Joint Research Officers contribute to European Universities dialogue at EARMA Conference
Joint Research Officers Ingrida Jasonienė, Lies Van de Vijver, and Lina Kaminskaitė-Jančorienė actively contributed to discussions at the EARMA conference, engaging with peers from across Europe on the future of the European Universities Initiative (EUI).
The JRO participated in the European Universities Initiative Thematic Group Meetup, an open session that brought together representatives from 10 Alliances. During the session, representatives of the FilmEU Alliance, Lies Van de Vijver and Ingrida Jasonienė, presented the FilmEU artistic research ecosystem, with a particular focus on collaborative research pilots, artistic research development initiatives, mobility activities, research infrastructures, and support mechanisms for emerging researchers. The session also provided a space for exchanging experiences and perspectives on international collaboration, knowledge-sharing approaches, and possible cooperation formats within the broader European Universities ecosystem. The discussion created a collaborative space to share experiences, insights, and ideas on strengthening the research and innovation (R\&I) dimension within Alliances. Participants exchanged practices on optimising research and research management structures and jointly set priorities for the next meeting in Brno.
The following day, Lies Van de Vijver contributed as a respondent in the session “From Ambition to Practice: How Alliances Shape Universities.” This discussion moved beyond governance and legal frameworks to focus on how Alliances are integrated into institutional strategies and translated into everyday practice.
The panel invited reflection around a series of key questions shaping the future of research management in Alliances from the perspective of implementing them “on the ground”. Discussions explored how Alliance objectives are translated into institutional processes and decisions, highlighting examples of embedding joint priorities into strategic planning and daily operations. A strong focus was placed on the evolving role of Research Managers and Administrators (RMAs) as connectors between strategy and implementation, and where they add the most strategic value within Alliances. The panel also reflected on the key skills required for these hybrid roles and provided insights into workable systems, alignment strategies, and RMA’s adaptability and intercultural sensitivity.
Further discussion addressed organisational and cultural factors that support the effective integration of Alliances within institutions, alongside the challenges and barriers encountered when working across diverse institutional and national contexts. Questions of sustainability were central, including which elements of Alliance work are likely to endure beyond project cycles and what aspects would remain if funding were reduced.
Looking ahead, the panel also highlighted opportunities for RMAs to further shape how Alliances evolve, particularly in embedding collaboration into core institutional structures and ensuring that Alliances contribute to long-term institutional development rather than remaining parallel initiatives. Alliances help accelerate the European priorities, functioning as “beautiful sandboxes” and “active disruptors”.
Overall, the contributions underscored the critical role of the research management community in shaping the next phase of the European Universities Initiative and supporting its continued evolution as a driver of institutional transformation.