European Universities 2030: Building Knowledge Ecosystems for Europe’s Strategic Capacity in an Age of Polycrisis

FORTHEM international conference

^{June 3-5, 2026}

This conference brings together researchers and practitioners from biosciences, engineering, social sciences, humanities, and education to co‑create responsible, democratic, and sustainable innovation for Europe. We invite contributions that connect cutting‑edge science with ethics, inclusion, governance, and societal impact, drawing inspiration from the FORTHEM Alliance’s efforts to connect worlds of science and society.

We particularly welcome transdisciplinary work, co‑authorship, external to the FORTHEM interventions and submissions that pair scientific advances with social sciences and humanities analysis.

We invite submissions on but not limited to the following topics:

• Cultural Heritage, Identity & Democratic Cohesion: From Preservation to Political Function [memory infrastructures; symbolic power; contested heritage; civic identity formation; digital preservation systems; conservation science as epistemic authority; crisis narratives; resilience cultures; identity under disruption; heritage in polycrisis]
• Multilingualism, Language Justice & Knowledge Infrastructures: Who Gets to Know-and in What Language? [linguistic inequality; translation as governance; epistemic access; knowledge mediation technologies; inclusive pedagogy systems; AI-driven language infrastructures; knowledge interoperability; cross-border communication systems; crisis communication infrastructures; linguistic resilience]
• Democratic Innovation, Participation & Epistemic Justice: Who Is Recognized as a Knower? [epistemic authority; legitimacy of expertise; participatory governance; open science; citizen science; trust formation; research evaluation regimes; crisis governance; legitimacy under uncertainty; adaptive participation models; knowledge trust ecosystems]
• Transforming Higher Education: Governance, Values & Alliances as Strategic Systems [institutional transformation; alliance governance models; strategic capacity building; cross-border integration; value-driven leadership; systemic coordination mechanisms; ecosystem governance; strategic autonomy; capacity building under constraint; inter-institutional coordination architectures; resilience of alliances; Alliance as knowledge ecosystem node]
• Learning Futures: Teaching, Engagement & Cognitive Transformation [cognitive architectures of learning; AI-mediated education; digital epistemologies; learner agency; engagement dynamics; decolonizing knowledge systems; adaptive learning environments; future skills ecosystems; cognitive resilience; adaptive learning systems; lifelong learning infrastructures]
• Migration, Belonging & Plural Knowledge Systems: Beyond Integration to Epistemic Plurality [negotiated belonging; epistemic plurality; knowledge coexistence; migrant knowledge systems; indigenous epistemologies; inclusive citizenship models; social integration vs transformation; mobility in crisis contexts; transnational knowledge flows; social resilience systems; integration under systemic stress]
• Technology, Ethics & Human Impact: From Innovation to Consequence [algorithmic governance; data sovereignty; surveillance systems; ethical AI frameworks; power asymmetries; human-centered design; regulatory infrastructures; technological sovereignty; crisis technologies; digital resilience infrastructures; systemic risk and governance]
• Environmental Humanities & Societal Futures: Narratives That Shape Transitions [climate narratives; cultural imaginaries; ecological belonging; sustainability transitions; environmental storytelling; wellbeing frameworks; socio-ecological systems thinking; polycrisis narratives; socio-ecological resilience; futures literacy; transformation pathways]