ERUA Summit 2025: Navigating the Edges - Call for registrations
ERUA Summit 2025 Official Website | Preliminary program | Register Now!
Application Deadline: September 12, 2025
The ERUA Summit 2025: “Navigating the Edges”, will be held from November 4th to 7th, on the island of Lesvos, hosted by the University of the Aegean. This mid-term Summit of the European Reform University Alliance (ERUA) is more than a meeting. It is a call to reimagine the geographic, disciplinary, institutional, and social edges of higher education as frontiers of innovation, inclusion, and democratic renewal.
Set at the literal and symbolic edge of Europe, the ERUA Summit 2025 will bring together students, faculty, university leadership, and regional stakeholders from across the eight ERUA member institutions and beyond. Through keynotes, strategy meetings, creative collaborations, and student-led initiatives, participants will co-design the University of the Future, from the margins, not the mainstream.
Summit Overview: A Week of Open Dialogues, Co-Creation & Action with Students!
Monday, November 3rd – Early Arrivals & Specialized Tracks
(ERUA members only)
The week begins with the opening of the ERUA Winter School, all-day expert workshops and seminars, including sessions on the Joint Master’s Degree on Forced Migration, Beyond Humanism cluster for Early Career Researchers, and other thematic initiatives.
Tuesday, November 4th – Strategy in Action
(ERUA members only)
The first full day of the Summit is dedicated to ERUA’s internal governance and strategic development. It opens with a plenary session reviewing the alliance’s progress and transitions into parallel work package meetings. The afternoon brings student-led workshops and thematic strategy meetings, showcasing new tools, ideas, and prospects.
Wednesday, November 5th – Mid-Term Reflection
This day marks a pause for strategic reorientation. ERUA governing bodies, including the student board, vice rectors, and management committees, meet to reflect on ERUA’s evolution. A midweek plenary offers space for honest dialogue and future-oriented thinking. In the afternoon, participants will take part in focused governance sessions and the student-led “Agents of Change” initiative.
Thursday, November 6th – Opening to the Public
(ERUA members & Open to the Public)
This day marks the formal public opening of the ERUA Summit 2025. The Morning Plenary sets the tone, highlighting student-centred and reformist education as a driving force of the alliance. Students, rectors, faculty members, policy makers, scholars, and community leaders gather to share how change can begin at the edges of disciplines, institutions, and geographies.
The late morning session is devoted to ERUA Announcements and Awards, celebrating the launch of joint degree programs, new alliances in digital innovation, student achievements in hackathons and ideathons, and the unveiling of strategic initiatives, including the Blue Commission Manifesto and Alumni Network, as well as regional collaborations.
In the afternoon, the Summit dives into three thematic sessions:
- Session 1: “Innovative Education & Digitalisation” explores new teaching models, micro-credentials, and digital governance.
- Session 2: “Democracy, Social Change & Local Communities” reflects on the role of universities in fostering inclusion and civic engagement.
- Session 3: “Engaged, Empowered, Impactful: Student Participation in re-shaping Higher Education”, with input from other European university alliances.
Local high schools are invited to attend, and Winter School students will actively contribute throughout the day.
Friday, November 7th – Sustainable Futures & Arts
(ERUA members & Open to the Public)
The final day focuses on ERUA’s commitment to a more sustainable and creative university.
- Session 4: “Universities & Sustainable Communities” examines how universities can support ecological transitions and community well-being through research, regional partnerships, and student activism.
- Session 5: “Arts, Edges & Communities” showcases how the arts and humanities can bridge divides, amplify voices, and lead educational transformation. With contributions from ERUA’s cultural clusters and regional stakeholders, this session affirms creativity as a vital tool for institutional and societal change.
See the Preliminary Program here.
To confirm your participation in the ERUA Summit 2025, please complete the online registration form after carefully reading the program to select the sessions that are relevant to you.
What Comes Next?
Stay tuned for regular updates, speaker announcements, and logistical details on the official ERUA Summit 2025 website.
We look forward to welcoming you to Lesvos to explore, connect and navigate the edges together!