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

Scientific Programme

Conference pre-event

• From Principles to Practice – Enabling Better Research Careers for ESRs & Postdocs

  This interactive 3-hour session focuses on how current European policy developments translate into better career pathways for early-stage researchers and postdocs. Moving beyond research assessment alone, the session explores skills development, career progression, and employability inside and beyond academia.
  Bringing together policy, institutional, and researcher perspectives, the event combines short inputs, discussion, and interactive exchange to identify practical approaches for strengthening research careers across Europe.

Opening Ceremony

• Opening Ceremony

  The Opening Ceremony marks the formal launch of the FORTHEM conference, bringing together researchers, educators, students, and international partners across diverse scientific disciplines.

General sessions

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

Poster session

• Posters