Europe’s Universities 2030

EUA has developed its vision for Europe’s universities in 2030. After intensive consultations with more than 100 experts and visionaries from the EUA membership and a wide range of external partners, the EUA Council adopted “Universities without walls – A vision for 2030” on 29 January 2021.

Europe and the world are facing immense challenges, e.g. finding a sustainable equilibrium between ecological, economic and social concerns, the digital transition and (geo)political uncertainty. We are at a tipping point, a time of transformation for society and universities. Therefore, it is important to take a step back and strategically reflect about the future.

What do we want Europe’s universities to look like in ten years? What should their role in society be, and how should their missions evolve? What core values and key conditions do we need to retain? These are some of the key questions that EUA reflected upon throughout the consultation process in 2020. The result is a vision by the sector and for the sector, offering inspiration and guidance to university leaders and academic communities. It is a call to strengthen the role of universities in society and an invitation to all stakeholders to join forces for deeper and more impactful collaboration.

“Universities without walls – A vision for 2030” supports universities in their development, facilitates exchange and enables the articulation of common interests linked to the future of universities to policy makers.

To take this vision further and gather ideas for pathways for universities to achieve the goals of openness, sustainability and autonomy, EUA organised a series of workshops for university leadership throughout the first half of 2021.

In addition, the EUA Annual Conference in 2021 saw engaged discussions on the vision and what it means for universities, as well as various aspects of their activities.

• Milestones and timeline