Vice-Rector Ćurković Nimac and Secretary General Roščić at the “UNICA Days 2026” Conference in Brussels

Vice-Rector for International Cooperation, Professor Jasna Ćurković Nimac, PhD, and the Secretary General of our University, Branka Roščić, PhD, participated in the conference UNICA Days 2026: “EU–Canada Cooperation: Shared Values, Shared Futures”, held in Brussels from 25 to 27 February 2026.

The event was organised by the European university network UNICA – Network of Universities from the Capitals of Europe, in cooperation with the European Parliament Delegation for Relations with Canada, the global university network International Association of Universities (IAU), founded in 1950, and the Science&Business network, which brings together universities, research institutes, companies and industry.

UNICA is one of the oldest university networks in Europe. It was established in 1990 with the aim of connecting universities in Western and Eastern Europe. Today, it brings together 52 universities from 38 European capital cities and connects around 180,000 staff members and more than two million students, with the objective of actively contributing to the development of European higher education in the areas of teaching, research, innovation and university governance.

The UNICA Days 2026 conference was held under the overarching theme “EU–Canada Cooperation: Shared Values, Shared Futures”. The aim of the event was to examine relations between the European Union and Canada through the lens of higher education, research and science diplomacy, and to provide a platform for Canadian and European higher education institutions and university networks to strengthen transatlantic cooperation and address shared global challenges.

The conference gathered senior representatives of European universities that are members of UNICA, rectors of Canadian universities (including Alberta, McGill, Montreal, Laval, Concordia and Queen’s), presidents of the UNICA and EUA networks, the Vice-President of the IAU, the President of the Canadian U15 network, senior representatives of the European Commission (Directorate-General for Education and Directorate-General for Research and Innovation), as well as representatives of Canadian diplomacy and the European Parliament. Further information about the event and the detailed programme are available on the website.

Vice-Rector for International Cooperation Professor Jasna Ćurković Nimac, PhD, and Secretary General Branka Roščić, PhD, actively participated in all sessions and panels. During networking activities, they held a series of bilateral meetings and presented CUC to participating universities, including Université libre de Bruxelles, University of Ankara, Nova University Lisbon, Université Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3, University of Cyprus, Comenius University Bratislava, University of Bucharest, University of Ljubljana, Sapienza Università di Roma and others. They also held brief bilateral meetings with the Presidents of the UNICA and EUA networks, the Manager of the IAU network and the Secretary General of UNICA. The Secretary General of UNICA, Professor Luciano Saso, PhD, has been invited for a working visit to CUC, confirmed for 26 March 2026.