European University Association

🔶 How do we deliver ‘a university of value’ when the coordinates we rely on keep on changing?
🔷 How funder priorities shape the university of the future?
🔶 And how can the European University alliances be sustainably financed?

These are only some of the questions we will be discussing at the 2026 EUA Funding Forum.

📆 14-16 October
📍 Brno University of Technology
🔗 Save your seat by 2 September to benefot from the early registration fee at
https://bit.ly/fb_EUAFF26

📢 We are hiring! The European University Association (EUA) is looking for an experienced and versatile human resources professional to provide HR support to its 40+ members of staff from September 2026 to May 2027.

📍 The position is based in EUA’s office in Brussels. The successful candidate will be expected to work on-site at the EUA office at least three days per week, with the flexibility to telework up to two days per week.

Background, qualifications and skills:
- Minimum three years of experience in a generalist HR role, preferably in an international environment;
- Fluent in either French or Dutch, both verbal and written, as well as in English (the working language of the Association);
- Good writing skills and proven experience in drafting documents, reports, etc. in English;
- Good knowledge of Belgian social legislation;
- Proven experience in managing payroll;
- Excellent interpersonal skills, ability to work independently and in a resourceful, flexible and hands-on manner.

⏰ The deadline for applications is 26 June 2026.
More information: https://bit.ly/3RzVc87

Rising pressure on competitive research funding is prompting warnings that persistently low success rates risk becoming a “structural threat” to research systems across Europe, along with fresh calls for reform. 📉

📰 In this article for Research Professional News, EUA’s Kamila Kozirog and Enora Pruvot highlight two important dimensions of the problem.

For EUA Deputy Director of Research and Innovation Kamila Kozirog, at EU level, limiting the number of applications submitted by universities is generally seen as difficult to reconcile with the principle of excellence and openness that underpins programmes such as Horizon Europe.

There are, however, some targeted restrictions designed to reduce pressure on evaluation systems. 🔬 For example, within MSCA, resubmission restrictions apply to certain applicants whose previous proposals received scores below specified evaluation thresholds. These measures are meant to reduce the number of low-scoring repeat applications, rather than introduce institutional gatekeeping.

That said, growing pressure on university research management systems may naturally lead institutions to become more selective in practice. We are already seeing situations where the clustering of call deadlines, or deadlines placed immediately after holiday periods, creates significant operational challenges for universities preparing proposals. This may not necessarily be an intentional strategy from the European Commission, but poor planning of timelines can certainly have the unintended consequence of limiting participation.

More broadly, the challenge is how to manage growing application pressure without simply shifting the burden onto universities. ⚙️ Simplifying procedures, improving the planning of calls and timelines, reviewing and strengthening evaluation systems, and increasing investment in research and innovation funding are all part of the discussion.

EUA’s recent work on university finances shows that there are strong expectations from the sector towards European funding: it is the income source most often expected to increase in the next five years 📈 (61% of respondents to the EUA university funding survey whose results were published in April 2025) – this is in stark contrast with most other traditional income sources, often expected to stagnate or decrease.

However, EUA Deputy Director for Governance, Funding and Public Policy Development, Enora Bennetot Pruvot, notes that any rise in EU funding is not significant enough to compensate for rising costs. 💶 Furthermore, European funding generally operates on a co-funding basis, meaning it does not cover the full costs of project activities. In an environment of declining national funding, this places even greater financial pressure on universities. Some universities have long had internal strategies towards EU funding acquisition to enhance their success rate (and thus limit financial pressure) through rigorous internal selection processes.

At the institutional level, an in-depth understanding of these developments, including heightened competition and low success rates, must lead to the professionalisation of EU funding acquisition strategies through investment and tactical prioritisation.

🔑 The key for universities lies in developing a coherent strategy that aligns academic priorities and financial opportunities. This requires institutions to make conscious decisions about where to invest resources (upscaling capacity to generate income from the selected sources) and how to position themselves while remaining true to their fundamental values.

Read the full article below

Rising grant pressure is ‘structural threat to funding system’ - Research Professional News Low success rates and rising demand spark warnings over Europe’s research funding model

Launched at the 2026 EUA-CDE Annual Meeting, this Thematic Peer Group report provides a comprehensive overview of how universities and doctoral candidates engage with societal partners in the private, public and non-profit sectors to co-create knowledge and strengthen the impact of doctoral research. 📘

To do so, it looks at what drives doctoral collaboration beyond academia and maps the wide range of collaborative approaches currently used across Europe. These span less intensive forms of engagement to more structured collaborations, including co-supervision, joint research activities and collaborative doctorates.

Based on contributions from 22 EUA-CDE member institutions in 13 countries, this report reflects the Thematic Peer Group’s discussions on key challenges, enabling conditions and success factors for effective collaboration. 🌍 The report findings cover the work and expertise of the group, a stakeholder survey capturing the perspectives of societal partners and insights from doctoral candidates pursuing collaborative doctorates, as well as thirteen good practice examples.

📥 Download the report at https://bit.ly/4egSYDq

Happening on 17-19 June: 2026 EUA-CDE Annual Meeting !

📍 Location: University of Galway

This year’s conference theme is “Doctoral research and talent for the advancement of society”. Through a mix of formats, this conference will provide a platform to consider how universities can deepen societal engagement at doctoral level, while also equipping doctoral candidates for a labour market beyond academia. 🏙️ 🎓

Conversations will also focus on the importance of interdisciplinarity and the transition from academia to other sectors, among many others. 🛣️

EUA-CDE Annual Meetings are the main yearly gatherings in Europe of academic leaders, doctoral school managers, doctoral education professionals, postdoctoral researchers, doctoral candidates and other research stakeholders active in this field.

📢 The European University Association is looking for universities to pilot-test an online tool assessing their readiness to implement automatic credit recognition.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝗸?
The tool covers processes before and after student mobility and is aimed at higher education staff involved in credit recognition. 🎓 It helps them assess their institution’s readiness for full automatic credit recognition, identify gaps in current practice and consider ways to improve. The tool is designed for individual use, but pilot testers may also use it and provide feedback together with relevant colleagues.

Feedback from the pilot testers will support the Erasmus+ funded Automatic Recognition Assessment (AUREA) project in validating and finalising the tool before its official launch.

👥 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁?
The call is open to staff in Erasmus+ programme and partner countries who are involved in recognition processes linked to student mobility at their institution.

⏰ 𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲?
Express your interest by 10 July.

🔗 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆?
Learn more at https://bit.ly/4xaV3Iq

ℹ️ Funded under Erasmus+ and coordinated by the European Students' Union - ESU, the AUREA project aims to support the automatic recognition of study periods abroad by identifying barriers, analysing existing options to overcome them and providing policy recommendations for the future of automatic recognition.

The Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the EU has published a proposal regarding member states’ position on the EU’s next long-term budget, including the next Horizon Europe and Erasmus+ programmes.

📉 The figures set out in this “negotiating box” fall well below the level of investment needed to deliver on Europe’s ambitions for research, innovation, education and skills. They also reflect a wider context of growing budgetary pressure on higher education and R&I across several European countries.

📣 Ahead of the meeting of heads of state and government on 18-19 June, EUA reiterates its call for a budget of €200 billion for Horizon Europe and €60 billion for Erasmus+ to support Europe’s competitiveness, scientific excellence, skills and innovation capacity.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲?
🔬 For the next Horizon Europe programme the Cypriot Presidency proposes a budget of €167 billion for 2028–2034. This is below both the European Commission’s proposal of €175 billion, and the European Parliament’s position calling for €200 billion.

🎓 For Erasmus+, the negotiating box proposes €39.1 billion over 7 years, compared with the Commission’s proposal of €40.8 billion and the Parliament’s proposed budget of approximately €48 billion.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗥&𝗜 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻?
A lower FP10 budget would come at a time when Europe is placing greater expectations on R&I to reinforce its competitiveness, resilience and technological capacity. Inflation and the significant increase in research costs across Europe also mean that even the Commission’s proposed €175 billion would not translate into a proportional increase in research activity.

A lower FP10 budget would affect the programme’s capacity to support highly competitive and successful instruments such as collaborative research grants, the European Research Council (ERC), Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and early-stage innovation supports, all of which are central to Europe’s long-term scientific and technological leadership.

🎒 The impact on Erasmus+ would be equally serious. Under the proposed figures, funding would fall behind current levels under the 2021–2027 programme. This would mean less support for student and staff mobility, reduced cooperation between higher education institutions and the possible discontinuation of some actions. The consequences would extend beyond the European Education Area and mobility targets.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀?
Member states will hold a first discussion on 18-19 June in Brussels, with the aim of reaching an agreement in the coming months. Negotiations are expected to be difficult, as several member states have already signalled their intention to reduce the overall size of the 2028–2034 MFF compared to the Commission’s proposal. This could result in further reductions to the initially proposed budgets for Horizon Europe and Erasmus+.

Last chance to respond to EUA’s Trends 2027 survey until 19 June!

📊 Trends 2027 aims to examine the broader context in which European higher education continues to evolve, and take a closer look at: learning and teaching, social inclusion, values and engagement with society, as well as internationalisation.

The survey will also address ongoing transformations due to digitalisation, generative AI and the proliferation of formats such as micro-credentials.

📝 Each response contributes to developing a better understanding of changes taking place across the European higher education sector, underpinning EUA’s policy work in the EU and EHEA on a wide range of topics.

Trends 2027 is part of the EU-funded SPICE project, dedicated to gathering stakeholders’ perspectives on the Bologna Process. 📆 The Trends report will be presented at the Bologna Process Ministerial Conference in Iasi (Romania) and Chisinau (Moldova) in May 2027.

We look forward to receiving your university’s input at https://bit.ly/4spZpbb