Inside European University Alliances: institutional insights from universities of science and technology

Leuven, 20 April 2026

The over 50 leading universities of science and technology united within CESAER have today published a white paper titled Inside European University Alliances: institutional insights from universities of science and technology.

• The full white paper is available here for download and dissemination (PDF).

Orla Feely, President of CESAER and President of University College Dublin, said:

“As Europe seeks to strengthen its talent base, research capacity and long-term competitiveness, Alliances offer an important opportunity to connect education more effectively with research and innovation across borders. But this potential will not be realised through ambition alone. The evidence in this white paper points clearly to the need for stable frameworks, meaningful institutional embedding and smarter synergies across European instruments.”

Roberto Zanino, Director of CESAER, Co-Chair of Task Force Learning & Teaching 2024-2025 and Rector's Senior Advisor for International University Networks at Politecnico di Torino, said:

“Whereas many European University Alliances remain primarily education-focused, reflecting their main funding basis in Erasmus+, this white paper shows growing interest, especially from Alliances more focused on science and technology, in using them to strengthen connections across education, research and innovation. For universities of science and technology, this creates promising pathways to build stronger cross-border knowledge ecosystems, reinforce talent development and contribute more strategically to Europe’s long-term competitiveness.”

Justyna Lubośna, Director of CESAER, Co-Chair of CESAER Task Force European Higher Education, and Rector’s Representative for International Educational Programs at Gdańsk University of Technology, said:

“Our evidence highlights both the progress made and the constraints that still hold Alliances back. Across different institutional contexts, respondents point to the same underlying need: predictable multi-annual support, stronger synergies between education and research and innovation instruments, and conditions that allow staff and students to participate meaningfully over time. These are not peripheral issues; they are central to whether Alliances can develop as durable cross-border cooperation frameworks.”

Drawing on leadership interviews, consultations with academic and administrative staff, student perspectives and a high-level roundtable, the white paper shows that universities of science and technology increasingly experience European University Alliances as long-term institutional cooperation frameworks rather than short-term projects. It highlights strong strategic alignment with institutional priorities, growing interest in stronger links across education, research and innovation, and the importance of trust, shared governance and long-term vision in making cooperation work.

The white paper also points to growing interest in strengthening connections across education, research and innovation. The evidence suggests that universities of science and technology increasingly view Alliances as promising platforms for longer-term cross-border cooperation that can strengthen talent development, support access to shared infrastructures and progressively deepen research and innovation collaboration, provided that more predictable and coherent support frameworks are put in place.

Building on this evidence, the white paper sets out high-level recommendations for EU institutions, member states, Alliances and universities, underlining the importance of leveraging the strategic alignment, shared governance and mutual trust already built up within Alliances, while enabling differentiated trajectories for deeper cross-border cooperation across education, research and innovation.

For more information, please contact our Advisor for Benchmark & Higher Education Touko Närhi.