HISTORY

Presidents of ten universities in the US, Asia, Europe, and Africa participated in the HLU’s First Conference in Groningen, the Netherlands. At the meeting, participating presidents voiced their preference to focus on the practical application of science and technology as a basis for world university rankings, rather than the mere output of research papers and citations that currently represent the majority of factors used to compare and gauge the quality of a university. The presidents agreed to turn the meeting into the First Conference of the Hanseatic League of Universities, with the mission of working together to address the real impact of higher education on society and industry.

The Second HLU Conference took place in July 2019 on Incheon National University’s main campus in Songdo, one of the most beautiful and thriving cities in Korea. The conference was attended by around 200 presidents and representatives from more than 70 universities all over the world.
The Third HLU Conference was expected to be held in 2020 at the beautiful campus of Northern Arizona University, which unfortunately had to be cancelled because of Covid-19.
Due to the prolonged uncertain circumstances, the HLU Conference could not be held in the following years, 2021 and 2022.
With the circumstances getting better, we are happy to finally announce that the Third HLU Conference will be hosted by Florida Gulf Coast University, in 2023.