University autonomy and academic freedom are crucial for the well-functioning of universities and higher education systems. The current political, economic and societal challenges in Europe have a significant impact on universities and their role, as well as their organisation and strategy. The conference will be a timely occasion to discuss how autonomy and freedom of universities can be linked to addressing these challenges.

EUA has become one of the most important actors on these topics through its numerous conferences, meetings and studies, as well as through its exclusive benchmarking tool, the Autonomy Scorecard, which is used in Europe and beyond.

Since 2015, EUA has been collecting data with its members for a full-scale update of the Scorecard in order to evaluate the current state of play. The new version will be launched at the Annual Conference and it will provide the backdrop for a discussion on the latest trends, challenges and future of autonomy and academic freedom.

The conference will bring together institutional leaders, policymakers and stakeholders to share their experience, discuss the impact of recent changes on governance, funding, human resources and academic matters as well the appropriate forms of accountability in relation to autonomy and freedom.

The conference programme will include plenary sessions, facilitated high level discussions, a selection of presentations, as well as more interactive forms of engaging conference participants at all levels throughout the conference.

Registration will open in December 2017.