The Coimbra Group (CG) is a network of 38 European universities, some among the oldest and most prestigious in Europe. It was founded in 1985 and formally constituted by charter in 1987.

The group took its name from the city of Coimbra, Portugal, and its university, one of the oldest in Europe.

[edit] Mission

The Coimbra Group is:

...an association of long-established European multidisciplinary universities of high international standard committed to creating special academic and cultural ties in order to promote, for the benefit of its members, internationalization, 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 the mutual exchange of experience.

—Coimbra Group

[edit] Activities

The group took its name from the city of Coimbra, Portugal and the university located there.

In pursuit of its Mission the Coimbra Group aims to:

• Facilitate knowledge transfer between its constituent universities by means of staff and student interchange so that they can benefit from the added value given by membership of the Coimbra Group, whilst respecting the cultural and national identities of individual universities and their individual freedom in learning and research.
• Work with European Union (EU) institutions with a view to participating in or organizing EU higher education and research projects to the benefit of Coimbra Group members.
• Contribute to the debate within Europe on quality in higher education and promote the adoption of quality assurance mechanisms within its member universities.
• Become a driving force in the creation and further development of the European Higher Education Area and promote the academic expertise of its members within this area and the European Research Area.
• Be recognized as an expert body, able to advise its members and EU institutions on various matters relating to higher education, such as information technology (IT) as applied to new teaching methods and lifelong learning.
• Encourage co-operation in cultural, social and sporting activities between its members.
• Promote the Coimbra Group worldwide as a source of academic excellence in Europe, with a view to attracting students to the universities in the Coimbra Group and encouraging academic collaboration and interchange with its members.

[edit] Members

[edit] See also

• List of universities and colleges by country
• League of European Research Universities (LERU; an association of top European research universities)
• Top Industrial Managers for Europe (TIME network)
• Ivy League (a group comprising some prestigious US universities)
• Group of Eight (Go8; a group of leading Australian universities)
• Russell Group (a group of some of the top research-focused universities in the UK)
• Group of Thirteen leading Canadian universities
• IDEA League (a strategic alliance of five of Europe's leading technical universities)
• International Research Universities Network
• Irish Universities Association (a group of leading Irish universities)
• In philosophy, the designation Coimbra Group may also refer to the 16th/17th century Collegium Conimbricenses and the Coimbra Commentaries on Aristotle.

[edit] External links

• Coimbra Group official site