Hosted in the Czech capital Prague from 16 to 17 October 2025, representatives of the E³UDRES² Alliance took part in a FOREU4ALL Topical Group on Ukraine Workshop. The two-day workshop, co-organized by Michal Karpisek, Secretary General of E³UDRES² and co-chair of the "Cooperation with Ukraine" topical group, and Sabine Menu, part of the EPICUR Alliance, was the first on-site workshop of the FOREU4ALL topical groups.

The event, hosted at the premises of the Czech National Agency for International Education & Research and with hospitality of the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, aimed to more deeply explore possibilities of cooperation with Ukrainian higher education institutions. In just two days, the workshop brought together more than 50 participants from various backgrounds, European University Alliances (such as E³UDRES², EUniWell, SEA-EU, CIVICA), and countries both on-site and online, with many Ukrainian representatives undertaking a more than 20 hour drive to join.

Various case studies presented led to discussions of the manifold types of cooperation possibilities, also looking at cases of including Ukrainian partners as de facto full or associate members of European University Alliances.

SUPPORT BEYOND SINGLE ACTIVITIES

Using the format of world cafés focusing on different topics, participants took the opportunity to further explore future possibilities as well as challenges concerning collaboration with Ukrainian partners. Participants coming from outside Ukraine were inspired by the Ukrainian participants adaptability, pace of innovation and resilience-building in face of adversity. It was noted that European University Alliances are ideally placed to support the European Union’s intention to significantly invest in human capital for the rebuilding and recovery of Ukraine after the war, while via Alliances the Ukrainian universities may contribute to the European Union’s strength with their expertise on multifaceted topics such as security and defense, resilience, and cross-sector cooperation.

The workshop highlighted that there were many and diverse examples, not without challenges, of successful cooperative activities between University Alliances and Ukrainian universities. The level of integration of Ukrainian higher education institutions within activities of European University Alliances ranges from full involvement to governing and Work Package activities, partial involvement in Alliances’ initiatives and events with defined open opportunities for Ukrainian staff and students, to project-based involvement connected to individual tasks of Alliances.

Equal partnerships

There is a clear consensus to move from ‘assistance’ for Ukrainian universities to an opportunity for Ukrainian universities to contribute on an equal footing as other partners to alliances to achieve a positive outcome for both sides. However, funding for such a development of cooperations is currently still a challenge. While European funding (e.g. Erasmus+) would be ideal, limitations preclude development of longer-term plans in this regard. It was also noted that while current initiatives for cooperation with Ukraine emerged bottom-up, strategic direction of the European Commission would be beneficial to ensure well-planned, sustainable approaches. To achieve the longer-term aims for Cooperation with Ukraine and to integrate Ukrainian higher education into the European Education and Research Area, Ukrainian universities should be eligible to become full members of European Alliances.