Berni Hasenknopf, a long-standing European

Berni Hasenknopf, “Senior Advisor for European Commitment” to the President of Sorbonne University, tells us more about his missions at the President’s office.

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“Sorbonne Université is committed to European cohesion, which means building and supporting the European Research Area (ERA) and the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). This is a commitment to Europe, we’re not talking about managing European affairs.”

What prompted you to accept this assignment from the President?

I’ve been a convinced European for a very long time, and European integration is close to my heart. I see it as even more important in the current geopolitical situation.

I had no hesitation in accepting this mission as “Senior Advisor for European Commitment” because I share the approach of our President Nathalie Drach-Temam. It’s already clear from the name of the mission that it’s about a commitment to Europe, and not the management of European affairs. Sorbonne Université can render a service to society by committing itself to European cohesion. In the academic sphere, this means building and supporting the European Research Area (ERA) and the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). In addition, we need to facilitate mobility during studies and research partnerships, bringing us closer to our neighbors. Getting to know and respect each other better is a fundamental value for me.

What issues are you currently working on?

I work with our European networks and bilateral partners outside the 4EU+ alliance. A large part of my work is devoted to the League of European Research Universities, or LERU. This is a group of 24 universities similar to ours. We develop common policies and share best practices across our institutions. Recently, we wrote a position paper on Horizon Europe, and how to improve the next research framework program. Another article on European university alliances took a long time to negotiate, and we’re about to publish it. I’m also following the work of the LERU thematic groups, who are also writing papers of their own. At the moment, I’m also keeping a close eye on the new European Commission, so as to react quickly to any possible impact on universities.

I also take part in meetings of the European Universities Association, EUA. This is a network of over 800 universities and higher education institutions throughout the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). In such an assembly, diversity is very great, and it’s a question of representing the voice of a large university that is very active in research. It gives me a global vision of the EHEA and a better understanding of the challenges faced by our partners. Their Learning & Teaching Forum is an excellent opportunity to exchange views on different pedagogical approaches. I also take part as an expert.

Our main partners in Europe are the 4EU+ universities. I work with them as Chairman of the Academic Council. But we don’t limit our European partnerships to this alliance. So I’m also involved in exploring opportunities for new partnerships, and bringing them to life. These partnerships must correspond to the needs of our academic community, so I work with institutions that have links with our faculties. One priority, in line with the ideal of European cohesion I mentioned at the start, is to turn our attention to Central and Eastern Europe, Southern Europe and the UK. I’m very pleased with our actions with Ukraine, including an agreement with the Ukrainian Institute signed in the presence of Mrs Zelenska, and the EAPUC network with four leading Ukrainian universities. We also have new agreements with the University of Vilnius and the National and Capodistrian University of Athens, and we are negotiating with several universities in the UK.

Another marker of this European commitment is its new attachment to the Maison Irène et Frédéric Joliot-Curie in Brussels. These are the premises where French research organizations and a number of universities are located close to European institutions. This gives us access to first-hand information and networks, as well as the opportunity to organize meetings in Brussels. I regularly go there for various meetings.

Apart from this planned work, my mission also involves many unplanned tasks, such as representing SU in an embassy or on an official visit, reacting to an event at European level, or passing on information from Brussels or another European country. For example, today as I write these lines, I’ve taken part in a meeting between France Universités and Universities UK International on our campus, and I’ll be at the German embassy this evening. So it’s a very varied mission, but always with the aim of advancing Europe.

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