EUTOPIA Representatives Attend Meeting on Shaping the Future of European Universities Alliances

On February 26-27, 2025, Brussels hosted the high-level meeting ‘Shaping the future: European universities alliances for a competitive Europe’, bringing together representatives from 65 European Universities alliances, members of the European Parliament, national and regional authorities, higher education stakeholders, student organisations and private sector entities. 

On February 26, EUTOPIA was represented by Tiziana Lippiello (Rector of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and Chair of the EUTOPIA Board of Presidents for 2023-2024) and Jan Danckaert (Rector of Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Member of the EUTOPIA Board of Directors). On February 27, Mattia Bellotti (Secretary-General of EUTOPIA), Melinda Szabó (Deputy Secretary-General of EUTOPIA), Maite Viudes (Head of EUTOPIA Office at University Pompeu Fabra - Barcelona), and Lucia Conte (EUTOPIA MORE Project Manager at University Pompeu Fabra - Barcelona).

The discussions centred on the achievements and challenges of the European Universities initiative, with a focus on enhancing Europe’s sustainable prosperity and competitiveness, while upholding democratic values and social fairness. Key topics included the role of European universities in strengthening cooperation within and across innovative ecosystems, strategies for alliances to attract and retain the best talent, and enhancing student and staff participation in alliance activities. Former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta emphasised the need for the alliances to act as a unified force rather than as 27 separate entities, labelling them a model for the defragmentation of the EU.

Mattia Bellotti represented EUTOPIA as a panelist in the session on ‘Looking Beyond the EU’, which addressed the role of European universities in attracting global talent and strengthening partnerships with regions such as the Western Balkans, EU Neighbourhood and across the world. The session focused on equal partnerships with higher education institutions from high-income countries and the role of alliances in global talent circulation. Melinda Szabó contributed as a rapporteur in the session on the monitoring framework for the European Universities initiative, helping to shape discussions on how to assess and improve the effectiveness of these alliances through monitoring and data collection.