Last week, the annual EARMA Conference came to Utrecht, and since it’s our home city, we couldn’t miss it.

To kick off the event, we partnered with Research Connect to host an informal drinks gathering at Beers and Barrels for our contacts and peers. The evening offered a great opportunity for people to connect, catch up over a beer, and ease into the conference atmosphere before the official programme began. It proved to be a valuable gathering for everyone to informally exchange experiences and thoughts in this international crowd. For us, it was especially valuable to meet several people in person for the first time and spend time together in a relaxed, informal setting ahead of the conference kick-off.

The conference couldn’t have started on a better note. From day one, we saw a great deal of interest and engagement from attendees. People were genuinely curious about our matchmaking service and pleasantly surprised by how quickly and smoothly the results were available. The talk by Eoin Gunnigle on Strengthening RMA Services through AI-Driven Research Mapping & Consortium Building at UCC before lunch spiked the curiosity of everyone who attended it and drove a significant crowd to our stand during the rest of the conference. The slides of the UCC workshop, where Eoin explains how Global Campus saved him 3 years of work, can be found in the EARMA folder (room 210) that was shared by e-mail with the participants. Of course, EARMA 2026 wouldn’t be a EARMA Conference without a great party and live music after the gala dinner at Werkspoorkathedraal. This year with a surprise act during the dinner with gymnasts who amazed all attendants whilst enjoying their food and wine.

Once again, it was great to feel the energy and openness of the community, see so many meaningful conversations taking place, new connections being formed, and a shared enthusiasm for collaboration across the research management community. It was a pleasure to be part of the biggest EARMA yet (1800 participants!) in our own city.

If you missed the demo of the Global Campus Horizon Europe mapping, feel free to reach out. All visitors to our stand received the results of the mapping of their top 20-50 researchers against Horizon Europe 26-27, and we are happy to provide that for you as well.