Rectors and leaders of major European university alliances, representatives of the European Commission, and the Romanian Presidential Administration to attend the University of Bucharest from 10 to 12 June 2026
The University of Bucharest will host CIVIS Days 2026, one of Europe’s most significant events dedicated to the future of higher education, from 10 to 12 June 2026. Representatives of the European Commission, university rectors, education policy experts, researchers, and students from across Europe will gather in Bucharest for three days of discussions on the role of universities in building a more competitive, inclusive, and interconnected Europe. Organised by CIVIS – Europe’s Civic University Alliance and hosted by the University of Bucharest, the event will transform Romania’s capital into a meeting point for leaders helping shape the future of the European Education Area.
The official opening ceremony will take place on Wednesday, 10 June 2026, at 14:30, at the Romanian Athenaeum, in the presence of Professor Marian Preda, PhD, Rector of the University of Bucharest, as well as representatives of the Romanian Presidential Administration, the Ministry of Education and Research, the European Commission, and the Magna Charta Observatory. Distinguished guests will include Alina Ujupan, Head of Cabinet of Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Roxana Mînzatu, and David Lock, Secretary General of the Magna Charta Observatory, the international organisation dedicated to promoting and safeguarding the fundamental values of universities. The opening session will be moderated by Professor Romiță Iucu, PhD, President of the University of Bucharest’s Board of Trustees, and Associate Professor Sorin Costreie, PhD, Presidential Adviser for Education and Research and CIVIS Coordinator at the University of Bucharest.
One of the highlights of the first day will be a keynote address by Professor François Heinderyckx of Université libre de Bruxelles, a leading figure in the European academic landscape, who will discuss the role of university alliances in strengthening the European project and transforming higher education.
The Romanian Athenaeum will also host the roundtable discussion “European University Alliances as a New Academic Diplomacy Pathway for Europeanisation”, focusing on how European university alliances contribute to European integration through education, research, and academic cooperation. Participants will include representatives of the European Commission, the CIVIS Alliance, the UNITA Alliance, the Romanian National Erasmus+ Agency, research funding institutions, and leading European higher education organisations.
On 11 and 12 June 2026, the CIVIS Days programme will continue at the Faculty of Law of the University of Bucharest, bringing together dozens of sessions dedicated to the key challenges and opportunities facing European universities.
The events scheduled for Thursday, 11 June 2026, will focus on the main development directions of European university alliances. Participants will discuss the future of academic mobility and ways of assessing its impact not only through participation rates but also through its contribution to students’ skills development and educational pathways. The programme will also include sessions on service-learning, the development of new international doctoral networks, strengthening collaboration between universities and local communities, and fostering cross-border cooperation in research and innovation. Particular attention will be devoted to the role of universities in addressing climate challenges and building more sustainable communities, as well as to the exchange of best practices emerging from academic cooperation between European and African institutions within the CIVIS Alliance. Participants will also explore ways in which universities can encourage greater student engagement in academic life and decision-making processes. Students will play a central role throughout the day through activities such as CIVIS Agora, Student Creathon, CIVIS Trivia, and the Student Fair, all designed to promote dialogue, creativity, and collaboration among the academic communities of member universities. A special highlight of the day will be the CIVIS Orchestra Concert, hosted in the Aula Magna of the Faculty of Law. Under the baton of conductors Demetrio Moricca and Zoe Zeniodi, the orchestra will perform works by Franz Schubert and Ludwig van Beethoven in an event that brings together musicians from several European countries and celebrates cultural dialogue as an essential dimension of academic cooperation.
On the final day of CIVIS Days, Friday, 12 June 2026, alongside the meeting of the CIVIS Board of Rectors, the alliance’s principal academic governance body, participants will attend a series of sessions dedicated to key issues shaping the future of European education and research. Among the speakers will be Professor Maria Leptin, PhD, President of the European Research Council (ERC). Discussions will focus on how universities can develop new international research partnerships and create academic ecosystems capable of addressing contemporary societal and scientific challenges. Special emphasis will be placed on the role of lifelong learning in achieving European skills development goals and on universities’ contribution to preparing citizens for an ever-evolving labour market. The programme will also feature discussions on the contribution of European university alliances to enhancing Europe’s competitiveness and broadening access to education for diverse learner groups, as well as on transforming teaching and learning through digital tools and emerging educational technologies. In addition, representatives of university libraries within the alliance will explore new models of collaboration and co-creation aimed at transforming libraries into active contributors to the European academic ecosystem. Students will continue their dialogue through the meeting of the CIVIS Student Council, one of the alliance’s main student representation bodies.
The full programme of activities is available here. Public sessions and panel discussions will be streamed live on the CIVIS YouTube channel.
About the University of Bucharest
The University of Bucharest was founded in 1864, continuing the tradition of the Princely Academy established in 1694. Since 2019, the University of Bucharest has been a member of CIVIS – Europe’s Civic University Alliance, alongside ten other prestigious European universities, contributing to the development and modernisation of education, science, and culture at both the national and international levels.
Today, the University of Bucharest is consistently ranked among the world’s leading universities and holds the top position among Romanian universities in several major international rankings.
In the second edition of the Times Higher Education – Interdisciplinary Science Rankings 2026, the University of Bucharest was recognised as the leading university in Romania for interdisciplinary scientific research, fostering a dynamic environment for research, education, and innovation while combining diverse fields of study and maintaining high standards of sustainability, sustainable development, and social responsibility.
The University of Bucharest is also the highest-ranked university in Romania and among the top 100 universities worldwide for its impact and contribution to sustainable development, according to the Times Higher Education – Impact Rankings 2025, one of the most respected rankings in international higher education. The university’s strongest performance was recorded for Sustainable Development Goal 5 – Gender Equality, where it ranked 3rd globally.
About CIVIS
CIVIS is one of the first European University Alliances, bringing together 11 leading higher education institutions across Europe: Aix-Marseille Université (France), the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Greece), the University of Bucharest (Romania), Université libre de Bruxelles (Belgium), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain), Sapienza Università di Roma (Italy), Stockholm University (Sweden), the University of Tübingen (Germany), the University of Glasgow (Scotland, United Kingdom), the University of Salzburg (Austria), and the University of Lausanne (Switzerland), and six African universities: Université Hassan II de Casablanca (Morocco), Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar (Senegal), the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (South Africa), Makerere University (Uganda), Eduardo Mondlane University (Mozambique), and Université de Sfax (Tunisia).
The CIVIS Alliance brings together more than 470,000 students and over 68,000 members of the academic community, promoting a multilingual and multicultural environment and seeking to strengthen existing links in research and education among its member universities through interdisciplinarity, shared research infrastructures, and joint funding initiatives.
Postări asemănătoare:
University of Bucharest to Host CIVIS Days 2026, the Flagship Annual Event of CIVIS – Europe’s Civic University Alliance
University of Bucharest to Host CIVIS Days 2026, the Flagship Annual Event of CIVIS – Europe’s Civic University Alliance
47 CIVIS students and 11 faculty members gather in Bucharest for the CIVIS BIP program: „Co-creating Urban Futures – Citizen Participation in Local Governance”
