Venue and Programme

Extraordinary ICA General Assembly

Rectorate Cluj-Napoca The Extraordinary ICA General Assembly, taking place at 11:00–11:45 UTC+3 on Thursday, 15 October 2026, in a hybrid format, will be hosted in the Senate Room, in the Rectorate's building of USAMV Cluj-Napoca (Calea Mănăştur 3-5, 400372, Cluj-Napoca, Romania).

Information on how to join the meeting remotely will be sent individually to the representatives of each ICA member institution and their appointed proxies. The Assembly is open to the public, but voting rights are reserved exclusively for eligible members.

ICA Rectors and Deans Forum

The ICA Rectors and Deans Forum 2026 will take place at the Research Center for Biodiversity of USAMV Cluj-Napoca. The building is located within 100 m (approximately a 2-minute walk) of the Rectorate's building.

A registration desk will be located in the building, and staff will be available to guide and support participants throughout the event. For inquiries concerning the Forum and its programme, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. For questions related to logistics, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Programme Table

DAY 1 – ICA Rectors and Deans Forum “Food Systems Resilience and Global Food Security”
Time	Programme	Speakers / Information
11:00–11:45	Extraordinary General Assembly (Hybrid)*	* The General Assembly takes place at a different venue from the ICA Forum (read here).
11:30–12:20	Registration & Networking Lunch
12:20–12:45	Welcome and Opening Strategic framing: Food systems resilience and food security have become central geopolitical, environmental and societal priorities, requiring stronger collaboration between universities, governments, industry and society.	Maria K. Wedel (Welcome & Moderator) Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden Cornel Cătoi University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, Romania Doru Pamfil Agricultural and Forestry Sciences Section of the Romanian Academy, Romania István-Valentin Vakar Cluj County, Romania
12:45–13:15	Opening Keynote The Future of Food Security in an Era of Permanent Disruption	Maria K. Wedel (Moderator) Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden Rosalinda Scalia Unit Bioeconomy & Food Systems (B2), DG Research & Innovation, European Commission
13:15–14:15	Session I – Major Threats to Food Systems Resilience Objective: Create a shared strategic understanding of the risks affecting global and European food systems, including climate volatility and extreme weather, biodiversity loss, fertilizer and energy dependency, supply chain disruptions, digital transformation gaps, war and geopolitical instability, and changing consumer preferences. Format: Expert panel	Frank Monahan (Moderator) Agriculture and Food Science Centre, University College Dublin John Ingram University of Oxford and Food Systems Science Network (FoSSNet) Rui Costa The ISEKI-Food Association, ICA Standing Committee Pawel Chmielinski Polish Academy of Sciences and BioEast TWG on Food Systems Iulia Blagu ANFA – Romanian National Association of Women in Agriculture
14:15–14:45	Coffee Break & Group Picture
14:45–16:00	Session II – How Universities Contribute to Food Systems Resilience Central question: How can life science universities become stronger resilience actors? What institutional capacities should every life science university have by 2030? Format: Short interventions from ICA Universities Educating Future Leaders for Resilient Food Systems: Ghent University's Contribution through International Learning, Research and Global Partnerships⁽¹⁾ Agri-Food-Health Hub – a cross-faculty initiative of the University of Hohenheim⁽²⁾ BeReady: Prepared for food crisis – an initiative on food system resilience⁽³⁾ SUP-RIM: Research network of life science universities for the development of the Polish dairy sector⁽⁴⁾ Building Value Where the Chain Is Thinnest: A University-Anchored Agri-Food Innovation Ecosystem⁽⁵⁾ Dual-Use Innovation for a Secure Food Future⁽⁶⁾ Adapting our education programmes to major transitions in agriculture and food systems: insights from prospective analyses at AgroParisTech⁽⁷⁾	Maria K. Wedel (Moderator) Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden ⁽¹⁾ Mieke Uyttendaele Ghent University, Belgium ⁽²⁾ Christoph Schneider University of Hohenheim, Germany ⁽³⁾ Dirk Jan de Koning Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden ⁽⁴⁾ Marta Mendel Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Poland ⁽⁵⁾ Zoltán Kovács Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Hungary ⁽⁶⁾ Irina Arhipova Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies, Latvia ⁽⁷⁾ Laurent Buisson AgroParisTech, France
16:00–17:00	Session III – Research, Innovation and Policy for Food Security Themes: Translating science into policy; innovation uptake in agriculture; collaboration with governments and industry; public trust in science; EU research priorities; and international cooperation. Format: Policy roundtable	Mugurel Ionel Jitea (Moderator) University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, Romania Agnes van den Pol-van Dasselaar European Grassland Federation & Aeres University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands Bogdan Alecu Technical Assistance and Vocational Training at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Romania Niels Halberg SCAR FS and Aarhus University, Denmark Aleksander Mešić Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, Croatia
17:00	Day 1 Conclusions & Closing Reflection
19:30	Gala Dinner and ICA Excellence Award Ceremony	Read more on the Social Programme HERE.

DAY 2 – Special Rectors' Forum “What It Means to Be a Life Science University in a Polarised World” This provides a complementary, leadership-focused continuation of the food systems discussions.
Time	Programme	Speakers / Information
08:00–08:30	Registration
08:30–09:20	Opening Conversation – “Leadership, Trust and Responsibility in Times of Division” The strategic role of the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca for local and regional food system resilience and food security⁽¹⁾ The Impact University as an institutional model – and why life science universities must go first ⁽²⁾ A Strategic Compass for Troubled Times: Rebuilding Trust and Impact through Regional Ecosystems⁽³⁾	Michal Lošťák (Moderator) Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Czechia ⁽¹⁾ Cornel Cătoi University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, Romania ⁽²⁾ Csaba Gyuricza Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Hungary ⁽³⁾ Christophe Clément Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, France
09:20–10:30	Breakout Sessions Theme I – “Protecting Academic Values in Polarised Societies”⁽¹⁾ Academic freedom; institutional autonomy; political pressures; freedom of speech; and societal trust in universities. Theme II – “Leading Universities Through Uncertainty and Crisis”⁽²⁾ Crisis leadership; institutional resilience; communication and public engagement; balancing strategic and civic missions; wellbeing and leadership pressures; and advocating for the life sciences. Theme III – “Can Universities Help Rebuild Social Cohesion?”⁽³⁾ Are universities still trusted institutions? What role should rectors play in public debate? Can universities become spaces for dialogue and democratic resilience? Plenary feedback from each session.	⁽¹⁾ Eva Schulev-Steindl (Moderator) BOKU University, Austria ⁽²⁾ Michał Zasada (Moderator) Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Poland ⁽³⁾ Michal Lošťák (Moderator) Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Czechia
10:30–11:00	Coffee Break
11:00–11:30	Call to Action – “The Future Role of University Leadership” Final reflection: What kind of rector leadership will future societies require?
11:30–12:00	Closing
12:00–13:30	Networking Lunch
13:30–16:00	Social Programme	Read more on the Social Programme HERE.