Welcome Message from EAIR’s New President
Prof. Liudvika Leišytė

Credits: Felix Schmale/TU Dortmund

Dear EAIR Members,

It is a great honour and joy to greet you for the first time as the new President of EAIR. Since its foundation in 1979, EAIR has grown into a vibrant international community where researchers, practitioners, and policymakers come together to connect research, policy, and practice in higher education.

I would like to thank you, our members, for your continued engagement and contributions — you are at the heart of EAIR. I also want to warmly thank the members of the Executive Committee for their tireless work, and I look forward to being in close contact with them as we continue to guide and strengthen our association together.

Allow me also to share a few words about myself. I am Professor of Higher Education and Deputy Director at the Center for Higher Education (zhb) at TU Dortmund University. I hold a PhD in Public Administration from the University of Twente, where I continue as a visiting senior scholar. Over the years, I have been privileged to work on numerous international and national research projects on changing university governance, management, interdisciplinarity, quality assurance, evaluation, and digitalization in higher education. My work has been published in leading international journals, and my latest book University Governance, Management and the Academic Profession was published by Springer in 2025. I have also had the pleasure of teaching and conducting research abroad, including at Harvard University, Nagoya University, and Sciences Po.

Looking ahead, I am eager to foster EAIR’s unique collaborative spirit while opening new pathways for dialogue, inclusivity, and innovation. Higher education faces many challenges — from digital transformation to academic freedom — and I believe EAIR is well placed to address these together.

I warmly invite you to remain active in our Forums and I look forward to meeting many of you at the EAIR Forum 2026 from August 27th to August 29th in Vilnius University in Lithuania.

With warm regards,
Liudvika Leišytė
President 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.