This workshop brings together academic leaders and scholars specialising in higher education to discuss how universities can actively contribute to transformative change in Europe, creating a more just and prosperous future.
Universities worldwide are facing mounting pressures: rising authoritarianism; attacks on academic freedom; global competition; the explosion of generative AI; and persistent questions about their social relevance.
In response to this, academics often adopt a defensive stance, but in doing so they miss a crucial opportunity to reconsider the role of universities in light of the urgent environmental, social, and political perils the world is facing.
In this workshop, we propose to examine universities in Europe through their concrete conditions to identify strengths to build on and blind spots to address. This follows on from two collaborative workshops that took place late 2025, where academic and non-academic 'change-makers' came together to jointly write proposals with this goal in mind.
Building on these proposals, and through facilitated discussions, the participants of the workshop will consider the institutional changes required and the role academic leadership can play in this process. Our goal is to collaboratively develop a flexible roadmap that any university can use to navigate its own path toward meaningful institutional transformation.
Participation in the event is upon invitation only.