EUA calls for institutional autonomy and adequate funding to play its role in European competitiveness

Essential conditions for "true partners in competitiveness"

To ensure that universities can fully play their role as partners in the transformation, as holders and providers of the necessary knowledge, skills, talent and innovation, fundamental conditions are required to enable them to contribute effectively to the competitiveness agenda, EUA says.

The report emphasises that universities are ready to actively commit to a strong, independent and sustainable Europe, but they need the right conditions to be true partners in competitiveness:

• Adequate institutional autonomy: universities need the freedom to make decisions in key areas (governance, funding, staffing and academic programmes) to define their distinctive profiles and priorities;
• Sufficient and sustainable funding: a stable and adequate base of public funding at both national and European levels is essential for universities to fulfil all aspects of their mission;
• Fostering interdisciplinarity: tackling complex challenges such as demographic decline or environmental crises requires interdisciplinary approaches that fully include the social sciences, arts and humanities;
• International openness with security: while strengthening knowledge security in response to geopolitical changes, universities must remain open to global knowledge and talent flows.

Three scenarios for the future of Europe's universities

The report presents three different forecasts:

• Europe’s resurrection;

• Tech oligarchy under U.S hegemony;

• Fragmented society.

All three scenarios look to Europe in 2035 and explore how developments since 2025 have shaped higher education and research.

Europe's resurrection

Europe’s Resurrection scenario is one in which the European Union has succeeded in consolidating itself by 2035, after following the recommendations of the Draghi and Letta reports of 2024, thereby overcoming the sense of polycrisis felt in the mid-2020s.

Overall, this forecast resonated with universities, who recognised the challenges posed by political, top-down decisions, particularly the prioritisation of certain technologies and the concentration of funding in a few key areas, potentially at the expense of others. Nevertheless, they generally viewed it as a positive scenario, given the global challenges where universities can make a strong contribution to shared societal goals.

There is consensus among the university leaders that "such a future would need very strong interdisciplinarity with the social sciences, arts and humanities working hand in hand with the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (Stem) disciplines to deal with societal transformations, foster innovation and initiate a human-centred approach to technology", the EUA states. They also noted that universities must rethink their commitment to defence and dual use (civil/military), a field that has long been taboo but is now seen by many as inevitable to defend Europe and its values.

Tech oligarchy under U.S. hegemony

This second scenario depicts a future of political, societal and economic decline for Europe, marked by the end of European democracy as we know it today and replaced by authoritarian regimes. The European economy is also completely dependent on the United States.

In this context, universities are subject to instrumentalisation by the autocratic regime, and their autonomy and academic freedom are limited and threatened. Certain disciplines (particularly Stem and digital) are supported to meet the immediate needs of the elite. The political and economic elite take control of institutions by appointing leaders. The academic community could become divided: one part would conform, while the other would form an 'invisible college' or 'guerrilla university' of decentralised and hidden communities for critical reflection.

"One of the main worries among university leaders when picturing this scenario was the lack of international cooperation and severe limits to mobility, both for academics and students. There was a general consensus that these limits would be very damaging to the overall quality of university activities. The same goes for public funding, which would largely be tied to universities following - or at least not openly going against - the regime."

Fragmented society

In this third scenario, Europe suffers from a lack of political and economic cohesion, leading to social fragmentation.

In this scenario, universities lose their overall societal relevance and the influence of the academic community diminishes considerably. The absence of a strong state makes the very existence of universities as we know them difficult to conceive.

Public funding dwindles, existing institutions would operate with little accountability to the state and the academic communities that form are much less accessible than traditional universities. Access to academic learning depends on a combination of social, cultural and financial capital.

The role of universities could vary, ranging from communities of intellectual curiosity serving the 'privileged minority' to research providers for large technology companies. The major challenge would be to find highly diversified sources of funding, mainly private (corporate, philanthropic).

Choices to secure the university's future

The EUA aims to shed light on the choices that universities must make today to secure their own future, strengthen their resilience and prepare for change.

From an external perspective, universities must define their societal role and how they wish to be perceived. Their mission to serve society is based on values of openness, pluralism and democracy, the erosion of which would call into question their very raison d'être. To address geopolitical and financial threats, they must strengthen their resilience by adopting a proactive approach and consolidating their autonomy and academic freedom.

"There are opportunities in the competitiveness paradigm, particularly in a context that is geopolitically and financially unstable. Some of these are connected to the identity of the individual university and its missions mentioned above," states the report.

• Increased participation in defence can protect fundamental research.
• The sustainability agenda encourages interdisciplinary and societal partnerships.
• Universities are a major European asset, capable of strengthening European identity and cooperation beyond national borders.

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