Our stories

CIVIS Days 2026

We’re heading to the University of Bucharest! Join us from 10 to 12 June 2026 to celebrate what we’ve built together and to imagine what’s next. You will find there a space to share, reflect, and inspire, turning experiences from the past seven years into ideas and actions for the future.

At CIVIS Days 2026, you will find out that “CIVIS is News – Seven Years of Shared Impact”. The theme represents a reflection on the journey we have taken, making CIVIS a European laboratory of ideas and transformation.

We are celebrating seven years of collaboration, innovation, and transformation as a European University Alliance. This edition will highlight stories, results, and lessons learned across the Alliance, from joint educational initiatives and mobility schemes to civic engagement, inclusion, and academic collaborations.

Check the CIVIS Days 2026 programme

From 10 to 12 June, and hosted by the University of Bucharest, CIVIS Days 2026 will bring together academic leaders, students, policy‑makers to celebrate CIVIS, reflect and debate.
Download the newspaper

Dissemination, Community & Art in Bucharest

Session descriptions and livestream links

10 June 2026, 14:30 - 15:00 EET

Type: Official open speeches

Description: Interventions (in chronological order) from:

  • Professor Romiță Iucu, PhD, President of the Board of Trustees at the University of Bucharest
  • Professor Marian Preda, PhD, Rector of the University of Bucharest
  • Associate Professor Sorin Costreie, PhD, Presidential Adviser for Education and Research and CIVIS Coordinator at the University of Bucharest
  • Video message by Roxana Mînzatu, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission
  • Suzanne Conze, Head of Unit for Higher Education in the Directorate General for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport of the European Commission.
  • Luminița Matei, Director General for International Relations and European Affairs at the Ministry of Education and Research (Romania)
  • Andrei Luca, Director for Cultural Diplomacy, Education and Science at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Romania)
  • David John Lock, President of the Magna Charta Observatory
  • Jean-François Marchi, Vice-President Aix-Marseill Université

10 June 2026, 15:00 - 15:45 EET

Type: Keynote by Professor François Heinderyckx (Université libre de Bruxelles)

Description: The address explored the need for European Universities alliances to develop strategies of functional and narrative retention, as they build up a very complex body of knowledge, experience, processes, and structures.

10 June 2026, 16:45 - 18:15 EET

Type: Round Table

Description: A forward-looking debate, moderated by Associate Professor Sorin Costreie, PhD, Presidential Adviser for Education and Research and CIVIS Coordinator at the University of Bucharest.

It brought together representatives of the European Commission, CIVIS Alliance, UNITA Alliance, the ERASMUS+ National Agency, the European Higher Education Area and Romanian national funding bodies to examine, among other topics, how alliances are reshaping international cooperation through integrated approaches to education, research and societal engagement. The discussion positioned European Universities alliances as platforms for dialogue between academia, policymakers and society.

Panellists:

  • Suzanne Conze, Head of Unit for Higher Education in the Directorate General for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport of the European Commission
  • Karl Stoeckel – Executive Director of the CIVIS Alliance
  • Irina Macsinga – Vice-Rector of the West University of Timișoara and member of the UNITA Alliance Governance
  • Adrian Georgescu – Director of the ERASMUS+ National Agency in Romania
  • Cezar Haj – Romanian Executive Agency for Funding, Innovation and Research in Higher Education
  • Horia Oniță – Head of the Secretariat of the European Higher Education Area, former President of the European Student’s Union
  • David Lock – Secretary General of the Magna Charta Observatory
  • Anne Lequy – Former Chair of the Learning & Teaching Steering Commitee of the European University Association

Moderator: Associate Professor Sorin Costreie, PhD, Presidential Adviser for Education and Research and CIVIS Coordinator at the University of Bucharest.

11 June 2026, 9:00 - 10:30 EET

Type: Panel

Description: This public CIVIS session explored how joint learning can grow from early cooperation into new educational pathways across institutions, disciplines, and borders. Through the stories of TRACEE, NAT4DD, and POLYCIVIS, the conversation highlighted innovation in programme development, student experience, and alliance-based educational design.

Bringing together staff, students, and external guests, the session offered an engaging reflection on what it takes to build learning together in Europe today. Open to both onsite and online audiences, it showcased the educational ambition of CIVIS and the practical lessons emerging from its evolving portfolio.

Speakers:

  • Alasdair Skelton (Professor at Stockholm University, Co-Chair of the CIVIS Hub on Climate, Environment and Energy, and member of the TRACEE programme team)
  • Sara Laginder (Coordinator/Deputy Institutional Coordinator for CIVIS at Stockholm University and member of the TRACEE programme team)
  • Lavinia Ruță (Lecturer at the University of Bucharest and member of the NAT4DD programme team)
  • Daniela de Vita (Associate Professor at Sapienza University of Rome and member of the NAT4DD programme team)
  • Gudrun Zagel (Associate Professor at Paris Lodron University of Salzburg and member of the PolyCIVIS team)
  • Roman Puff (member of the PolyCIVIS team)
  • Clara Baumgarten (TRACEE student from the first cohort, with an academic background in ethnology and diversity studies)
  • Francisc-Ioan Dâncă (University of Bucharest student and former PolyCIVIS BIP participant)
  • Anne Lequy (Professor at Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences, former Board member of the European University Association and member of the German Science and Humanities Council)

Moderator: Alexandru Carțiș, Head of CIVIS Education Unit, Assistant Professor at the University of Bucharest

11 June 2026, 11:00 - 12:30 EET

Type: Panel

Description: Seven years into the European Universities alliances, a fundamental question remains unresolved: what do we actually mean by “mobility”? As alliances strive to reach the ambitious target of 50% mobility among staff and students, the concept is being stretched to encompass an expanding range of formats. Yet this broadening raises critical questions about coherence, comparability, and value.

This panel takes stock of the ongoing debate within the alliances and addresses two central tensions: physical versus virtual mobility, and quantity versus quality. How far can the definition be expanded without losing analytical clarity and strategic direction? And what kind of mobility should European university cooperation ultimately promote?

Speakers:

  • Lotte Skovborg, International Office at Aarhus University - Circle U. European University Alliance
  • Erik Rosenberg, MSc, CIVIS Mobility Officer and Nordlys Coordinator at Stockholm University

Moderator: Lars Banzhaf, International Office at University of Tübingen, Co-Head of CIVIS Mobility Unit

11 June 2026, 13:30- 15:00 EET

Type: Panel

Description: While Open Lab projects usually start from local challenges, they can grow stronger when they connect across borders. This round table illustrated this through three concrete project experiences and will discuss the benefits, the hurdles, and the lessons learned.

Speakers shared how they collaborate with each other and with communities, and we’ll explore how international cooperation can spark new ideas, boost local engagement, and inspire future initiatives.

Sessions:

Veris — Voices of Palmyra

  • Patrick Michel, senior lecturer - University of Lausanne
  • Wasfi Al Nassef, intercultural mediator - JRS Romania

Ageing as a journey

  • Daniel Buhr, professor - Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen
  • Johanna Berglund, development officer - City of Stockholm

All year long CIVIS open lab Music Ensembles

  • Daniele Gorla, associate professor - Sapienza Universita di Roma

Moderator: Kenneth Skeldon, CIVIS Open Lab Coordinator - University of Glasgow

12 June 2026, 09:00 - 10:30 EET

Type: Panel

Description: This session showcased research projects developed as part of the CIVIS seed-funding call with the aim tto reflect on the benefits and limitations of this type of initiative in implementing long-term research collaborations across the Alliance.

Following the presentation of four significant projects selected from calls launched over the last two years and representing the diversity of initiatives supported (e.g., early-career researchers training, citizen science projects, transdisciplinary networks, etc.), an open discussion with the audience provided the opportunity to reflect on the challenges and leverage points of this type of initiative in institutionalising and sustaining collaborations at the level of a European alliance.

Speakers:

  • Delia Popescu - UB
  • Adriana Ștefănel - UB
  • Ionela Băluță - UB
  • Nolwenn Bühler - UNIL (online)

Moderator: Julie Hyzewicz, Head of CIVIS Research Unit

12 June 2026, 11:00 - 12:30 EET

Type: Panel

Description: This session explored how Universities alliances can foster competitiveness through flexible and inclusive learning pathways. Within CIVIS, it focused on micro-programmes and micro-credentials as tools to provide diverse learners with relevant skills.

The panel connected these initiatives with the European priority of strengthening competitiveness through education, training and lifelong learning. It presented the micro-credential University Civic Engagement: Making Positive Impact on the World from the University, alongside two successful CIVIS micro-programmes: Equitable and Just Digital Society and Digital Transformations in Health and Wellbeing.

Together, these examples showed the value of stackable and interdisciplinary formats, while helping participants address practical questions on how to design micro-credentials or transform existing courses into micro-credentials or modules.

Speakers:

  • Silvia Arias, Civic Engagement Expert Group and coordinator of the University Civic Engagement micro-credential
  • David Poveda, Hub 5 Co-chair

Moderators:

  • Nadia Fernandez de Pinedo Echevarria (UAM)
  • Alejandra Gamez Abascal (UAM)
  • Ignacio Rodriguez Alvarez (UAM)

11 June, 15:30 - 17:00, UB Creative Media Studio, Student Accommodation building - 1st floor

As this edition of the CIVIS Days is about transformation, strategy, impact, we didn’t want to miss this opportunity to also celebrate how far has CIVIS already come and how deeply our community is already involved. And this is how Who Wants to Be a Civizen? moment was built.

Inspired by the famous Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? - but with less money and more acronyms, the first CIVIS competition hits the stage on the second day of the event. Students, researchers, academics, staff - we are all invited in a playful environment, built to test our knowledge of the CIVIS journey and fight for our “civizenship”.

Three couples of contestants will take us through the story of CIVIS in 15 questions on "civisness", teaching and learning approach, and CIVIS’ third mission. It will be the perfect moment to (re)discover not only CIVIS’ mission and distinctive values, but also the milestones/ outputs achieved throughout Alliance’ seven years of existence.

There are no access limitations, so anyone attending CIVIS Days is invited - either as part of the audience, or as a potential contestant.

Will you dare?

If so, just hit the button and subscribe!
Join the game

11 June, 17:30– 18:30, Aula Magna

Students, professors and other staff members from our universities are once again sharing their love for music this year in Bucharest, for the fourth edition of the CIVIS Academy Orchestra BIP.

Two cornerstones of the Viennese symphonic tradition - the 3rd symphony by Schubert and the 7th symphony by Beethoven - are being set up, under the batons of Demetrio Moricca (SUR) and Zoe Zeniodi (NKUA).

The event is supported by the National University of Music in Bucharest, which is providing the needed instruments and accessories. Some of their musicians will also be on the stage, together with the BIP’s participants, coming from NKUA, UB, UAM, SUR and UT.

The initiative, coordinated by Sapienza Università di Roma and the University of Bucharest, continues the establishment of a CIVIS orchestra in the BIP format, completing the first three academies - Marseille 2022, Madrid 2023, and Rome 2025.

See below the 2025 edition of the concert.