European University Alliances and Regional Transformation: From Local Engagement to European Cohesion Webinar Series

Summary

Organised by the RSAE and the COLOURS Alliance
Sandrine Labory (RSAE and COLOURS Alliance)
Alessio Cavicchi (Circle.U)

We live in unprecedented times where the geopolitical world order established after World War II is being destabilised. Technological developments – the new technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and especially Artificial Intelligence (AI) – are offering new economic and social opportunities, and also perils. The fight for leadership over the new technologies and industries is creating stress and crises. The threats to the planet caused by climate change and the necessary - yet battled against - green transition are causing crises and disasters, with powers of the old polluting order reluctant to change and many new powers just ignoring this necessary transformation. The exploding amount of information available to all citizens, while allowing easier access to knowledge, also creates confusion in many people’s minds, when this information is not filtered and processed, leaving them suspicious of the political elite and ready to embrace even the most dreadful opinions.

Within this global confusion, individuals are primarily linked to a territory, where they belong, where they live and work and are part of a community, a society. Industries are rooted in territories, although the digital transition allows more and more global links to even the most remote places.

Within this global confusion and the strong sense of belonging of individuals within territories, universities are key actors not only to educate, provide skills, innovate and transfer knowledge but also in making sense of the global confusion of information and trends.

The EU has started in 2019 the European University Initiative to favour the collaboration of universities across Europe, in order to design innovative education pathways, joint course programmes and training, as well as joint research, and joint endeavour to co-create and co-work with the regional stakeholders so that territories take the most of the universities’ actions and universities truly help regional development. There are now 65 Alliances in the EU, including not only larger universities but now also small and medium universities, that are not linked to large cities but really rooted in their regions. The aims of alliance are to offer the best training to European citizens, improve research and innovation, and impact on regional development, through training of human capital, challenge-based innovation and the collaboration of different stakeholders in various regions in Europe. The vice-President of the European Commission, Roxana Minzatu, says that European alliances are “laboratories of European integration”. Hence their regional impact is also on EU cohesion.

The aim of this webinar series is to discuss the role of universities in regional ecosystems, especially European university alliances, not only the traditional knowledge transfer and innovation contribution, but also and most of all their role in a difficult time of complex transition, industrial revolution, that are reshaping societies. European alliances are actively working on increasing the regional impact of universities, within and across regions. The discussions in this session, together with RSA members will provide new insights on how extra-regional collaboration of universities and other stakeholders of the quadruple helix might contribute to regional impact and European Cohesion.

The timing of this series is particularly relevant in light of recent developments at EU level. The announcement of a forthcoming “European University Alliances 2.0” in the Commission’s 2026 State of the Union package, alongside preparations for a 2028 - 2034 investment pathway, signals a new phase for the European Universities Initiative and growing attention to its long-term sustainability and broader contribution to research, innovation, competitiveness and regional development. While the precise scope of this “2.0” phase is still to be defined, these developments provide a particularly timely policy context for discussing how European University Alliances can extend their impact beyond higher education cooperation and strengthen their connections with regions, innovation ecosystems and society.

Webinar 1 – EUAs as Transnational Civic Universities: Building Bridges between Regional Innovation Systems in Europe, 24th November 2026, 12.00-13.00 GMT, 13.00-14.00 CET

Speakers
Sandrine Labory, University of Ferrara and COLOURS Alliance
Alessio Cavicchi, University of Pisa and Circle U Alliance
Karel Haegeman, JRC

Webinar 2 – Impact of EUAs in Regions – Talent Attraction and Retention, January 2027, date and time tbc

Webinar 3 – How EUAs Boost Entrepreneurship in Regions, February 2027, date and time tbc

Webinar 4 – Reflections on the Meaning and Potential Impact of EUAs, March 2027, date and time tbc