Kildare takes centre stage in Europe as EU universities forum opens in Maynooth

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless TD, officially recently opened the 4th European Universities Initiative Forum at Maynooth University, Co. Kildare, one of the flagship higher education events of Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The Forum, organised by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, brings together over 250 participants from across Europe, including senior EU leadership, national policymakers, university presidents and other European stakeholder organisations.

The Forum takes stock of progress on the European Universities Initiative and will help shape its next phase.

Speaking at the opening, Minister Lawless said: “It is a real privilege to open this Forum here in Maynooth, in my own constituency, and to welcome colleagues from right across Europe to Co. Kildare. Maynooth University is a proud member of the Arqus European University Alliance, and there could be no more fitting venue for a conversation about the future of European higher education cooperation.

“The European Universities Initiative shows what our universities can achieve when they work across borders, shared degrees, joint research, and real opportunities for students. As we hold the Presidency of the Council of the EU, Ireland is determined to help put these alliances on a strengthened footing for the long term, with the right policy frameworks behind them.

“The decisions we shape now, as the next generation of EU programmes is designed, will determine how European universities collaborate for decades to come. Ireland intends to lead that conversation.”

READ NEXT: New all-weather football pitch proposed for site near Kildare border