European Universities Initiative:
2nd Research and Practice Symposium Open main menu
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European Universities Initiative: 2nd Research and Practice Symposium

The registrations for the Symposium have now closed.

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

The European Universities Initiative (EUI), involving over 650 higher education institutions in 73 alliances across Europe, marks a significant transformation in the European higher education landscape. In its 7th year since establishment, the calls to measure the extent of this transformation and to assess the impact of the initiative have grown stronger. 

The initiative has from the start been attracting the interest of researchers from across different disciplines, resulting in growing expertise on the topic among the scientific community. This symposium, now in its second year, provides a forum for researchers and practitioners to exchange latest insights on the EUI, examine evidence regarding its achievements and challenges, and discuss lessons learned for policy and practice.

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)

Keynote Speakers

Manja Klemenčič

Portrait Manja Klemencic

Student agency and transformative effects of European Universities alliances on students

Manja Klemenčič is Senior Researcher at the Faculty of Education, University of Ljubljana and associated with the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University where she was an award-winning lecturer since 2014. She researches, teaches, and acts as a consultant in sociology, politics and policies of higher education, innovation and youth. She serves as Co-editor of European Journal of Higher Education, Understanding Student Experiences in Higher Education (Bloomsbury) and Higher Education Dynamics (Springer), and as a consultant for the European Commission, other international organizations, and governments.

► Keynote speaker Thursday 2 July

Jelena Branković

Portrait Jelena Brankovic

Alliances and the Metrics Trap

Jelena Brankovic is a senior researcher at the Robert K. Merton Center for Science Studies, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, where she leads the DFG-funded project "Datafying Universities." Her research focuses on the quantification and metric-based governance of higher education, university rankings, and the history and sociology of knowledge infrastructures. She is co-chair of CoARA's TURN—Thinking Critically about University Rankings working group and has served as an independent expert for the European Commission since 2017. She holds a PhD from Ghent University and a joint MA from the Universities of Oslo, Tampere, and Aveiro. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Belgrade.

► Keynote speaker Friday 3 July

If you have any questions please contact Nadia Manzoni.