3. 12. 2025
From 26 to 28 November, the University of Geneva (UNIGE) welcomed the 4EU+ community for the 2025 Annual Meeting, held under the theme “4EU+ for Global Impact – Shaping Collective Solutions.”
Building on momentum from previous editions, this year’s gathering underscored the Alliance’s collaborative efforts and its growing role in addressing global challenges. More than 250 participants from eight member universities convened in Geneva for the 2025 4EU+ Annual Meeting, featuring dozens of workshops, parallel sessions and high-level discussions on education, research and societal impact.
The meeting opened with three transversal workshops designed to bring together staff, academics and students from all disciplines:
Education: Co-designing learning experiences for societal change
Research: Co-building a strong science-policy interface
Community Engagement: Enhancing student and staff involvement
These sessions encouraged participants to co-create ideas and propose actions that strengthen the Alliance’s mission.
In the afternoon, working groups and functional teams used the opportunity of an in-person gathering to advance ongoing projects, align priorities and take key operational decisions.
The second day opened with the General Assembly, launched by a welcome address from Prof. Audrey Leuba, Rector of UNIGE. She was followed by Micheline Calmy-Rey, former President of the Swiss Confederation, who highlighted the importance of academic cooperation at a time of shifting geopolitical landscapes. She stressed the need for universities to reaffirm their role in global governance while upholding shared European values.
The programme then turned to substantive achievements across the Alliance. Representatives of the four Flagships showcased tangible progress, including but not limited to:
Health and migration initiatives involving WHO, the Geneva Health Forum and international partners (Flagship 1)
Collaboration between the United Nations and META-UN project (Flagship 2)
The ongoing development of a GenAI Literacy MOOC (Flagship 3)
The successful rollout of Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Programmes (Flagship 4)
These examples demonstrated the Alliance’s expanding global presence and its capacity to translate academic collaboration into societal impact.
The afternoon session featured reports from key leaders of the Alliance, offering insights into achievements in 2024/25 and outlining strategic directions for the coming years. Speakers included:
Prof. Alojzy N. Nowak, then-President of the Alliance and Rector of the University of Warsaw
Dr. Elena del Giorgio, Secretary General
Prof. Berni Hasenknopf, Chair of the Academic Council
Sacha Green, Chair of the Student Committee
Their contributions underscored the inclusive, multi-stakeholder nature of 4EU+ governance.
This year also marked a symbolic milestone: Rector Audrey Leuba assumed the presidency of the Alliance, while Celine Borga, a Master’s student in International and European Law, was elected Chair of the Student Committee. Together, their appointments reflect Geneva’s strong commitment, as a non-EU member, to contributing to Europe’s future in partnership with its academic community, from leadership to students.
The final day featured a series of parallel meetings, giving teams the opportunity to consolidate their work and define next steps. The 2025 Annual Meeting concluded in a warm atmosphere of collaboration and optimism, as participants exchanged farewells and turned their attention to next year’s gathering, which will be hosted by Paris-Panthéon-Assas University.
Merci pour tout, et à bientôt à Paris !