CoARA held a celebration event on 3 Dec 2025 before the EU High-Level Conference on Reforming Research Assessment. 

The purpose of the celebration was to celebrate the first 3 years of CoARA with the theme Collectively Shaping Research Assessment. The event was co-created with CoARA's partners from Science Europe, the European Universities Association, and the European Commission. 

The celebration started with opening remarks by Dr. Lidia Borrell-Damián, Secretary General of Science Europe followed by reflections on the coalition's foundations by CoARA Chair Prof. Henk Kummeling.

After this followed a panel discussion addressing the interconnected challenges affecting research assessment. The panel was moderated by steering board member and recently elected Vice Chair, Janne Pölönen featuring CoARA Vice Chair Dr. Karen Stroobants, DORA Co-Chair Dr. Kelly CObey, Dr. Jon Holm from the Research Council of Norway, and Richard Williams from the Technical University of Munich.

Three critical issues emerged from the discussion:

1. How to navigate the role of AI in research and evaluation
2. How to define success and redefine research excellence
3. How to manage data stewardship within a complex geopolitical landscape  

The celebration event provided an opportunity to reflect and celebrate the collective progress in advancing responsible research assessment during the first three years of CoARA. 

To see pictures from the side event, please follow the link below to the blogpost on CoARA's website.