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New Coimbra Group publication on lessons learnt from the pandemic and recommendations

21 December 2021

The Coimbra Group has just published the report “Universities’ response to the Covid-19 crisis: What have we learnt so far? Key messages and recommendations from Coimbra Group Universities”.

The report provides a snapshot of the practices and strategies as illustrated by several concrete examples adopted at Coimbra Group universities since the start of the pandemic. With its European perspective, it puts forward suggestions for improvement and recommendations to policy makers and the higher education and research communities.

Based on data collected and analysed over the summer and autumn of 2021, this publication, consists of a collection of papers drafted by the Coimbra Group Working Groups, focusing on a wide range of dimensions, including: Teaching and Learning; Internationalisation Strategies and Mobility; Development Cooperation; Doctoral Studies; Research; Career Services and Employability; University Cultural Heritage; Equality, Diversity, Inclusion.

It identifies digitalisation, inclusion, well-being and professional development as the horizontal issues emerging across these eight dimensions. Strongly intertwined, these issues manifest in different forms depending on the context and have both positive and negative sides to them. The report puts the spotlight on the specific areas we need to focus on and the pitfalls we should be mindful of when considering the crucial role of universities as central actors of the knowledge square.

This publication follows up on a previous report, published in May 2020, which focused on the universities’ immediate response to the emergency in the areas of international mobility, teaching and learning, research and service to society.

Buttressed by its close-knit community of academics, researchers and practitioners in international academic cooperation, the Coimbra Group hopes that the key insights and recommendations outlined in this new publication will inform policy making and help the academic community at large.

The report is available via the link below:

Universities’ response to the Covid-19 crisis: What have we learnt so far? Key messages and recommendations from Coimbra Group Universities