The event brought together more than 150 participants, including academics, students and university leaders, to strengthen the role of small universities located in non-metropolitan areas – gathered in the SUNRISE network, of which unibz is a partner – in regional development, thereby contributing to a stronger and more cohesive Europe.

Key topics on the agenda included joint study programmes, student and staff mobility, and new strategies to enhance cooperation with local communities. Highlights included the presentation of the results of a student competition, LEAP, which challenged participants to design innovative curricula addressing Europe’s threefold transition: green, digital and social.

A roundtable discussion explored the role of European university alliances and the political steps needed to anchor them in their respective territories and ensure long-term sustainability. In the best practices session, Prof. Baratieri presented the trilingual model of unibz as an effective way to educate young people ready to enter the local job market and strengthen regional development.

Finally, a session on joint programme development identified areas of overlap in which partner universities could launch new initiatives, such as entrepreneurship and regional development or digitalisation and artificial intelligence.

Through its active participation, unibz reaffirms its strong commitment within the SUNRISE alliance and its dedication to building a more sustainable, innovative and inclusive European future.