30. 10. 2025
With the launch of a new ten-year Strategy, the opening of the Brussels office and the transfer of the legal entity to Belgium, 4EU+ entered a new phase of growth and consolidation. As the new academic year unfolds, we sat down with Elena Del Giorgio, 4EU+ Secretary General, to discuss what lies ahead: from expanding the 4EU+ joint offer to amplifying the Alliance’s voice in the policy dialogue and preparing for the next steps on the road to becoming One Comprehensive European Research-Intensive University.
The past academic year was pivotal for 4EU+. With the new academic year underway, what priorities do you see next for the Alliance?
The launch of the 4EU+ Strategy 2025–2035 and the parallel move to Brussels last year were two major achievements but also, to many extents, points of departure. In the coming academic year, our main priority will surely be to finalise the Action Plan accompanying the Strategy and enhance the implementation of activities across its four domains – education, research, innovation, and global outreach. In this vein, consolidating and expanding cooperation among our universities will remain our key objectives.
In parallel, we will continue strengthening the capacity of the General Secretariat. The transfer of the 4EU+ Association from Germany to Belgium demanded some effort, yet it was also pioneering work that places 4EU+ at the forefront of experimentation with regard to alliances’ legal status. Most importantly, its completion will enable the General Secretariat to further enlarge the team, streamline operations, and serve even more proactively as an open hub for the Alliance.
With our new base in the capital of Europe, how do you see 4EU+ strengthening its voice and policy impact on the European higher education scene?
Being in Brussels is already making a difference. It allows us to monitor policy developments very closely and, above all, to exchange regularly and directly with policymakers in the different EU institutions, as well as with relevant networks such as LERU. Additionally, we are enhancing our cooperation with other alliances, above all in the framework of the dynamic FOREU4All community.
Engaging in constant policy dialogue and contributing to policy developments is one of 4EU+ strategic objectives. Our new Office, in the heart of the European area, allows us to be even more visible in doing so. This is very important especially now, as the Commission proposal for the EU Multiannual Financial Framework 2028-2034 is being discussed and with it the investment pathways for Alliances. 4EU+ will keep engaging with all stakeholders underlying the importance of long-term, predictable funding allowing us to link and support activities across all the university’s missions.
The new academic year marks the final stage of the Erasmus+ 1CORE project – and we’ve just seen a fantastic 1CORE Dissemination Event in Milan. As 4EU+ continues its journey towards becoming a “One Comprehensive Research-Intensive European University”, how would you describe our progress so far? What is ahead?
As 1CORE enters into its final year and we take stock of its impact, the results are remarkable. Over the past three years, we have significantly expanded our research-based educational offer, including the launch of three joint programmes. We have strengthened mobilities, created new services such as the 4EU+ Virtual Centre for Innovative and Digital Teaching and Learning, and deepened engagement with our associated partners – as demonstrated during the 1CORE Dissemination event on Sustainable Food Systems. Our four Flagship Programmes have diversified their portfolios, and through our internally funded calls such as SEED4EU+ and the Visiting Professorships scheme, we have triggered strong multiplying effects.
Looking ahead, we are now awaiting the launch of the new 2-year Erasmus+ call to continue and scale up such activities. This with the above-mentioned conviction that a holistic approach to future funding would allow leading, research-intensive universities like ours to contribute even more to the building up of the EEA, the ERA and the overall attractiveness and competitiveness of European higher education.
The concept of “European Universities” has matured, and for 4EU+, which started even before the first Erasmus+ pilot call for Alliances, building a shared identity and community has always been key. Having witnessed this journey for almost seven years, how would you describe our evolution – and your role in connecting our member universities?
One feature of 4EU+ since the very beginning has been the solid vision and strong commitment to fostering a new quality of deepened cooperation across universities’ mission towards the creation of our 4EU+ integrated university system. This ambition has coupled with the early setting up of a robust governance scheme, a legal entity and with substantial own investments of the partner universities. Shared European values, a focus on research-based education, a drive towards experimentation, are all overarching elements that have led to use, especially in the first phase, a bottom-up approach. I think, for instance, of the first 61 innovative educational projects funded in just 2 years or of the creation of our joint Grant Support Service. As the ‘second phase’ is opening up through the Strategy, we now have the opportunity to systematize such results and further orient our activities.
In this ‘European journey’, I see my role as Secretary General as that of a ‘bridge builder’, within the Alliance as well as between 4EU+ and relevant partners and institutional interlocutors, connecting institutions, people, and ideas. Having the privilege of a comprehensive overview of 4EU+, I can also help anticipate change, and together with the General Secretariat’s team, align efforts, ultimately supporting the overall evolution of 4EU+.
A new academic year also means new faces joining us. What advice would you give to new students and doctoral candidates who are just discovering 4EU+ and want to make the most of what the Alliance offers?
Be curious! This is the advice I would give them, of course after a very warm welcome to the 4EU+ community! Curiosity about knowledge, people, cultures, languages, is a powerful driver. Curiosity-driven research, for instance, has pushed the boundaries of our collective knowledge. ultimately translating into innovations in our daily life. This is actually what 4EU+ does: allowing students and doctoral candidates joining our partner universities to enter a world of unprecedented opportunities to nurture their curiosity across Europe. My advice would be: discover them and make them yours. We are here to support you.
Finally, what message would you like to share with the 4EU+ community as we dive into this new academic year?
First and foremost, I would like to sincerely thank our community of students, academics, and staff for their commitment and engagement. As the vision of becoming One Comprehensive, Research-Intensive European University increasingly turns into reality, the new academic year will offer us the opportunity to move forward into a new phase of 4EU+, further deepening our cooperation and a shared sense of purpose. I am confident we will seize this opportunity together, advancing our Alliance and the European spirit of cooperation that so strongly defines us.