Ca’ Foscari Opens the EUTOPIA Week 2025: Venice Welcomes the Alliance with “Together into the Future”

From 1 to 5 December 2025, Ca’ Foscari will host the inaugural EUTOPIA Week, the most significant annual event of the European university alliance EUTOPIA. Ca’ Foscari will serve as a unique venue for gathering, exchange, and discussion, bringing together Rectors, colleagues, technical and administrative staff, and students from the ten partner universities.

The chosen theme, “Together into the Future,” centres on the medium- to long-term future of European alliances and the increasingly strategic international role they play within the European Universities Initiative. The week’s programme — including institutional meetings, workshops, student-led activities, cultural events, and informal networking opportunities — will encourage reflection on new scenarios for the European university of tomorrow.

The Opening Ceremony, held on 1 December at the S. Margherita – E. Severino Auditorium, brought together representatives from European and national institutions: from the European Commission and the Italian Ministry of University and Research to the FOREU4All working group, which unites all 73 European university alliances.

The event commenced with a speech by Ca’ Foscari’s Rector, Prof. Tiziana Lippiello, who stressed the importance of a collective effort towards the future of European higher education.

“Europe’s future — its resilience, its digital transformation and the green transition — depends on the talent we are able to cultivate. EUTOPIA, along with all the European University Alliances, must lead this transformation by focusing on impact-driven research aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Horizon Europe's priorities, as well as on Challenge-Based Learning — training students capable of addressing complex, interdisciplinary challenges. It is vital that we participate in these strategic and sometimes challenging discussions. […] The road ahead calls for us to define the next generation of European Universities. We are not merely creating a new home for European higher education; we are shaping a model for the future of higher education across the continent. Let us use this EUTOPIA Week in Venice to lay the foundations for that future, ensuring we continue to move Together into the Future — stronger, more united, with greater impact, and more ‘European’ than ever.”

The Ministry of University and Research — which contributed funding to the Week — also sent its greetings through a message from Minister Anna Maria Bernini:

“The impact of EUTOPIA extends beyond academia: by promoting mobility among students, researchers, and staff, encouraging joint curricular innovation, and creating shared spaces for dialogue, it is building a genuine sense of European community. A significant step forward will be the ongoing work towards implementing the European Degree. This initiative will be a crucial milestone in harmonising higher education across Europe, enabling students to earn a jointly awarded, fully recognised qualification issued collectively by partner universities. The European Degree will bolster academic mobility, simplify recognition procedures, and foster greater cooperation between institutions.”

This was followed by contributions from Prof. Jan Danckaert, President of EUTOPIA and Rector of Vrije Universiteit Brussel; Vanessa Debiais-Sainton, representative of the European Commission; Mattia Bellotti, Secretary General of EUTOPIA, Simone Rizzo, President of the EUTOPIA Student Counciland and Prof. Beatrix Busse, Chair of FOREU4ALL.
 
The full video of the ceremony is available on the EUTOPIA YouTube channel:

On the afternoon of 1 December, the Aula Magna Silvio Trentin hosts the roundtable entitled “The European Universities Initiative in the Italian Scenario”. The discussion brings  together the Rectors of major Italian universities participating in European alliances: Prof. Laura Ramaciotti (University of Ferrara, President of CRUI), Prof. Giovanni Molari (University of Bologna), Prof. Matteo Alvaro (Provost for International Relations, University of Pavia), Prof. Alessandra Petrucci (University of Florence), Prof. Marina Brambilla (University of Milan – Statale), Prof. Cristina Prandi (University of Turin).

Further contributions were provided by Dr Lavinia Monti (MUR) and Prof. Marilena Maniaci (ANVUR), who discussed the role of Italian institutions in supporting the alliances.