Welcome to Episode 1 of Season 2 of the INGENIUM podcast. In this episode we speak to the Juan Rayón González as he takes up his new role as Director of INGENIUM.

Juan is the Director of the INGENIUM European Universities alliance, led by the University of Oviedo in northern Spain. Before joining the alliance, he worked on the policy team of the European Commission’s higher education unit, with a focus on the joint European degree and quality assurance. Juan was also President of Erasmus Student Network International and ESN Spain from 2021-2023, during which he was responsible for the organisation’s overall policy and advocacy coordination. Juan led ESN’s involvement in the European Universities initiative and collaborated with several alliances as an associate partner. He has a law degree and is specialised in European law and higher education policy.

00:00 Intro01:17 Taking on the role of Director of INGENIUM03:18 Juan's immediate priorities06:55 Strategic steps; for the next two years, and beyond09:50 Successes and where do we see room for improvement?14:36 Seeing the different pieces of the puzzle (i.e. WPs, digital learning, sustainability etc.)18:40 Role of research and innovation in INGENIUM23:00 Examples of success that people can look to25:40 Looking to the other university alliances - what can we learn / what can we share?30:00 Thinking about the new role from a personal perspective36:58 Message to colleagues, staff and studnets across INGENIUM40:18 OutroThe conversation was recorded on Weds. 01 Feb. 2026. CONTACTConnect with the guest:Juan Rayón González /   / jrayongonzalez   Connect with the hosts: Jeremiah Spillane / www.linkedin.com/in/jeremiah-spillane/ Thomas Broderick / www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-broderick-mtu