliance of nine leading higher education institutions across Europe. CIVIS aims to create a unique European space for innovative and responsible teaching, research, cultural exchanges and citizen action across Europe and Africa.
CIVIS member universities are: Aix-Marseille Université (France), National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Greece), University of Bucharest (Romania), Université libre de Bruxelles (Belgium), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain), Sapienza - Università di Roma (Italy), Stockholm University (Sweden), and Eberhard Karls Universität Tubingen (Germany).
CIVIS associate partner university: University of Glasgow (United Kingdom).
More information about CIVIS: civis.eu
Press contact CIVIS: contact@civis.eu
Press contact University of Glasgow: media@glasgow.ac.uk
