February 19, 2024

PIONEERED Final Conference: Celebrating Achievements and Looking Ahead

From 30 January until 1 February 2024, the University of Luxembourg recently hosted the closing event of PIONEERED, bringing together stakeholders from diverse sectors for a two-day final conference held at the university's Belval campus. The conference showcased the achievements and insights gained throughout the project, emphasising collaboration and innovation in tackling educational inequalities.

Over two intensive days, the conference served as a platform for internal and external stakeholders to engage in discussions, exchange knowledge, and reflect on the outcomes of the Horizon 2020 initiative PIONEERED. In addition, a roundtable was held to discuss the issue of implementing educational reform, with participants from Luxembourg, Ireland, Lithuania, and Finland.

The keynote speeches, "Dropout and Inequality: Dynamic Processes of Inclusion and Exclusion" delivered by Erna Nairz-Wirth (Vienna University of Economics and Business, AT) and "The Long Road to Equality: How Family, Education and Contextual Factors Matter for Social Mobility" by Cristina Iannelli (University of Edinburgh, UK/SCO), set the tone for the conference. The speeches underscored the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and the translation of research into tangible solutions that benefit society as a whole.

Professor Andreas Hadjar, the project coordinator, expressed his gratitude for the invaluable contributions of all participants and emphasised the significance of the collaborative efforts that made the project a success.

Looking ahead, the legacy of PIONEERED will continue to resonate. Its results are envisioned to serve as an inspiration and starting point for the follow-up project, ADVANCE, which was also presented at the final PIONEERED conference. The application was submitted to the European Commission on 7 February.

Arriving at the PIONEERED final conference (© UNILU)