Vision of a Future EUI

Vision for a future EUI

How should the EUI evolve to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world? What is the mission of a leading European research university today? What difference can we make for institutions and society at large?

The EUI has embarked on the collaborative process of re-defining its long-term vision and strategy for the years 2025-2030.

Addressing the major issues of our time and shaping Europe’s future

In a first step, we have developed the 'Vision for a future EUI'. The Paper will guide the further development of our Institute and all its units, based on three dimensions:

• maintaining excellence in research, teaching, and training
• co-creating knowledge that gives orientation to institutions and society at large
• communicating our work effectively beyond the confines of academia

Summary

Education, interdisciplinary research, and public engagement around issues that challenge European societies have been the pillars of the EUI from the outset. But times have changed since we were founded in 1972. The rise of AI-based knowledge generation is reshaping academia and raises fundamental questions about the role of human expertise in a world dominated by algorithms and data-driven insights. The idea of Europe and deeper European integration is increasingly scrutinised from different perspectives. The issues Europe and the world face today are myriad and well known: war, climate change, shifting geopolitical constellations, declining prosperity, security concerns, human rights, migration, and the crisis of democracy itself. In the face of these new realities, the need to debate and imagine Europe’s possible pathways forward is more urgent than ever. At this historic moment, our continent needs a place of reflection, research, and exploration to tackle existential questions.

Three dimensions will orient the EUI’s future work in this environment:

The first dimension is about how we perform our core tasks: excellence in research, teaching, and training.

The EUI is a source of academic knowledge and topical excellence. It provides orientation for institutions and societies at large. In times of uncertainty, the crucial role of the social sciences and humanities is to deliver solid interpretations of knowledge and cultivate collective sense-making. We critically challenge short-sighted and ill-informed solutions, anticipate and shape tomorrow’s debates and policies, and support the development of long-term alternative scenarios for a just and sustainable future.

Our work is driven by a strong ethos rooted in a desire to contribute to what is relevant to our lives and to future generations. We focus not only on political institutions and the economy, but on well-being, justice, fairness, solidarity, and equity. We embrace our mission to boldly rethink and deepen the European project, its values, its ambition, and its political and social fabric.

The research undertaken by faculty, scholars, and researchers remains the foundation of this collaboration, our cornerstone and our raison d’être. We will outline jointly defined transversal themes that address complex, interconnected challenges. Interdisciplinary approaches nurture our research, our teaching and training, and our engagement with the world. We enable future academics, teachers, leaders, professionals, or activists to shape the future in an increasingly complex and fast-changing world. We equip them not just with knowledge but also with the critical thinking, skills and adaptability required to navigate ongoing transformations.

The second dimension is about how we engage with the world and co-create knowledge.

We open up the EUI to external actors as co-creators of knowledge and ideas that continuously enrich our thinking and learning. EUI Innovation Labs address transversal themes and foster collaboration across units and disciplines, potentially including social and political actors. We strive to be a leading European hub for the co-creation of sustainable models of society. We reinforce our role as an open and reflexive community at the critical intersection of academia, politics, and society, bringing together worlds that are too often separate.

The third dimension is about how we communicate our work beyond the confines of academia.

Sharing our research includes but extends beyond highly ranked academic publications. Writing for the top journals and attending academic conferences is important, but it is not enough. Our work should resonate beyond the confines of academia without losing its depth. We continue to develop long-term intellectual agendas while engaging more fully in public discussions. We go to the broader public and bring the broader public in.

In conclusion: Many other universities share the challenges we face, and no university will find the solutions alone. Not all new pathways we embark on will be successful and we will learn from our mistakes. The real risk is to carry on with business as usual. By daring to be curious, open and bold, the EUI explores new formats for creating public value and continues to be an inspirational model for research and education, laying the cornerstone for the future of the social sciences and humanities.