On November 08-09, 2016, University Medical Centre Göttingen (UMG) hosted the biannual meeting of the EUROLIFE Network of European Universities in Life Sciences, welcoming representatives from EUROLIFE’s nine partner institutions.
Founded in 1999 with conceptual and logistic support of the European Commission, EUROLIFE offers its institutional members a Europe-wide platform for thematic and strategic exchange in the area of Life Sciences, with particular emphasis on the network-wide research foci neurosciences, cancer research, cardiovascular diseases, Immunology and Infection, Genetics, Population Health and imaging. While the institutions’ chairs and vice chancellors convene regularly in the EUROLIFE Steering Committee, their administrators have established a lively exchange about the various legal, financial and administrative aspects of transnational research collaboration.
The EUROLIFE Education Alliance (EEA) has finally been established a few years ago to accommodate the increasing need for international cooperation on an educational level. The EEA is working towards streamlining educational policies as well as advancing transnational student and researcher mobility. In 2008, these endeavours culminated in the launch of the Eurolife Agreement of Academic Co-operation between Eurolife Partners: Joint Programme in Translational and Experimental Medicine (JPTEM), a research driven programme promoting mobility for postgraduate students.
The EUROLIFE consortium has also supported initiatives to submit proposals to European and international funding bodies since the fifth European Framework Programme (FP5) and facilitates research collaboration and the joint use of research infrastructure on a European level. On several occasions, EUROLIFE members have finally served as external advisors in decision-making processes of the European Commission, i.e., the network’s expertise has been factored into the choice of possible call topics for new funding programmes as well as into their evaluation.
EUROLIFE does not see itself in competition with other renowned European university networks such as the League of European Research Universities (LERU). On the contrary, both networks are in a constant dialogue, not least because five EUROLIFE institutions are also members of LERU. A characteristic of EUROLIFE is that only one institution of each European member state can join the network. Apart from University Medical Centre Göttingen, the following universities are founding members of the network:
- Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- The University of Edinburgh, Great Britain
- Leids Universitair Medisch Centrum, Netherlands
- The University of Dublin, Trinity College, Ireland
- Medical University Innsbruck, Austria
- University European Pole of Montpellier, France (until 2005)
The following universities joined EUROLIFE in 2005:
- Université Louis Pasteur Strasbourg, France
- Universitat de Barcelona, Spain (current network coordinator)
At the meeting in Goettingen this year, it was decided unanimously to welcome Semmelweis University, Budapest as ninth member and the first representative from Eastern Europe to the network. Semmelweis, Hungary’s oldest medical school, has a proven track record in excellent medical research and education and offers German and English language programmes across disciplines. The EUROLIFE consortium is thus convinced that Semmelweis will become a highly valuable partner for the network.
EUROLIFE Distinguished Lecture Series
The Distinguished Lecture Series, a longstanding tradition within EUROLIFE, was also continued in Göttingen. The Series gives outstanding invited scientists from one of the EUROLIFE partner institutions the opportunity to present their cutting-edge research to an international audience before being awarded the Distinguished Lecture Medal. Topics covered by EUROLIFE Distinguished Lectures reflect EUROLIFE joint research areas and are meant to foster an active dialogue between lecturers, scientists and students.
This years’ EUROLIFE Distinguished Lecture, titled “Polycomb Group Proteins in Stem Cells and Cancer” was given by Dr. Adrian Bracken, Assistant Professor in Medical Molecular Genetics at the Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College Dublin. Afterwards, Dr. Bracken was presented with the Distinguished Lecture Medal by Professor Steven A. Johnsen, who represents University Medical Centre Göttingen in the EUROLIFE network. Dr. Bracken’s lecture was preceded by a Minisymposium, which offered a number of scientists from University Medical Centre Göttingen the chance to present their research in epigenetics.
Contact
Christiane Hennecke M.A.
International Relations / EU Liaison Office for Life Sciences
University Medical Center Göttingen
Georg-August University
Von-Siebold-Str. 3
37075 Göttingen
Phone +49 551 / 39-8770
christiane.hennecke(at)med.uni-goettingen.de
Prof. Dr. Steven A. Johnsen
UMG Representative to the EUROLIFE network
Department of General, Visceral & Pediatric Surgery / Göttingen Comprehensive Cancer Center
University Medical Center Göttingen
Georg-August University
Robert-Koch-Str. 40
37075 Göttingen
steven.johnsen(at)med.uni-goettingen.de
