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End of August 2019, representatives from nine European universities met up to form a new cooperation and kick-off a joint application in the framework of the second call for European Universities Networks.

The new consortium will join forces of the two existing university networks U4Society (Ghent (BE), Göttingen (DE), Tartu (EE),Groningen (NL), Uppsala (SE)) and BBG Alliance (Basque Country (ES), Bordeaux (FR), Galway (IE)) as well as of the Comenius University of Bratislava (SK) as a ninth partner.

This U4Society Summer School 'Systems and Resources for Sustainable Energy' was hosted by Uppsala University from 28-30 August 2019 and focused on the roles and interplay of energy systems, resources and new technology in areas of key importance for sustainable energy development.

The summer course involved 18 students (of which 1 from Göttingen, 7 from Groningen and 10 from Uppsala. The students had a diverse background, ranging from theoretical and experimental physics, over earth sciences and electronics, to material sciences, chemistry and biology.

An intense program covered different aspects of sustainability and energy systems. There were two lecture contributions by Ghent University professors, in addition to the ones from Uppsala. The study visits to Vattenfall and Vasakronan were very appreciated by the students. There was also time for some social activities, such as a visit to the Gustavianum and a course dinner.

Uppsala University hosted this year’s U4Society Summer School ‘The Ageing Brain’ from 25 to 31 August 2019.

During a full week 22 Master and PhD students from Groningen, Göttingen, Ghent and Uppsala gathered in the Rudbeck Laboratory where they took part of lectures and workshops related to “The Ageing Brain”. Lecturers and Instructors from the four universities highlighted preclinical as well as clinical aspects of neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders.

As a more interactive part of the program the students were given an opportunity to also present their own research during a digital poster session. Moreover, the participants were given a guided tour in one of the original buildings of the University where everyone could enjoy one of the world’s oldest preserved anatomical theatres, established by the famous Swedish scientist Olof (Olaus) Rudbeck (1630-1702). A boat tour on the lake of Mälaren with a guided visit to Skokloster, a 17th century Baroque castle, was also included in the programme.

Ghent University is organizing an international staff training week to exchange insights and best practices regarding EU-funding in research and education from 27 till 29 November 2019 in Ghent. This training week will cover the challenges in managing and administering EU-projects and in providing policy advice.

Staff members of U4Society are invited to participate and to exchange best practices. In a later phase we will also promote this staff week via the I-Motion Platform.

More information is available on www.ugent.be/staffweekEUprojects.

Laity, in the Middle Ages, tends to be seen as ‘the other’. When we encounter the term in our sources it often draws attention to what someone is not: ordained, Latinate, educated.

However, no one would suggest that only clerics shaped medieval culture and partook in its expressions. This workshop will explore ‘the other culture’ and ask about the agents, forms and impulses that it incorporated.

Papers address the culture(s) of the lay elites from the 12th century until the end of the medieval period, covering political culture, devotional practice, and literary culture. The workshop will bring scholars from different medieval disciplines into dialogue with one another and create a space for exchange and a test ground for new approaches.

The keynote lecture on Friday evening will be held by Sabrina Corbellini (Groningen) on "Crossing the Lay-Religious Divide: Spatial Approaches to Religious Literacies in Late Medieval Europe".

Download the workshop poster (.pdf)