How can European University Alliances create meaningful societal impact while demonstrating their value beyond traditional performance indicators? This question was at the heart of the European Universities Initiative (EUI) Research and Practice Symposium 2026, hosted by WU Vienna on 2–3 July. The event brought together researchers, practitioners and alliance representatives to exchange ideas on research, teaching, multilingualism, student engagement and hybrid learning.
The symposium was complemented by an Alliance-Hopping Tour, giving participants the opportunity to visit five European University Alliances hosted by Vienna’s universities and discover innovative practices across the sector.
EUPeace played an active role throughout the programme, contributing to discussions on community engagement, doctoral education and new ways of understanding and measuring societal impact.
From consultation to co-creation
During an interactive campfire session, Birgit Strotmann (Comillas Pontifical University) presented “From Consultation to Co-Creation: Lessons from Living Labs for Meaningful Community Engagement in European University Alliances”. Drawing on the experiences of the EUPeace Living Peace Lab, the session explored how students, academics, public authorities and civil society organisations can work together to address societal challenges through shared problem framing, co-creation, continuous feedback and collaborative governance.
Participants discussed how locally rooted initiatives can generate knowledge and practices that are transferable across the alliance while remaining responsive to local contexts and community needs.
Strengthening transnational doctoral education
EUPeace also featured in research presented during the symposium. In her paper on Transnational Doctoral Ecologies, Que Anh Dang (Coventry University) examined how European University Alliances are creating collaborative learning environments for doctoral candidates and supervisors.
Using EUniWell and EUPeace as case studies, the research highlighted EUPeace’s structured approach to transnational doctoral collaboration, particularly through cotutelle arrangements. The study demonstrated how alliances can foster sustained intellectual, institutional and professional learning beyond traditional mobility schemes.
© Comillas Pontifical University
© Comillas Pontifical UniversityMeasuring what matters
A major theme of the symposium was how European University Alliances can assess the broader value they create for society.
EUPeace joined colleagues from NeurotechEU and UNIC in the interactive workshop “Measuring What Matters? Co-designing a Framework for the Social Impact of European University Alliances in Non-EU Contexts”. The workshop brought together participants from several alliances to explore new approaches for assessing civic, social and regional impact beyond conventional indicators.
Among the facilitators was Zuhal Okan (Çukurova University), representing EUPeace. Together, participants co-designed approaches that recognise the diverse institutional and geographical contexts in which alliances operate while capturing forms of impact that are often overlooked by traditional metrics.
These discussions echoed the keynote address by Jelena Branković (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin), who cautioned against the “metrics trap”—the tendency for indicators to become ends in themselves rather than tools for understanding meaningful change. While emphasising the importance of accountability, she encouraged alliances to value outcomes that are difficult to quantify, including trust, institutional learning, collaboration and long-term transformation.
Looking beyond metrics
EUPeace’s contributions throughout the symposium reflected a shared message emerging from the event: measuring impact is important, but so is recognising the processes that build partnerships, strengthen communities and generate lasting institutional and societal change.
Through its work on community engagement, transnational doctoral education and innovative impact assessment, EUPeace demonstrated how European University Alliances can translate these ambitions into practice while helping shape the future development of the European Universities Initiative.
© Adina Fodor
