EUTOPIA Weeks

Together into the Future: Venice hosts its first EUTOPIA Week

Venice in December: fewer selfie sticks, more contemplation. This is the perfect moment to gather the EUTOPIA community for a week of intensive academic exchange, set against the backdrop of a city that’s spent 1,500 years proving that audacious visions become reality when people build them together.

EUTOPIA Week 2025 brings together university presidents, vice presidents, faculty, staff, students, and research leaders from across our alliance for five days of strategic planning and collaborative research, along with some genuinely excellent networking. This isn’t your typical academic conference where everyone talks past each other in parallel sessions. This is the annual gathering where we actually make decisions, forge partnerships, and figure out what “European university of the future” means in practice—collectively.

Ca’ Foscari University of Venice hosts this year’s edition. This means that reaching the morning sessions may involve a short walk, a ‘vaporetto’ ride, and a glimpse of Venice’s unique urban landscape, an inspiring setting for discussion, reflection, and new perspectivies.
Venice awaits—a city that reminds us daily that the future belongs to those bold enough to build it together.

The University of Warwick hosts EUTOPIA Week in late June, bringing together leaders from across Europe and beyond to shape the future of the Alliance as a confederation of universities spanning the continent. As a founding member of EUTOPIA and despite Brexit, the University of Warwick remains very active at the forefront of the project.

This three-day event embodies a shared vision of building communities that transcend borders to tackle society’s most significant challenges. The week features high-level meetings, including sessions of the Board of Presidents, the Alliance Management Board, the Advisory Council, and the Quality Council, with the participation of the six Global Partners in high-level discussions, all aimed at strengthening international academic partnerships. Students play a vital role through dedicated Student Council sessions, ensuring their voices shape the Alliance’s future direction towards the creation of the main future infrastructures of the European University: the EUTOPIA College and the EUTOPIA Global Institute.

Highlights include the opening ceremony at The Slate, comprehensive research days on AI and university innovation.

This November, CY Cergy Paris Université will host a transformative event that promises to deepen our European university alliance initiative: the 10th EUTOPIA Week, under the motto Entrepreneurship for IMPACT. Running from November 25th to 29th, this gathering will bring together students, academics, and university leaders from across Europe to tackle educational, entrepreneurial, and research-related challenges. With a focus on fostering impact-driven entrepreneurial links with academia, the week will blend engaging public presentations and closed-door discussions. The first three days agenda was disclosed and is full of promises.

The topic Pathways to Cohesion intends to concentrate on initiatives that foster unity and collaboration among universities across countries. The concept emphasizes creating interconnected networks where institutions work together, share resources, and innovate collectively. The goal is to break down barriers, promote inclusive education, and ensure that students and faculty from diverse backgrounds can benefit from shared knowledge and opportunities. This approach supports the development of a more integrated and cohesive European Higher Education Area.

The topic Pathways to Cohesion intends to concentrate on initiatives that foster unity and collaboration among universities across countries. The concept emphasizes creating interconnected networks where institutions work together, share resources, and innovate collectively. The goal is to break down barriers, promote inclusive education, and ensure that students and faculty from diverse backgrounds can benefit from shared knowledge and opportunities. This approach supports the development of a more integrated and cohesive European Higher Education Area.

The Seventh EUTOPIA Week is taking place in Lisbon from 19-23 June 2023, hosted by NOVA University, Lisbon. The theme for this chapter of EW is “A Better Europe”.

Here are the main sessions of the roundtable and discussions:

Conference by MUR@D in collaboration with NOVA University Lisbon and EUTOPIA on “A new push for European democracy – Women in Diplomacy”

Round Table: “The Role of European Universities for a Better Future” by a discussion led by 17 participants including representation from all EUTOPIA partners and collaborators of NOVA University Lisbon

Keynote 1- “A European Green Deal” by João Pedro Gouveia “Navigating Change: Navigating Change: Reshaping the Future of Universities with AI from Student’s Perspective” by EUSTT

Keynote Session 2 – “A Stronger Europe in the World” by Nuno Severiano Teixeira

Keynote 3 – “An Economy that Works for People” by Pedro Brinca

 Keynote 4 – “Promoting our European Way of Life Fit for Digital Age” by Alison Holm

The sixth EUTOPIA Week was the final one from the pilot project of the alliance, EUTOPIA-2050, which stretched from December 2019 to November 2022. To commemorate this, the leaders of EUTOPIA spoke about what they have achieved in this incredible journey, and what’s in store for the future:

The main theme of this sixth E-week in Ljubljana was the vision of the future, of the alliance and of Europe. The motto was “University of the Future, Universe of Opportunities”.

Here are the main speakers and what they chose to focus on:

• Gregor Majdic, rector of the University of Ljubljana: “The end of the 2050 Project is not the end of EUTOPIA. EUTOPIA MORE will bring even more connectedness in the alliance.”
• Oriol Amat, rector of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona: “EUTOPIA is a dream of the past that we are now realizing, so what can we dream of for the future ?”
• Antonio Luna, Vice-rector for Internationalization at the UPF: “Thanks to the people who have worked on EUTOPIA since the beginning. There is also a focus on the fact that the EUTOPIAn process of innovation is having an impact evebn beyond Europe.”
• Nikki Muckle, Secretary General of EUTOPIA: “EUTOPIA started all the way back in 2017 when the first members started coming together. It’s time to look back on what was achieved in 5 years, and how far we can go in the next five years.”
• Petra Videmsek, Faculty for Social Work at University of Ljubljana, and Head of the Work Package for Inclusion in EUTOPIA 2050: “The signing of the EUTOPIA MORE Inclusion Manifesto, and the work on Inclusion during the life of the alliance.”
• Signing of the Inclusion Manifesto. 11:40
• Signing of the EUTOPIA International Partnerships Charter
• Stuart Croft, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Warwick: “Thanking the EUTOPIA Global Partners and how they fit into the EUTOPIA project as observers and advisers.”
• Tiziana Lippiello, rector of the Ca’Foscari University of Venice and new President of EUTOPIA: “Thanking speech about her appointment as President of EUTOPIA, and commitment to the further development of EUTOPIA in the future.”

The main theme of this fifth E-week in Brussels was connection and openness in the alliance. The motto was “Brussels is our campus”. Here are the main speakers and what they chose to focus on:

Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, choreographer and General Artistic Director at Rosas & P.A.R.T.S.: “Her relation with Brussels, the origin and etymology and power of the city of Brussels.”

Jan Danckaert, rector of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel: “The vision and ideal for the future of the alliance, objectives in ten years’ time focused on education, research and impact in society. The future is more EUTOPIA”

Tiziana Lippiello, rector of the Ca’Foscari University of Venice: “The empowerement of students and young people in the alliance, and the continued collaboration of EUTOPIA with their public and private partners in their regions.”

Nikki Muckle, Secretary General of EUTOPIA: “EUTOPIA is now way broader than first envisaged, in scope, in the number of projects and of partners.”

Gregor Majdic, rector of the University of Ljubljana: “Ad posse, ad esse, from the possible to the real. This is the story of EUTOPIA and of its values.”

The main theme of this fourth E-week in Barcelona was decided to be Planetary Wellbeing. On top of that, this week was also the very first one to be organized and attended in-person, which informed the choice of speakers, and the topics of their addresses. Thus they chose to focus on the following points:

Themis Christophidou, Director General for Education, Youth, Sports and Culture at the European Commission: “How EUTOPIA is starting to reap the fruits of its work and should be proud; of its Learning Communities, Open Innovation Challenge, etc.”

Eva Wiberg, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Gothenburg: “Transformation is perhaps the masterword of our alliance, and our common existence is just beginning.”

Josep Lluis Marti, UPF Commissioner for Planetary Wellbeing: “The definition and pursuit of Planetary Wellbeing, and turning our hopes towards the Youth” 

Oriol Amat, Rector of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra: “The enlargement of the alliance, the first E-week in person, and the choice of Planetary Wellbeing as its main theme”

For this third E-week in Gothenburg the alliance was now at half its lifespan, a great occasion then to look back at what was achieved in its 18 months of existence. Thus, the Rectors focused on the following points (Nikki Muckle the Secretary-General of EUTOPIA, and Marie Marchand, President of the EUTOPIA Student Council, also had sizeable interventions):

Eva Wiberg, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Gothenburg: “Last words: Connections, inclusion, and opening of the EUTOPIA Week”

Eva Wiberg, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Gothenburg: “The EUTOPIAn Journey so far, through COVID, adaptation and persistence”

Nikki Muckle, Secretary-General of EUTOPIA : “What we have achieved so far, at the midpoint of EUTOPIA, and what to look forward to”

Marie Marchand, President of the EUTOPIA Student Council “What does being a student within EUTOPIA mean? Examples of student engagements”

Igor Papic, Rector of the University of Ljubljana: “What EUTOPIA is doing for Inclusion”

Caroline Pauwels, Rector of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel: “The evolution of the EUTOPIA Educational Model, and the Connected Learning Communities”

Jaume Casals, Rector of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona: “Betting on EUTOPIA to innovate, for European solutions to problems can help develop local solutions too”

François Germinet, President of CY Cergy Paris Université: “Sustainability through solidarity, solidarity through connectedness. Stay connected”

Stuart Croft, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Warwick: “Internationalism and the new international partners of EUTOPIA outside of Europe”

In the address of this second EUTOPIA Week, the rectors all focus on different points (with guest speaker Nikki Muckle, Secretary-General of EUTOPIA):

Pelegri Viader, Rector’s Commissioner for EUTOPIA at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Speaking on behalf of Rector Jaume Casals: “The effects of the pandemic on the alliance in a positive light: digitalization of higher education and new types of mobility”

Stuart Croft, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Warwick: “The International engagement of EUTOPIA”

Nikki Muckle, Secretary-General of EUTOPIA, “What we have achieved so far”

Igor Papic, Rector of the University OF Ljubljana: “The three EUTOPIAn EU-funded projects: 2050, SIF, and TRAIN”

Eva Wiberg, Vice-Chancellor of the Unversity of Gothenburg: “Link between international strategy and local place-making, as well as adherence to democratic values and defending academic freedom”

Caroline Pauwels, Rector of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel: “The place of Students in a Student-centred alliance”

François Germinet, President of CY Cergy Paris Université: “The opportunities created by EUTOPIA”

For this first E-week in CY, the Rectors all focus on different points:

Stuart Croft, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Warwick: “A transformed Europe, and the international aim of EUTOPIA”

François Germinet, President of CY Cergy Paris Université: “To let students invent the world of tomorrow”

Igor Papic, Rector of the University OF Ljubljana: “The absence of boundaries”

Caroline Pauwels, Rector of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel: “Connectedness, and the EUTOPIA educational model”

Eva Wiberg, Vice-Chancellor of the Unversity of Gothenburg: “Research & Education to create synergies”

Jaume Casals, Rector of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra: “Universality of Open Science”