On January 24, the rectors of the universities that are part of the European University Alliance Pioneer visited the University of Huelva. During the visit, a signing ceremony was held for the Declaration of the Mission and Objectives of the Alliance.

Iscte is part of the Pioneer Alliance and was represented by the Rector, Professor Maria de Lurdes Rodrigues and the Vice-Rector for Internationalisation, Professor Maria das Dores Guerreiro.

The University of Huelva, the host of the meeting, is one of the ten European universities to join this group of higher education institutions aligned and seriously committed to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11, that is, with inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable cities. Alliance Pionner video

The Pioneer Alliance comprises ten higher education institutions, including Iscte-University Institute of Lisbon. The goal of the alliance is to leverage its training capacity, research and innovation potential, and co-creation abilities with local ecosystems to contribute towards the development of future cities.

Maria Antonia Peña, the Rector of the University of Huelva, has announced that the Pioneer Alliance Consortium, which was created in 2020, will reapply to the European Universities Initiative. The Pioneer Alliance is led by the Gustave Eiffel University in France and includes several higher education institutions from ten different European countries, including Slovakia, the Netherlands, Italy, Finland, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Germany, Portugal, and France.