The STARS EU community will come together at Bragança Polytechnic University (Portugal) from 21 to 23 October for the STARS EU Annual Meeting 2026, three days dedicated to strengthening cooperation, reviewing progress and shaping the next steps of the Alliance. 

Under the theme “STARS EU Goes Global”, this year’s meeting will focus on the growing international dimension of STARS EU and its ambition to turn cooperation between European universities and their regions into opportunities with a broader global impact. 

The meeting will bring together the rectors of the nine STARS EU partner universities, along with the rector of Petro Mohyla Black Sea National University in Ukraine, a Strategic Associated Partner of the Alliance. 

Students, academic and research staff, professional staff and representatives of the Alliance’s governance structures will also gather in Bragança for strategic discussions, parallel working sessions, networking opportunities and Student Board activities. 

The Annual Meeting will bring together Work Packages, Thematic Interest Groups, governance bodies and other STARS EU teams to review achievements, connect ongoing initiatives and identify shared priorities. 

Expanding cooperation beyond the Alliance 

The meeting in Bragança will mark a further step in the international development of STARS EU, with important developments expected in institutional cooperation and joint education. 

Representatives of Petro Mohyla Black Sea National University in Ukraine will join the Alliance community following the decision earlier this year to recognise the institution as a Strategic Associated Partner of STARS EU. 

The relationship began to take a more structured form during the STARS EU Annual Conference in Opava, where discussions between representatives of the Ukrainian university, the STARS EU Commission and the Steering Committee confirmed a shared interest in developing closer institutional cooperation. 

In Bragança, this collaboration is expected to advance with the formalisation of an agreement that provides a framework for the Ukrainian university’s cooperation with STARS EU. 

Another important development will be the expected signing of an agreement for a joint Master’s degree involving four STARS EU partner universities: Université Marie et Louis Pasteur (France), University West (Sweden), Bragança Polytechnic University (Portugal) and Cracow University of Technology (Poland). 

The agreement will strengthen cooperation in joint education in the field of Robotics, Mechatronics and Automatic Control, bringing together expertise from the four institutions and creating new opportunities for international academic collaboration. 

Together, these initiatives reflect the ambition behind this year’s theme: strengthening STARS EU as a European University while opening new paths for international academic, scientific and institutional cooperation. 

Working together on the next stage of STARS EU 

The main programme on 21 and 22 October will combine parallel working sessions with opportunities to share conclusions across the Alliance, as well as networking, student-led, and cultural activities. 

On 23 October, members of the STARS EU Commission and Steering Committee will continue the work in dedicated governance meetings. 

Hosted by Bragança Polytechnic University, the Annual Meeting will also allow participants to discover Bragança and the Trás-os-Montes region, connecting the Alliance’s collaborative work with the cultural and regional environment of the host university. 

STARS EU Goes Global will be an opportunity to reflect on progress, strengthen partnerships and advance a shared vision for an Alliance firmly rooted in its European regions and increasingly connected to the wider world. 

Across Europe, four university choirs came together around one of its most recognizable melodies: Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”.

As an initiative of the STARS EU WP7.2 task members focused on gender, equality, diversity, and inclusion, choirs from Silesian University in Opava (Czechia), Cracow University of Technology (Poland), Bragança Polytechnic University (Portugal), and Aleksandër Moisiu University of Durrës (Albania) performed the same passage of Beethoven’s work, specifically bars 543–590.

The music is shared but each performance has its own sound and character. Different arrangements and voices give each university’s interpretation something unique. And in many ways, this is what STARS EU is all about. Sharing one vision and working towards common goals while every university brings its own identity, creativity, and unique approach. The Alliance connects different institutions and communities not by making them the same but by creating opportunities for them to learn from one another and build something
together.

An inclusive university community creates space for different voices, experiences, and perspectives to be heard and valued. Like a choir, its strength comes not from everyone sounding alike but from the way distinct voices can complement one another.

With universities from Czechia, Poland, Portugal, and Albania joining through music, this collaboration offers the expression of European cooperation, one in which our differences become a source of creativity, connection, and strength.

Different voices make the harmony richer. Together, they make STARS EU.

The University of La Laguna (Spain) recently hosted a STARS EU meeting aimed at exploring potential pilot projects of common interest in the tourism sector and advancing the definition of the Interregional Tourism Living Lab, a future living lab focused on interregional tourism.

The workshop brought together researchers and specialists at the Vice-Rectorate for Internationalisation and Cooperation, home to STARS EU, from the Cracow University of Technology (Poland), the Polytechnic University of Bragança (Portugal) and the University of La Laguna. The meeting sought to identify interregional challenges and opportunities, define possible areas for joint work and establish the next steps in the development of this Living Lab.

The initiative follows the partners’ agreement to explore an interregional Living Lab focused on tourism. In the specific case of ULL, the meeting provided an opportunity to contribute to and complement the Circular Tourism Pilot, developed within the Circular Economy Living Lab promoted by the University of La Laguna, which will become operational shortly.

According to the STARS EU coordinator at ULL, José Sigut, “this international meeting represents an important boost for our university’s Circular Economy Living Lab (CELL). Interaction with experts from Kraków and Bragança directly enriches our own Circular Tourism Pilot and provides a global perspective while complementing the transversal areas in which we are already working, such as ecotourism and cultural heritage as a tourism resource.”

Specialised expertise

The programme, developed over two days of work, brought together professionals involved in different areas of research, innovation and education related to tourism and its surrounding fields. ULL was represented by specialists from the Tourism Chair, the ReinvenTUR research group, the Agrotourism and Wine Tourism Chair, and the Interdisciplinary Research Group on Agrotourism (GIIA), among others.

Cracow University of Technology contributed expertise in architecture, fine arts, smart cities, urban and regional design, mechanical engineering, and environmental and energy engineering, as well as tourism related to spas and rural environments, one of the region’s strongest areas of focus. The Polytechnic University of Bragança, meanwhile, presented the areas of work developed through its School of Tourism and its Research Center in Tourism, contributing specialised knowledge in the tourism sector, particularly in the fields of nature tourism and thermal tourism.

Potential pilot projects

According to Sigut, this diversity of expertise will make it possible to explore potential links between research, education and innovation, as well as identify areas where collaboration between the different regions could translate into “concrete pilot projects”.

The programme began on 28 September with a visit to the bioclimatic houses of the Institute of Technology and Renewable Energies (ITER). This was followed in the afternoon by presentations from the participating universities on their research groups, projects and areas of specialisation related to tourism.

Following the presentations, the second day concluded with a joint session aimed at identifying interregional challenges and opportunities, potential pilot activities, and the partners and external stakeholders who could participate in them.

Potential areas of work include ecotourism and cultural heritage as a tourism resource, as already mentioned, as well as sustainable tourism, gastronomic tourism, and specific segments such as medical tourism and wellness tourism, alongside other transversal areas related to the sector.

Once all the proposals presented have been analysed, those with the greatest potential for collaboration can be identified, possible responsibilities defined and the next steps for the Interregional Tourism Living Lab established.

Through this collaboration, STARS EU continues to connect the specialised knowledge of its universities with the challenges and opportunities of their regions, creating new spaces for research, innovation, education and sustainable regional development, one of its main objectives.

The meeting, organized by the Université Marie et Louis Pasteur, analyzes legal and social responses to situations of weakness 

Researchers from different European universities will meet from 7 to 9 October at the Marie and Louis Pasteur University (UMLP), in Besançon (France), to analyse human vulnerabilities in Europe from a legal and social perspective. The conference, “Legal and Social Justice Perspective on Human Vulnerabilities in Europe”, seeks to promote dialogue between different disciplines and approaches to understand situations of vulnerability and explore responses aimed at inclusion, social justice and empowerment.

The conference, linked to the Thematic Interest Group (TIG) Inclusion and Social Justice of STARS EU, raises human vulnerability as an issue that requires responses that combine the protection of rights with measures aimed at promoting the participation and autonomy of people. It also incorporates perspectives related to discrimination, migration, education and situations of vulnerability, generated or aggravated by armed conflicts

Over the course of the three days, contributions will address different situations and dimensions of vulnerability, including disability and accessibility, the situation of children, poverty and access to debt relief mechanisms, work and economic life, health care and digital vulnerability. 

The opening will be attended by Hugues Daussy, president of UMLP; Christophe Geslot, director of the Legal Research Center of Franche-Comté; and Célia Berger-Tarare, leader of the TIG Inclusion and Social Justice of STARS EU. The eight participating universities, partners of STARS EU, are joined by the associated partner university Petro Mohyla Black Sea National University, from Ukraine, whose six members will tell their testimonies about the situation in times of war.

Vulnerability and access to justice

The congress focuses on the relationship between vulnerability and access to rights and justice. Among the issues that will be analysed are the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights on vulnerability, accessibility policies, vulnerability associated with poverty, access to justice in Albania and the legal implications of different labour and economic contexts.

The social dimension is also extended to areas such as the mental health of students, the specific difficulties of remote island populations and las consecuencias de la digitalización de los servicios sanitarios. En este último caso, el programa aborda las implicaciones legales de la atención sanitaria digital para pacientes y profesionales, así como la identidad digital, la alfabetización digital y el diseño inclusivo.

The conference will conclude with a session titled “From Protection to Empowerment,” shifting the focus from the protection of individuals in vulnerable situations to issues concerning empowerment, social cohesion, collaborative practices, and individual agency. 

The aim of the gathering is to contribute to a broader understanding of human vulnerabilities and to foster an exchange of perspectives among European researchers, addressing these challenges through the lenses of social justice, inclusion, and the strengthening of autonomy and participation.

If you would like to know more about the conference, see the program.

If you would like to listen the conference, click here.

STARS EU puts intercultural education on the agenda in the “Intercultural Education and Classroom Management”, a workshop that will address cultural differences in the classroom, intercultural competence and strategies to promote more inclusive teaching in international higher education settings. Organised by Hochschule Bremen – City University of Applied Sciences as part of the STARS EU International Teaching Certificate, the workshop will take place online on 8 October 2026, from 14:00 to 16:15 CET.

The activity is aimed at faculty, lecturers and teaching staff working with diverse and international student groups, both in person and online. The session will provide participants with tools to better understand how cultural differences can influence classroom dynamics and teaching and learning processes, as well as practical approaches to addressing these challenges.

Intercultural competence

The programme will cover topics including the concept of culture from a neuroscientific perspective, cultural dimensions in the classroom, intercultural competence in international higher education and the hidden curriculum. It will also present practical strategies for identifying and addressing intercultural differences in the classroom.

The session will combine theoretical input, case studies, interactive exercises, peer exchange and discussion, allowing teaching staff to connect the content with real-life situations and apply what they learn to their own teaching practice.

The workshop will be delivered by the experts Hanneke Brakenhoff and Irene Taroni from Hanze University of Applied Sciences and forms part of the STARS EU International Teaching Certificate, which aims to strengthen the skills needed for teaching in international and intercultural higher education environments.

If you are interested, register here: Link to workshop.

What if your next semester was about solving real challenges instead of simply studying them?

Imagine working alongside students from across Europe, collaborating with researchers, companies and regional stakeholders to develop solutions with real impact.

This is FutureLab Camp 2027, the next edition of the international Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) developed within the STARS EU Alliance and coordinated in 2027 by Bragança Polytechnic University (UPB), Portugal.

Designed for Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD students, FutureLab Camp brings together participants from all STARS EU partner universities to work in international and multidisciplinary teams on real challenges connected to regional development.

Building on previous success

FutureLab Camp has already proved the value of challenge-based learning across the alliance.

Following successful editions hosted by Cracow University of Technology (2025) and Université Marie & Louis Pasteur (2026), where international teams developed innovative solutions for regional challenges, the 2027 edition will continue this journey in Bragança by connecting students with the UPB Living Lab and the region’s strategic priorities.

Learning beyond the classroom

FutureLab Camp combines:

International and multidisciplinary teams

Real challenges proposed by regional stakeholders

Applied research and innovation

Collaboration with researchers and Living Labs

30 ECTS recognised through Erasmus+ BIP mobility

The programme starts with an intensive on-site week in Bragança (1 – 5 March 2027), followed by several months of online collaboration, allowing teams to further develop their solutions.

Projects will focus on themes linked to the future of European regions, including digital transformation, artificial intelligence, circular economy, rural innovation, and creative industries. The final challenges will be announced in autumn 2026.

How to apply

Applications are coordinated through each STARS EU partner university.

Students should contact the FutureLab Camp coordinator at their home institution during the application period (July – November 2026).

A full list of institutional contacts is available below:

Bragança Polytechnic University (Portugal) – jprp@ipb.pt

Hanze University of Applied Sciences (Netherlands) – h.k.naumann@pl.hanze.nl

Hochschule Bremen (Germany) – katrin.winkler@hs-bremen.de

University of La Laguna (Spain) – veropino@ull.edu.es

Silesian University in Opava (Czechia) – prazakova@opf.slu.cz

University West (Sweden) – johanna.eliasson@hv.se

Cracow University of Technology (Poland) – adam.sadlo@pk.edu.pl

Université Marie & Louis Pasteur (France) – robin.roche@univ-fcomte.fr

Aleksandër Moisiu University of Durrës (Albania) – natashahoda@uamd.edu.al

Why join FutureLab?

Because it offers much more than international mobility

Work on real challenges

Join an international multidisciplinary team

Collaborate with researchers and regional stakeholders

Develop practical, research and intercultural skills

Experience challenge-based learning within STARS EU

Key dates

Bragança, Portugal

Physical Week

1 – 5 March 2027

Online collaboration

March – June 2027

Applications are now open! Please, contact your home university.

 

Are you ready?

Become part of a European team.

Create solutions that matter.

Help shape the future of European regions.

FutureLab 2027 starts with you.

A delegation from the University of La Laguna (ULL, Spain) visited Bragança Polytechnic University (UPB, Portugal) last week to explore new opportunities for joint research, knowledge transfer and scientific cooperation within the framework of STARS EU. During the visit, held from 31 July to 1 August, both institutions carried out a programme designed to identify complementary areas of expertise, connect research teams and lay the foundations for future collaboration.

Meetings between the two delegations, led by the Rectors of the respective institutions, Francisco J. García (ULL) and Orlando Rodrigues (IPB), focused on joint participation in European research projects, researcher mobility, knowledge transfer activities and the development of shared scientific initiatives.

Accompanying the Rector of the University of La Laguna were Antonio Aparicio, Vice-Rector for Research and Knowledge Transfer; Roberto González, Director of the Office for University Institutes and Publications; and José Sigut, Institutional Coordinator of STARS EU at the University of La Laguna.

The institutional delegation from Bragança Polytechnic University also included Luís Manuel Santos Pais, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs and International Relations; Vera Ferro Lebres, Pro-Rector for Entrepreneurship, Employability and Educational Innovation; Vice President of UPB, Albano Agostinho Gomes Alves, together with directors and representatives of the university’s research centres.

ULL researchers

A group of researchers from the University of La Laguna also took part in the visit as representatives of their respective research fields within research centres affiliated with the Portuguese institution.

José Sigut, Professor of Systems and Automation Engineering, represented the Research Centre in Digitalisation and Intelligent Robotics (CeDRI), whose work focuses on technological innovation, climate change and the circular economy. During the visit, the delegation was introduced to a pilot project aimed at mapping carbon capture potential across Portugal, a model that could eventually be adapted to the Canary Islands.

The ULL delegation also included David Díaz Díaz, Professor of Organic Chemistry, and Noelia Cruz Pérez, lecturer in the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, representing the Mountain Research Centre (CIMO), a multidisciplinary research centre addressing climate change through projects focused on sustainable products and reducing carbon footprints. They were joined by Noemí Peña Sánchez, from the Department of Fine Arts and member of the Art and Creative Industries TIG and representative of the Transdisciplinary Research Centre in Education and Development (CITED), and Claudio Briones Barrera, from the Department of Industrial Engineering, representing the Sustainable Construction Research Group (GICoS) at the Portuguese university.

Next steps

Following visits to the Applied Management Research Unit (UNIAG) and the Graça Morais Contemporary Art Centre, the second day concluded with a strategic meeting during which both universities identified shared research priorities and explored possible mechanisms to strengthen cooperation between the two institutions.

As announced in Bragança by the Rector of the University of La Laguna, Francisco García, this initial visit will be followed by a reciprocal visit from Bragança Polytechnic University to Tenerife to continue developing the collaborative opportunities identified during the meeting. “The visit to Bragança has been extremely productive and has demonstrated the value of this model of institutional visits for the STARS EU alliance, complementing the formal meetings of the Commission, the Steering Committee and the TIGs,” he said.

The Rector of the University of La Laguna also highlighted the strong interest shown by the Portuguese institution in developing joint doctoral programmes, building on the University of La Laguna’s extensive experience and academic offer in this field.

This visit forms part of STARS EU’s strategy to strengthen cooperation among its partner universities by promoting knowledge exchange, collaboration between research teams and the development of joint initiatives that reinforce the alliance’s research dimension.

STARS EU has launched its International Internship Programme for the 2026/2027 academic year, an initiative that will enable students across the alliance to gain professional experience in a European environment, apply the knowledge they have acquired during their studies in companies across Europe, and complement their academic education by adding an international dimension to their learning.

The programme, which will be progressively expanded through new opportunities promoted by the alliance’s nine partner universities, will offer internships in companies and institutions in the Netherlands (Hanze University of Applied Sciences); Portugal (Bragança Polytechnic University); Sweden (University West); Czechia (Silesian University in Opava); (Hochschule Bremen -City of Applied Science) Germany; Poland (Cracow University of Technology); Spain (University of La Laguna); Albania (Aleksandër Moisiu University of Durrës) and France (Université Marie et Louis Pasteur).

Initial placements

The first internship opportunities for the coming academic year, offered by Bragança Polytechnic University (IPB)—one of the alliance’s nine partner institutions—provide students with the opportunity to undertake internships in Portuguese companies and organisations in the fields of Computer Engineering, Marketing, Multimedia, Management, Accounting, Administrative Management, Chemical Engineering, Biology and Biotechnology, Mechanical Engineering, and Electrical Engineering.

Each internship, lasting between two and six months, will enable students to complement their academic studies with relevant professional experience while providing valuable first-hand exposure to the world of work. These placements offer a wide range of benefits, including the development of communication and language skills, the ability to adapt to new working environments, greater independence, and enhanced collaboration within multicultural teams.

Partner organisations

On this occasion, the training opportunities promoted by IPB will be delivered in collaboration with Portuguese companies and institutions including Emotion Defender, Skyline Lda, Faurecia Sistema de Escape Portugal, TECH X Digital Solutions, Laboratório Colaborativo AquaValor, and Worten.

This first call marks the starting point of the STARS EU internship programme, which aims to respond to students’ educational needs, strengthen cooperation between the partner universities, and foster closer links between academia, the business communities of each region, and European institutions.

Students will be able to browse the available internship opportunities and access all relevant information through a dedicated section that will soon be available on the STARS EU website.

* These internships are carried out within the framework of the Erasmus+ Programme, under the international mobility for traineeships scheme.

 

Nearly 40 STARS EU students presented five innovative proposals in Bremen a few days ago to reimagine the European campus of the future as part of the “Ou(te)r Campus – European Campus, A Living Lab” project, developed at Hochschule Bremen- City University of Applied Science (HSB), Germany.

The projects explored different aspects of European university life, ranging from digital tools to facilitate student integration and networking to hybrid exchange platforms and physical meeting spaces. All five proposals were developed as a Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) organised by HSB’s School of Architecture, with the participation of students from the nine universities that make up the STARS EU Alliance.

INTEGRATE.EU

The winning project, INTEGRATE.EU, is a digital platform designed to connect students from different universities and European countries. The application combines personalised profiles, an interactive map, campus activity information and networking tools. Its aim is to facilitate community building, promote cultural exchange and strengthen students’ sense of belonging to a shared European university.

The four remaining proposals included Growing Tree, which combines a digital platform with a permanent physical space to encourage interaction among students; STARS EU Week, a travelling exhibition designed to showcase the alliance’s universities; and STARS Wallet and Campus Connect, which focus on strengthening the European university community through different approaches, including resource sharing and the creation of collaborative spaces.

According to Professor Maria Clarke, the project’s coordinator, a European campus “is not created through digital connectivity alone, but also through encounters, collaboration and the exchange of perspectives.” In this sense, Ou(te)r Campus demonstrates how international education can become a living laboratory for designing new models of European higher education.

Projects to continue their development

The five proposals will continue to be developed within STARS EU to assess their feasibility and potential implementation across the alliance’s universities. STARS EU is funded by the Erasmus+ Programme and brings together nine higher education institutions from across Europe.

Participating universities

Students from all nine universities that make up the STARS EU alliance took part in the project: Aleksandër Moisiu University of Durrës (Albania), Bragança Polytechnic University (Portugal), Hanze University of Applied Sciences (the Netherlands), University of La Laguna (Spain), Université Marie et Louis Pasteur (France), Hochschule Bremen (Germany), Silesian University in Opava (Czech Republic), University West (Sweden) and Cracow University of Technology (Poland).

Academic staff and jury

The project was coordinated by Professor Maria Clarke and Janina Ebner of Hochschule Bremen, with teaching support from Aintzane del Río Pereda, Johanna Hannemann and Carolina Bergedieck.

The five student proposals were assessed by an international jury comprising Rima Dijkstra (Hanze University of Applied Sciences), Cintia Hernández Sánchez (University of La Laguna), Olta Nexhipi (Aleksandër Moisiu University of Durrës), and Thomas Rauscher and Katrin Winkler (Hochschule Bremen).

Below, the images show the students of the STARSCAPE project (left) in front of the mobile wooden box they built themselves and the RE-LAY project (right), that combines a modular swap station on campus with a digital platform, thereby promoting sustainability, community and exchange amongst students.