From 9 to 12 February 2026, Turin moved to the rhythm of Unite! Politecnico di Torino opened its doors to host the 13th Dialogue of the European alliance, welcoming more than 300 participants from the nine partner universities. Over four days, on its engineering campus, teams from across Europe worked side by side, exchanged ideas and shaped a shared vision for the future, one of an alliance built to last.
The guiding theme of this edition was both clear and ambitious: “From short-term Erasmus+ project to long-term alliance: contributing to EU competitiveness.” The central question was decisive: how can Unite! move beyond the inherently time-limited logic of Erasmus+ projects to become a truly integrated alliance, capable of making a sustained contribution to Europe’s competitiveness? Participants engaged with this challenge with a strong sense of responsibility and shared purpose.
Discussions focused on concrete and strategic priorities for the future of Unite!, including:
The opening plenary session set the tone. High-level institutional speakers underlined what European university alliances truly represent: not merely academic partnerships, but powerful instruments shaping the future of higher education and research in Europe. The message was unequivocal — Unite! must go further and become even more deeply embedded in the strategies of its member institutions.
The student association SURE! brought an essential dimension to the discussions. Through its dedicated debate sessions, students were given a strong and visible voice — not as passive beneficiaries, but as fully engaged actors, capable of shaping and driving responses to the major societal and technological challenges of our time.
The Dialogue also featured an unexpected highlight: the inauguration of the artistic installation The Unite! Constellation, a collective artwork that captures, through images and light, what the alliance stands for, shared values, a commitment to cooperation, and a common vision for the European university of the future.
A Dialogue is never just a sequence of meetings. It is also about conversations in the corridors, extended lunches, and connections formed between colleagues who might otherwise never have met. This human dimension is inseparable from the Unite! project: without trust between people, there can be no meaningful collaboration — and since 2019, it is precisely the collaboration between Uniters that has driven the alliance forward.
Turin 2026 was not simply another milestone in a programme. It marked a turning point, a moment when Unite! clearly affirmed its ambition to go further, aim higher and act more collectively. The momentum is there, and expectations for the next Dialogue are already growing.
The next Unite! Dialogue will take place at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in October. Then, as part of the alliance’s next programme, subject to selection by the European Commission, the 2027 Dialogue will be hosted in Wrocław. And in 2028, Grenoble INP – UGA will in turn open its doors to the entire alliance. An inspiring perspective for the years ahead.
