Burning Bright

THE (Times Higher Education) Digital Universities Europe 2023 conference took place in Barcelona, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, on 23-25 October 2023. The programme included a wide range of pedagogical, digital support, e-learning support and pedagogical leadership perspectives. The conference had a pleasant balance between keynotes, presentations, and panel discussions, with good breaks and time for networking, booth visits and discussions. Above all, the experience of place and time on campus and the programme’s arts and culture immersion felt invigoratingly holistic, taking into account the embodied nature of the human being. There was also room for multiple voices and views to be expressed. The humanistic and human-centred perspectives and the atmosphere conducive to critical and creative thinking was noticeable, as if flowing through the spaces, lights and sounds of Gaudí’s nature-inspired architecture into our digital reflections. Leading pioneers in the field of digital