2-3 July 2026 at WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, Vienna, Austria

Organised by: Oliver Vettori (WU Vienna University of Economics and Business) and Nadia Manzoni (Central European University)

The symposium is guided by a scientific committee including:

• Dr. Daniela Craciun (University of Twente, The Netherlands)

• Nadia Manzoni (Central European University, Austria)

• Dr. Alina Felder-Stindt (Pompeu Fabra University, Spain)

• Dr. Agata Lambrechts (Swiss Federal University for Vocational Education and Training, Switzerland)

• Dr. Antonin Charret (University of Oxford, UK) 

• Dr. Oliver Vettori (Vienna University of Economics and Business,Austria)

Symposium Themes

We invite contributions that engage empirically or critically with any aspect of the EUI or transnational university partnerships. Suggested themes include:

• Conceptualising alliances:  How do different stakeholders understand the purpose and identity of alliances? How do alliances reshape relationships within and between institutions? What roles have the alliances been playing as novel actors in education policymaking at European, national and local levels? Are these alliances emerging as a model of transnational and international cooperation that could exist beyond Europe? Are there alternative models of cooperation in or beyond Europe that can be applied to alliances? How do conflicting narratives shape expectations and implementation?

• Implementation, governance and organisational change: How do alliances translate political ambition into daily practice and how do practices within alliances shape politics and strategies in return? How do institutional inertia, regulatory barriers, and entrenched organisational logics shape implementation and potentially change narratives or policy trajectories? To what extent do established internationalisation research findings apply to this new generation of alliances? What organisational reforms are alliances prompting within universities? How do governance arrangements evolve over time, and what tensions emerge? What comparisons can be drawn between implementation of alliances and other types of transnational partnerships involving universities?

• From experimentation and innovation to consolidation: What evidence exists about the viability, added value, and long-term impact of innovations such as micro-credentials, joint degrees, digital infrastructures, shared services, and novel legal solutions? Who is benefitting from the innovations and in what ways, and who may be left out? Are alliances effectively scaling innovations to benefit their partners and the wider sector? How do alliances engage with and contribute to their communities, at local, regional, national and European level? How do alliances affect scientific research output of their constituents? How are they contributing to science diplomacy?

• Evidence, data, and methodological questions: How can scholars meaningfully evaluate the EUI? What types of monitoring, evaluation, and impact-assessment frameworks are still missing? How can researchers, policymakers and practitioners co-construct these evaluating frameworks?  What methodological approaches are needed to capture alliance-level dynamics across countries and within systems? How might metrics for success be developed without reducing alliances to narrow quantitative outputs? How can researchers collect or access comparable data, analyse organisational transformations, and evaluate alliance contributions to societal challenges? What does rigorous, arm’s-length research look like in this field?

• Political contexts, future scenarios and the changing landscape of higher education collaboration: How does the increase in strategic partnerships  affect regional and global knowledge policies? How do alliances operate amid political backlash against internationalisation, funding pressures, and concerns over academic freedom? What trajectories might alliances follow by 2030 and beyond? Are they steering European higher education toward deeper integration, new forms of competition, or greater fragmentation? How might different future models of alliances look like (e.g.mergers, superuniversities, excellence hubs)? Where does the added value of alliances lie? Do alliances challenge the traditional relationship between the state and its universities? Are alliances catalysts of national policy change in higher education? What role can the alliances play in the ongoing negotiations for the next Multi-annual Financial Framework?

While we encourage submissions addressing the strategic themes above, we warmly welcome proposals on any emergent or critical topic related to the EUI and its impact on the future of European higher education, research, and innovation.