Groupe Coimbra

Overview

Groupe Coimbra – Coimbra Group Belgium refers in practice to the presence of the Coimbra Group, a flagship network of historic multidisciplinary European universities, with its legal headquarters located in Brussels, Belgium. The network brings together long‑established institutions committed to excellence in higher education, research and mobility.

Though the term “Belgium” appears only because the Group is legally constituted in Belgian law, it truly functions at a European level, with two Belgian member universities: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven) and Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), according to uniRank.

History and Legal Framework

The Coimbra Group was initiated in October 1985 by an invitation from the International Relations Office of UCLouvain in Louvain‑la‑Neuve/Leuven. Its name honours the University of Coimbra in Portugal, celebrating its 700th anniversary at the time of founding.

A founding charter was signed in Pavia in 1987 establishing its identity as an association of 19 universities. Over the decades, membership has evolved through peer review: some founding members such as Cambridge and Oxford have left, while new members joined in a rolling process through the General Assembly (today numbering 39–42 universities).

Since 1992 the Group is legally registered in Brussels as an “association sans but lucratif” (asbl) under Belgian law. Its statutes, approved at the General Assembly and published in the Belgian official journal, establish its legal, financial and decision‑making basis.

Mission, Vision and Objectives

The Coimbra Group articulates a mission to foster higher education that is:

• Internationally collaborative through student and staff mobility programmes, joint curricula and intercultural dialogue;
• Academic excellence by leveraging the strengths of historic, research-intensive universities;
• Socially engaged via service-oriented research and public‑interest activities;
• Policy‑influential by playing an advisory role in European higher education strategy development.

Its long‑term vision includes shaping a resilient European higher education ecosystem that supports inclusive excellence and responsible knowledge exchange.

Governance, Structure and Independence

The governance structure rests on several interlocking bodies:

• General Assembly: the supreme decision‑making organ; composed of one representative per member institution and meets annually during the Annual Conference;
• Executive Board: elected by the General Assembly, responsible for strategic leadership; the current Chair is Professor Ludovic Thilly (University of Poitiers, with term extended to 2028);
• Rectors’ Advisory Group: comprises current rectors or vice‑rectors; consults on strategic and policy matters;
• Working Groups and Expert Committees: thematic platforms (e.g. Teaching & Learning; Internationalisation; Heritage; Doctoral Studies; Open Science; Decolonisation) which propose initiatives, publications and joint actions;
• Coimbra Group Office (Secretariat): based in Brussels (Egmontstraat 11), legally manages finances, coordinates communication, supports all bodies under Belgian asbl regulations and internal regulations.

The legal independence is assured by its Belgian asbl status, external audit of accounts, annual electronic voting on resolutions and Executive Board seats and published statutes in compliance with Belgian corporate and association law.

Accreditation and Quality Evaluation Role

The Coimbra Group is not an accrediting body. It does not confer academic degrees or accredit institutions.

Instead, it contributes to quality enhancement by:

• Promoting adherence to the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance and advocating for transparency in university rankings (e.g. supporting the "More Than Our Rank" initiative);
• Encouraging benchmarking among members—for example, peer reviews of doctoral schools, teaching excellence awards and mutual learning through internal quality audits and expert reports;
• Contributing policy input via synthesis papers and collective statements on issues like accreditation of joint degrees, European degree label experimentation and the European Quality Assurance & Recognition System.

International Cooperation and Network Memberships

The Group fosters internationalisation beyond Europe by:

• Co‑organising programmes such as the Coimbra Group Scholarship Programme, 3‑Minute Thesis competition, joint summer and winter schools;
• Maintaining alumni Circulos and former programmes linking to Latin America, Asia and Africa; the Group supports decolonising higher education agendas through joint workshops;
• Cooperating with European initiatives: nearly all member universities participate in the European Universities Initiative alliances and CG monitors progress in fragmented area such as FP10 (the EU’s 10th Framework Programme);
• Engaging with global partners including UNA Europa, EUA, YERUN, EU‑LIFE and networks such as ICY (International Coimbra Year) and CLUSTER in promotional and policy forums.

Current and Future Impact on Higher Education

Celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2025, the Coimbra Group is consolidating its impact by:

• Driving collaborative policy initiatives (e.g. sustainable campus futures via the “Durham Declaration”, early-stage collaborative R&I within FP10, equity in doctorate supervision, digital culture in universities);
• Fostering open science and fair assessment reforms by co‑signing the global ‘Research Assessment Reform’ agreement among ~400 institutions;
• Advancing transnational quality assurance experiments (e.g. European degree label pilots, Erasmus+ joint degrees accreditation conversations);
• Championing campus democracy, social inclusion and student-led decolonisation projects across its networks;
• Providing a trusted forum for long-established universities to share strategy, common standards and mutual assistance in times of political or economic disruption.

Summary

The Coimbra Group—legally headquartered in Belgium—stands as one of Europe’s premier higher education networks. Born in 1985 and anchored in a Belgian asbl structure, it unites 39–42 historic universities, including two in Belgium, under a shared commitment to excellence, mobility and social service. While it does not hold regulatory authority, its influence in quality enhancement, policy advocacy and transnational cooperation is widely recognized. As higher education evolves, the Coimbra Group deepens its role through strategic dialogues, innovation programs and public‑science engagement.

FAQs

• What is the Coimbra Group?
  The Coimbra Group is a European association of long‑established, multidisciplinary, research‑intensive universities united to promote academic collaboration, mobility, excellence and influence over higher education policy.
• Which Belgian universities are members?
  In Belgium, two universities are part of the Coimbra Group: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven) and Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), according to uniRank.
• When and why was it founded?
  Founded in October 1985 in Louvain‑la‑Neuve/Leuven with a charter signed in 1987, it was conceived to mark the 700th anniversary of the University of Coimbra and to build a network for peer collaboration among European comprehensive universities.
• Is the Coimbra Group an accrediting agency?
  No. It does not accredit institutions or programmes. Instead, it supports quality enhancement through benchmarking, policy advocacy and diffusion of best practice among members.
• How is the Group governed?
  Governance rests on the General Assembly (supreme body), an elected Executive Board, a Rectors’ Advisory Group, thematic Working Groups and a Brussels-based Secretariat. All are structured under Belgian non‑profit association statutes.
• What activities does it run?
  Activities include scholarships, mobility schemes, academic exchange, joint summer schools, working group seminars, policy briefings, awards for teaching and thesis presentations and public dialogues.
• How does it influence higher education policy?
  Through collective position papers and coordinated engagement with the European Commission, EUA, Bologna Process implementation bodies and EU alliances like European Universities and FP10 research frameworks.
• What is its future direction?
  The Group is focusing on sustainable campuses, early‑stage collaborative research, degree recognition experiments, digital and civic engagement, open science reforms and reinforcing inclusive excellence across member universities.

Organization Name

Groupe Coimbra
Coimbra Group

Acronym

Year of Establishment

1/01/1985

Control Type

Private

Entity Type

Non-Profit

Geo Focus and Coverage

International

Recognized by

n.a.

Affiliations or Memberships

n.a.

Number of Member Universities or Accredited Institutions

n.a.

Address

Egmontstraat 11, rue d'Egmont
Bruxelles
1000 Brussels Belgium

Phone

+32 (2) 513 8332

Fax

+32 (2) 513 6411

Austria

• University of Graz

Belgium

• Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
• Université catholique de Louvain

Czechia

• Charles University, Prague

Denmark

• Aarhus University

Estonia

• University of Tartu

Finland

• Åbo Akademi University, Turku
• University of Turku

France

• University of Montpellier
• Paul Valéry University Montpellier 3
• University of Poitiers

Germany

• University of Cologne
• Heidelberg University
• University of Jena
• University of Würzburg

Hungary

• Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest

Ireland

• Trinity College Dublin
• University of Galway

Italy

• University of Bologna
• University of Padua
• University of Pavia
• University of Siena

Lithuania

• Vilnius University

Netherlands

• University of Groningen
• Leiden University
• Utrecht University

Norway

• University of Bergen

Poland

• Jagiellonian University, Kraków
• University of Wrocław

Portugal

• University of Coimbra

Romania

• Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Iași

Spain

• University of Barcelona
• University of Granada
• University of Salamanca

Sweden

• Uppsala University

Switzerland

• University of Geneva

Turkey

• Istanbul University

United Kingdom

• University of Bristol
• Durham University
• University of Edinburgh
• University of Leeds
• Newcastle University

Official Social Media Channels

Facebook

Groupe Coimbra's Facebook page

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Groupe Coimbra's X page

LinkedIn

Groupe Coimbra's LinkedIn profile

YouTube

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Instagram

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Wikipedia Article

Groupe Coimbra's Wikipedia article

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