The Innovating Higher Education Conference (IHE2025) kicks off in Hagen! Organised by EADTU and hosted by FernUniversität in Hagen, the conference is one of Europe’s leading forums on the future of universities. Each year it brings together policymakers, academics and practitioners to explore how higher education can become more flexible, inclusive and future-ready.

This edition gives special attention to University Alliances and cross-institutional collaboration — with a brand-new track on “Strategic Alliances & the University of the Future.”

OpenEU will be there with one of the strongest delegations: more than 50 representatives from our ten partner universities, including rectors, researchers, staff and students.

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On Wednesday’s Opening Plenary, three of our rectors will set the tone for the discussions:

• Prof. Stefan Stürmer, Rector of FernUniversität in Hagen (host and OpenEU member).
  
• Prof. Theo Bastiaens, Rector of Open Universiteit.
  
• Prof. Àngels Fitó, Rector of Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) and President of the OpenEU Rectors’ Council.

On Thursday, OpenEU will be at the heart of the new alliances track, with sessions on:
🔹 Joint degrees & interoperability
🔹 Inclusive and sustainable models
🔹 Digital strategies & AI literacy

And on Friday, our members will also contribute to the workshop Enhancing Research Collaboration within European University Alliances.

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With such a strong presence in Hagen, OpenEU reaffirms its role as a leading alliance of open and distance universities in Europe — showing how strategic alliances deliver real impact for students, equity and lifelong learning.

Explore the full programme here: https://i-he2025.exordo.com/programme/

#IHE2025 #OpenEUalliance #StrategicAlliances #HigherEd #DigitalEducation #LifelongLearning #Inclusion #Sustainability

Gallery – Day 1.