Due to COVID-19 EAIR had to cancel our annual Forum and adapted our Secretariat work as well. In light of institutional and national regulations, the executive committee worked on a number of issues caused by the given situation. Today, the secretariat works in a remote way with reduced capacities. In order to offer the possibility to present the accepted papers still in 2020 and to give our members the opportunity to exchange their research findings and professional working experiences under the well-known circumstances, we plan to implement a number of small(er) virtual events instead of a large virtual Forum this year.

You will find further information about these new initiatives in our newsletter as well as on our website.

 

On the other hand, our higher education institutions went through a quick digital transformation and developed with the help of a large set of new tools a number of new procedures and approaches to continue working in times of home office and quarantine. Predicating the future by using data, developing alternative scenarios by applying contextual changes and preparing adaptive strategies by benchmarking with others, became key components of a new reality at system, institutional and individual levels. The increasing role of academics, the impact of research and evidence-driven decision-making are important ingredients not only for the fight against COVID-19 but also in the recognition of our own work within higher education and the society. This is responsibility, opportunity and empowerment at the same time!

We all hope that the manifold effects of the global pandemic on our societies, institutions, work as well as our association bring not only fundamental challenges but also a large number of positive effects. Our task as an association is to offer a community, network and platform to analyse, evaluate, develop and share experiences, knowledge and learnings. Most probably, our mission “linking research, policy and practice” was never before that important as today.

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