CIVIS Days 2025 opened with call for “transclusivity” in European higher education

The CIVIS Days 2025 conference, hosted by Sapienza Università di Roma from June 11 to 13, opened with a keynote by Professor Romiță Iucu of the University of Bucharest, who introduced a bold concept poised to reshape the work of the European Universities initiative: transclusivity.

In his address titled “From Inclusivity to Transclusivity: The Road from Inclusive Universities to Transformative European Alliances”, Professor Iucu, challenged the CIVIS community and the broader European University Alliance initiative to move beyond traditional notions of inclusion and embrace a more transformative, interconnected model of learning.

The backdrop, Mario Sironi's 1935 spectacular fresco "Italy between the arts and the sciences", and in front, over 250 "civizens" who came from all over Europe and Africa to push the CIVIS journey forward.  

Transclusivity is about transforming existing logics, including all perspectives, and flexibilising learning across time, space, and discipline,” Professor Iucu explained. “It’s the theoretical glue that can hold together the diverse innovations emerging across our alliances”.

From inclusion to transformation

While inclusion remains a core value across the 65 European University Alliances, Professor Iucu argued that the next step is to integrate inclusion into a broader, dynamic framework that supports lifelong, life-wide, and learner-centered education. Drawing on emerging research, he defined transclusivity as a developmental pattern where new, more complex systems emerge by transcending and re-integrating existing perspectives.

This approach, he noted, is especially relevant for CIVIS, which has already pioneered flexible and inclusive formats such as:

• Over 200 Blended Intensive Programmes (BIPs),
• The TRACEE Master Programme, a model of transclusive degree design,
• Templates for micro-credentials and transnational cooperation.

You can download Professor Iucu's presentation here

Providing access to skills for all

The keynote also resonated with the European Commission’s agenda for a Union of Skills, which emphasises flexible learning pathways, modular curricula, and inclusive access to education. Transclusivity, Iucu argued, provides the unifying theoretical lens needed to scale these innovations across Europe.

There is no flexible learning without adaptable learning arrangements,” he emphasised. “And these arrangements must serve all learners—traditional and non-traditional alike”.

A call to action

Professor Iucu urged CIVIS and its partners to:

• Co-define the pillars and metrics of transclusive learning,
• Pilot and scale transclusive curricula across alliances,
• Embed transclusivity as a guiding principle for the future of European higher education.

His keynote set the tone for a CIVIS Days edition focused on transformation, inclusion, and innovation, reaffirming CIVIS’ role as a leader in shaping the universities of tomorrow, and was followed by a round table in which Professor Marian Preda, the Rector University of Bucharest and Dr. Mattia Bellotti, Secretary-General of EUTOPIA Alliance shared their experiences on the subject.

A full programme on inclusion and diversity

Over three dynamic days, participants engaged in transversal sessions and dissemination activities designed to exchange best practices, foster dialogue, and explore innovative strategies. With “Inclusion and Diversity in Higher Education” as the central theme, CIVIS Days 2025 in Rome addressed a topic deeply rooted in our shared values.

As in past editions, the event combined interactive sessions, collaborative workshops, and dissemination panels, reinforcing the CIVIS Alliance’s role as a dynamic and transnational university community. It closed with a magnificient concert of the CIVIS Orchestra, the output of the Blended Intensive Programme Rome CIVIS Orchestra Academy 2025. Four conductors and 64 musicians from six countries performed a programme that included Georges Bizet's Carmen, Antonin Dvořák's Symphony n. 9 in e minor op. 95 "From the New world" and Nikolaj Rimskij Korsakov's Capriccio Espagnol op. 34.

Missed a session or want to revisit the highlights?
We invite you to (re)watch the CIVIS Days 2025 sessions and explore the inspiring contributions from across the alliance. 

Photos: CIVIS Commmunication Unit