YUFE Picks Up Speed

The European university alliance YUFE (Young Universities for the Future of Europe), of which the University of Bremen is a part, takes on form. After the initial project start on December 1, 2019, the different teams have picked up their work with a lot of enthusiasm.

Being responsible for the topic ‘Staff Journey,’ the University of Bremen hosted the first working group meeting on that topic on February 24 and 25, 2020. The working group’s task is to develop guidelines for recruitment and personnel development that will eventually be accepted by the YUFE Strategy Board and implemented at all YUFE partner universities. Additionally, YUFE Career Tracks and mobility measures for scientific and non-scientific staff will be developed over the course of the next three years. This meeting also facilitated getting to know each other and setting further tasks. Bremen’s Vice Rector Prof. Eva-Maria Feichtner, coordinator of this YUFE work package, was highly satisfied with the results and the constructive work atmosphere.

Representatives of the fundraising offices and of the research funding of the respective partners met in mid-February at the University of Cyprus in order to discuss possibilities on how the YUFE consortium can be financed in the long run. One thing is for sure: funding provided by the European Commission, even if extended after three years, is not sufficient in order to finance all ideas of the partners. Therefore, additional project proposals are in the making, while a working group is developing a sustainability strategy for YUFE. Some alumni will play a role in this, too, and first contacts have been established to alumni associations of the other universities.