EUTOPIA brings together students and staff from 10 European universities to create learning networks

On Friday 29 September, the TU Dresden together with nine like-minded European universities signed an agreement that in the coming months will establish the existing university alliance EUTOPIA as an international legal entity. In doing so, the alliance partners emphasise their ambition to build the single European university of the future, where students and staff from the various communities come together to find solutions to the major societal challenges of our time. The signing will take place in the European Parliament, during the academic opening session of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, a founding member of EUTOPIA.

The vision: Students enrol at Dresden University of Technology and at the same time register virtually with nine other like-minded universities. With the academic cooperation model of EUTOPIA, international experience at the 10 European member institutions is possible for every student. That also applies to academics and other staff.

Learning networks on teaching and research encourage all members of the university community to work together on concrete projects. Together, they address the major challenges of today’s society and share their knowledge and insights to reach nuanced solutions. Students and academics will no longer study and work at one university, but will be members of an open and multicultural super-university, where they are free to move between campuses across the whole of Europe.

The partners hope to realise this vision of the future by 2025. In doing so, they are sharing common values such as inclusion, openness, sustainability and critical thinking.

Alongside Dresden University of Technology, the following are members of the EUTOPIA network: Babes-Bolyai University (Romania), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium), Ca’ Foscari Venice (Italy), CY Cergy Paris Université (France), University of Gothenburg (Sweden), University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), NOVA University Lisbon (Portugal), Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona (Spain) and the University of Warwick (UK).

Signing at VUB academic opening
The signing of the EUTOPIA agreement took place in the European Parliament during the academic opening session of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, a founding member of EUTOPIA. The ceremony was dedicated to the importance of such European networks.

VUB rector Jan Danckaert: “My opening speech – ‘Europe, EUTOPIA, and the need for a new Renaissance’ – is about the vital importance of European cooperation for excellence in teaching, research and innovation. Europe and the world need a new Renaissance and a new Enlightenment. Alliances such as EUTOPIA contribute to this. The European Parliament, a setting that is iconic for the whole of Europe, is the ideal location to emphasise this message.”

Federica Mogherini boosts message
To emphasise the importance of the new cooperation model, EUTOPIA had invited leading speaker Federica Mogherini to address the opening session. As rector of the College of Europe and a former EU High Representative on Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, she delivered a guest speech devoted to Europe and EUTOPIA at the symbolic podium of the European Parliament. The president of EUTOPIA, rector Tiziana Lippiello of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, and EUTOPIA student representatives also took the floor.