IN.TUNE European Universities Alliance launched at the 50th AEC Annual Congress at the Royal Conservatoire The Hague

The IN.TUNE European Universities Alliance was officially launched and presented on Friday 10th November 2023 at the Royal Conservatoire The Hague, in the frame of the jubilee AEC event marking the 70th anniversary of the European Association of Conservatories.

In the packed-up Studio 1 of the Royal Conservatoire that seemed almost too small to contain the enthusiastic turnout of attendees, the AEC President Deborah Kelleher opened the session by greeting the delegates from all over the world and stressing that the approval of the first European Universities Alliance in the field of music and arts marks a momentous step forward for the AEC and the entire higher music education sector.

After briefly referring to the European Universities Initiative in the broader European higher education context, Martin Prchal, the vice-principal of the Royal Conservatoire The Hague, presented the IN.TUNE alliance in a nutshell. He introduced university partner institutions and associated partners, as well as the four thematic fields – Joint Education Provision & Mobility, Research & Innovation, Societal Engagement and Alliance Governance & Cooperation, that the alliance will cover through objectives and activities within the eight work packages. In conclusion, he expressed the hope for the IN.TUNE Euriopean Universities Alliance to empower its consortium members, along with the wider HME sector in Europe and beyond, to be “in tune with each other, by working closely together and tuning (our) institutional strategic policies, in tune with the latest developments in higher education at the European level, and in tune, together, with the demands of our society.”

The central part of the launch session contained inspirational addresses of the impressive all-female line-up of institutional leaders: rector of the Norwegian Academy of Music Astrid Kvalbein, rector of the National University of Music Bucharest Diana Mos, director of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris Emilie Delorme, director of the Sibelius Academy – Uniarts Helsinki Emilie Gardberg, director of the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya Nuria Sempere, rector of the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien Ulrike Sych, principal of the Royal Conservatoire – University of the Arts The Hague Lies Colman, and Mirjana Nikolić, rector of the University of Arts Belgrade. Each of them expressed their institution’s firm commitment to the shared vision, values and goals of the alliance, with a belief that by working together, readiness to share experiences and learn from each other, some of the global and societal challenges can be addressed and a step toward their resolution made. Additionally, they presented the work packages and expected deliverables each of their institution is in charge of steering within the alliance.

The sense of unity in sharing common values and objectives was further visually embodied in the spectrogram-like alliance logo, as was presented by Ivana Perković, from the Faculty of Music, University or arts in Belgrade, leading the work package on Communication and Dissemination. Additionally, the new IN.TUNE alliance website was briefly introduced, with an invitation for following it for further information on the alliance’s activities and results.