Letter from the Chair

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Dear EAIR Community,
Dear colleagues,
Dear friends,

As we welcome a new year, I would like to express – via this first newsletter of 2025 – my warmest wishes to each of you for a healthy, prosperous and fulfilling 2025. May this year bring opportunities for growth and meaningful connections.

Higher education has an enormous and significant added value to society, and I believe that EAIR – as a unique community – has an added value towards the higher education sector. As a community, EAIR serves as a catalyst for dialogue between researchers, policymakers and practitioners. EAIR has always been more than an association; it is a network of individuals and institutions committed to advancing higher education and fostering collaboration across boundaries. With the Executive Committee we do our best to contribute in a meaningful way to EAIR’s mission, and we thank all of you for the trust you put in us.

I am delighted to invite you to the EAIR Forum 2025, which will take place in the beautiful city of Utrecht. Our yearly forum promises to be an inspiring event, filled with insightful discussions, thought-provoking sessions, and plenty of opportunities to connect with colleagues from around the world. Keep yourself up-to-date via our website and prepare to be part of a forum that builds bridges in our international educational landscape.

Looking ahead, we are also thrilled to announce that the EAIR Forum 2026 will be hosted in Vilnius. This dynamic city, in a part of Europe where EAIR has been less present in the recent past, will provide a wonderful backdrop for our 2026 Forum.

I want to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to each of you. Whether you contribute as researcher, practitioner, leader, policy maker, or participant, your dedication and engagement make EAIR what it is—an inclusive and diverse network of members that share a passion for higher education, and want to learn from each other. Thank you for your commitment to our association.

It is truly a privilege to serve as your Chair, and I am excited about the path ahead. With the Executive Committee we will continue to make the necessary efforts to make EAIR a professional association, with approachable EC-members, a healthy financial balance, and a responsive and professional back-office. On that last note, I would like to inform you that we will from now on launch regular newsletters, with not only information from the EC, but also from our members.

I wish you all a successful and inspiring year ahead, and look forward to meeting many of you in Utrecht.

Warm regards,
Bruno Broucker
Chair of EAIR

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Sustainable Travel Ideas for the EAIR Cork Forum

Travelling from Europe

Visitors from Europe can travel via Eurostar from Paris to London and from there by train to Wales and by boat to Dublin. Travellers can then take the train or bus to Cork. Alternatively, there is a daily boat connection from Roscoff or Calais (in Northern France) directly to Ringaskiddy, Cork.  

Link for Direct Ferries: https://www.directferries.ie/

Travelling from the UK

There are ways to travel to and from Ireland without flying, as there are train and bus services that link with ferry services across the Irish Sea which connect several ports in England, Wales and Scotland with Irish ferry ports of Rosslare, Dublin or Belfast with ongoing travel by car, bus or train. 

Cross County Rail Services

Where taking a flight is necessary, attendees are encouraged to consider direct flights to Ireland (Cork, Dublin) airports and to use cross country rail services where a direct flight to Cork is not possible.

Link for Irish rail: https://www.irishrail.ie/en-ie/

Travel options in Cork

Cork is a city where active travel options are both available and encouraged – walking and cycling.  Visitors to Cork City can get a 3 day TFI bike subscription.

Link to TFI Bike Subscription: https://www.bikeshare.ie/pricing-and-subscriptions.html

All accommodation options and EAIR Forum venues in Cork can be accessed easily by foot. 

Offsetting Travel Emissions

Forum attendees are invited to offset the unfavourable impact of air travel by combining attendance at the Cork forum with other meetings in Ireland, the UK and Europe. 

Forum attendees who wish to consider sustainable travel options may also wish to combine their attendance at the Cork EAIR Forum with their annual holiday and by so doing minimise the number of air flights taken in 2024.