ELTE actively participates in the work of the following prestigious university networks:

Central European Network for Teaching and Research in Academic Liaison (CENTRAL)

The Central European Network for Teaching and Research in Academic Liaison (CENTRAL) was founded in 2014 at the initiative of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Besides HUB, the members of the network include the University of Vienna, the University of Warsaw, Charles University in Prague and ELTE in Budapest. The multilateral network aims to promote joint scientific projects and events, to establish common course programmes and to facilitate exchange among researchers, teaching staff and managers. In the medium term, it is also planned to present the scientific region of Central Europe on a global stage.

With the financial support of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), within the frame of the CENTRAL network several joint initiatives take place. ELTE is taking part in the following joint initiatives:

Project leader at ELTE	Topic	Project leader at Humboldt
Dr. Sonnevend Pál	"NOW" Netzwerk Ost-West	Prof. Dr. Martin Heger
	Unbegrenztes Erinnerungsvermögen? Formen von Austausch von Erinnerungen an autoritäre Herrschaft in Ostund Westeuropa 1945-1989
Dr. Szili Katalin	Ungarische Sprache, Sprachwissenschaft und Landeskunde im mitteleuropäischen Kontext	Dr. phil. Rita Hegedüs
Dr. Bacsó Béla	Doktorandenforum Kunstgeschichte des östlichen Europas	Prof. Dr. Michaela Marek
Dr. Tóth Árpád Dr. Zábrádi Gergely	Automorphic Techniques in Arithmetic Geometry	Prof. Dr. Elmar Große-Klönne
Dr. Ambrus Gabriella  Dr. Vancsó Ödön	Problem solving in mathematics classrooms in Hungary and Germany	Prof. Dr. Andreas Filler

For further information and with project ideas please contact Ms Katalin Öhler at the International Office: katalin.ohler@rk.elte.hu, and +36 1 4116500 / 1385 (ext.).

Coimbra Group

Founded in 1985 and formally constituted by Charter in 1987, the Coimbra Group is an association of long-established European multidisciplinary universities of high international standard. The Coimbra Group is committed to creating special academic and cultural ties in order to promote, for the benefit of its members, internationalisation, academic collaboration, excellence in learning and research, and service to society. It is also the purpose of the Group to influence European educational policy and to develop best practice through mutual exchange of experience.

Activities

Projects running within the Coimbra Group include:

• short-term visits of Southeastern European and Ukrainian professors at Coimbra Group member universities, in order to establish useful academic and research liaisons with colleagues;
• scholarship programmes for junior professors and researchers from Latin America;
• short-term exchange of administrative staff at CG member universities.

Besides the above, the Coimbra Group is involved in many European Union funded project as well as offering a wide range of summer university opportunities for its members.

Structure

The Coimbra Group is led by the Chair, who is part of a 7-member Executive Board. Their work is supported by the Rectors’ Advisory Group.

11 Working Groups function within the Coimbra Group, specializing according to thematic or geographic principles. All WG’s are based on the 3 pillars (Research, Education, Outreach) that highlight the foundation of CG activities. ELTE sends delegates to several working groups.

The Administrative & Financial Committee operates as well as the Coimbra Group Office in Brussels.

More information: http://www.coimbra-group.eu/

DRC (Danube Rectors’ Conference)

DRC is a network of 71 universities in the Danube Region with the aim to improve higher education in the region, and in particular the advancement of its member universities, by establishing and facilitating bilateral and multilateral contacts between the universities. The main activities are as follows: to promote cooperation on issues of common interest thereby to contribute to the stability and the development of an open and democratic society in Europe; and to act as a consultant, by presenting its views and by making appropriate recommendations on problems which concern the universities, to government, national or international organizations, as well as to others who are involved with issues concerning universities.

DRC (Danube Rectors’ Conference)

Founded in 1983 in Vienna by the Ulm University, Johannes Kepler University Linz and Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE). 71 universities of 15 countries are members of the network. In general, it aims at enhancing education and research in the region by developing the quality of bilateral and multilateral liaisons.

Activities

Students can apply for scholarships within DRC and they have opportunities to participate in summer universities as well. DRC initiated the elaboration of a database (DRC common platform), which is under construction at the moment. The database shall enable professors and researchers of its members to start collaborations at ease with experts from their partner universities engaging in the same or similar field of activities.

Structure

The DRC Presidency consists of a President, two Vice-Presidents and the acting Honorary President, they all form the governing board of DRC. The President and Vice-Presidents of DRC are elected for 2-year periods, during which each of them has to organise the annual conference at their university at least once. The President is held responsible for reporting about the annual activities of the network, and for conducting the administrative duties of DRC.

The General Assembly (GA) is the highest body of DRC. It establishes the objectives and determines the fundamental aspects of its policy. Ordinary meetings of the General Assembly are held during the Annual DRC Conference, in principle once a year.
Every member institution is represented at the General Assembly by its rector/president or his appointed deputy.

The Permanent Committee – as the main supervisory and operational body of the network – is composed of a minimum of one representative per country. It consists of the President, two Vice-Presidents, all former Honorary Presidents and one representative from each country nominated by the General Assembly as well as appointed by all DRC members of the concerned country. The Permanent Committee meets in ordinary session at least once a year.

Prof. Ferenc Hudecz, former Rector of ELTE is the acting Honorary President for DRC. Acting Honorary Presidents are nominated by a member university for the network, holding his office as a Presidency member for four years. Prof. Hudecz will remain a DRC Honorary President for life.

The Permanent Secretariat has been in service since 2013. It improves the organisational structure of the DRC and provides all members a permanent and personal service contact as well as network management issues. The secretariat is located at the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe (IDM) in Vienna. For many years long, the Institute has been a reliable partner of the DRC network.

More information: http:/www.drc-danube.org/

EUA (European University Association)

With 850 members across 47 countries, EUA is the largest and most comprehensive organisation representing universities in Europe. 17 million students are enrolled at EUA member universities. As the voice of Europe’s universities EUA supports and takes forward the interests of individual institutions and the higher education sector as a whole.

EUA provides unrivalled opportunities for members to share best practice by participating in projects, events and other mutual learning activities involving a wide range of universities. EUA aims to keep its members well-informed about these activities and European developments which impact on their activities. Above all, EUA provides members with unique opportunities to influence and shape future European policy and initiatives affecting higher education and research. Through its work and contacts with the European Commission, Parliament and other key decision-makers, EUA ensures universities’ interests and concerns are taken up with all key stakeholders.

EUA was formed in 2001 in Salamanca, as the result of a merger between the Association of European Universities (CRE) and the Confederation of European Union Rectors’s Conferences.

Activities

EUA fully upholds the values and principles enshrined in the Magna Charta Universitatum, signed in Bologna in 1988 by 388 rectors of universities worldwide.

As the pan-European platform for universities, EUA is the key partner for policy makers at European level in the increasingly broad range of public policy domains in which universities have a role to play. It acts in cooperation with OECD, the Council of Europe and UNESCO.

Based in Brussels as a non-governmental membership organisation EUA acts as an independent stakeholder for Europe’s Universities through representing universities’ interests through policy monitoring and influencing political processes and decisions at European Union level; influencing public and governmental decisions through action at European level.

Numerous activities of EUA are based on joint learning activities and exchange, among them the EUA-Institutional Evaluation Programme, workshops and seminars. Working groups focus on the key priorities of its stakeholders.

The key priorities for EUA are outlined in the organisation’s work programme, which include:

• Building the European Higher Education Area through the Bologna process
• Research & Innovation
• Internationalisation of higher education and research
• Enhancing the quality of European universities
• Governance, autonomy and funding

Structure

The General Assembly comprises full and associate members, individual and collective, with only full members being entitled to vote. It meets once a year, and is the supreme Governing Body of the Association.

The Council consists of the President, the members of the Board and the Chairpersons of all the National Rectors’ Conferences who are full members of the association. It meets twice a year as the principal forum for discussion of the Association's policy positions on higher education and research; making statements on behalf of the Association. The Council also develops priorities and guidelines on policy issues and on services to members, receives and approves the annual budget of EUA.

The Board comprises the President and eight members (among them two Vice-Presidents appointed) who are either acting or former Rectors. Board members shall serve in a personal capacity, not as representatives of a national rectors’ conference or any other body. The Board meets three times per year. The Board is held responsible for the implementation of the policy of the Association, for the planning of its activities, and for the management of the affairs of the Association.

The Board appoints a Secretary General, who acts as the chief executive and chief administrative officer of the Association.

The Presidency consists of the President and two Vice-Presidents who conduct the ongoing affairs of the association, in conjunction with the Secretary General.

More information: www.eua.be.

UNICA (Network of Universities from the Capitals of Europe)

UNICA is a network of 46 universities from 35 capital cities of Europe, with a combined strength of over 150,000 staff and 1,800,000 students. Its role is to promote academic excellence, integration and co-operation among member universities throughout Europe. It also seeks to be a driving force in the development of the Bologna process and strives to facilitate international collaborations and promote academic leadership through understanding and sharing between its Members throughout the European Higher Education Area. It also provides a forum in which the Members can reflect on the needs of strategic change in university research, education, administration, and societal engagement.

In order to achieve its aims, UNICA articulates the views of Member Universities to European institutions, to national, regional, and municipal governments, and internationally. It provides the Members with information on European initiatives and programmes, and supports them in developing co-operative projects.

Activities

UNICA conducts seminars and conferences in topics such as changes in education, equal opportunities, issues of urbanisation, inter-institutional cooperation of universities and mobility.

Network activities are carried out in Working Groups. EduLab is one of them, monitoring and assisting changes in education at European level. EduLab held its meeting at ELTE in 2015. UNICA holds conferences for students as well as for university management.

Structure

The internal organisation of UNICA is based on three bodies: the General Assembly (with one meeting per year), the Steering Committee (consisting of the UNICA President and five SC members; with four to five meetings per year) and the International Relations Officers' Committee (with two meetings per year).

UNICA Working Groups are co-ordinated by the Network's member universities.

The General Secretariat in Brussels takes care of the Network's general cooperation and administration.

More information: www.unica-network.eu.

Utrecht Network

The Utrecht Network is a representative European-wide network of universities cooperating in the area of internationalisation. The group is particularly committed to such areas as student and staff mobility, summer schools, the internationalisation of curricula, joint curricula and double/joint degrees. Utrecht Network represents 32 European universities in 27 countries, co-operating in the area of internationalisation in the broadest sense of the word.

Activities

The Utrecht Network is committed to building bridges between cultures through the development of mobility schemes with partners in other continents. An agreement with the 14-member MAUI (Mid-America Universities International) consortium offers the main framework in the United States of America for organising joint mobility programmes. The AEN (Australian-European Network) provides contacts with seven Australian universities for conducting similar activities.

The Utrecht Network Young Researchers Grant programme is another successful scheme of this wide network.

The six main aims of the Utrecht Network are defined in its Strategic Plan:

• Foster Internationalisation
• Open up to new forms of cooperation
• Respond actively to European HE policies
• Collaborate effectively within the Network
• Enhance the quality of internationalisation processes in member institutions
• Strengthen the profile and global outlook of the Network

Structure

Members of the Utrecht Network hold Annual General Meetings once per year.

The Steering Committee consists of five members and holds meeting according to demand. Its tasks are to steer the direction of the Utrecht Network by suggesting developments and ideas which are then discussed and agreed at the Annual General Meeting (AGM); to prepare and evaluate the AGM; and to take responsibility for the daily affairs of the Network. This includes the implementation of the decisions taken by the AGM and the administration of the budget, including the monitoring of the efficient use of funds allocated to the Task Forces and other projects.

The activities of the network are carried out via Task Forces, consisting of experts in the field of their activities.

The four task forces are as follows: Internationalisation of the Curricula Task Force, Researchers Mobility Task Force, Student Mobility Task Force, Summer Schools Task Force.

The Steering Committee is supported by the Executive Secretariat currently residing at the University of Hull.

More information: http://www.utrecht-network.org