Wider European Academic Vision for
Excellence and Transformation

Key facts

Welcome

Europe is undergoing multiple, simultaneous transformations — ecological, digital, social, cultural and institutional. No single discipline, no single institution and no single perspective can address this complexity alone. WEAVE 2027 brings together researchers and educators from across Europe and beyond to explore one central question:

How can the multiple transformations Europe is undergoing be woven together into coherent pathways for a sustainable, inclusive and dynamic future?

The image of weaving is central to the conference identity. Just as a woven fabric draws its strength from the interlocking of many individual threads, WEAVE 2027 draws its power from the connections between disciplines, sectors, transformation pathways and actors. We warmly invite you to contribute a thread of your own.

Conference Theme and Thematic Focus

WEAVE 2027 invites contributions from researchers and educators across Europe and beyond, both from the ten STARS EU Thematic Interest Groups (TIGs) and from institutions outside the Alliance. The ten TIGs participate on an equal footing, and submissions are not pre-sorted into tracks: the Scientific Committee allocates accepted papers to thematic sessions after review, drawing on the natural connections between the TIGs.

• Entrepreneurship and Innovation
• Sustainable Industry
• Digital Transformation
• Circular Economy
• Inclusion and Social Justice
• Energy Transition
• Living Spaces
• Healthy Ageing
• Art and Creative Industries
• Education and Learning in and for a New Working Life

Who Should Submit

We welcome submissions from researchers, educators and doctoral candidates, whether affiliated with a STARS EU Alliance partner institution or not. Contributions that connect disciplines, sectors or transformation pathways are especially encouraged. We invite results from current research projects whose topic can be assigned to one of the thematic fields of the ten STARS EU TIGs.

Submission Format

A single submission format applies:

• Extended Abstract, 800–1,500 words, covering the research question and motivation, theoretical framing, method, preliminary or expected findings, and contribution to the conference theme.
• All submissions must be in English.
• Each presenting author may submit at most two Extended Abstracts.
• Submissions undergo double-blind peer review by the WEAVE 2027 Scientific Committee, composed of scholars from European universities active in the conference’s thematic fields.
• Upon acceptance, authors submit a Full Paper by e-mail to weave@hs-bremen.de, which is distributed to the assigned discussant and posted on the internal conference website.
• All papers accepted for presentation are included in the WEAVE 2027 conference proceedings — see below. Authors are additionally encouraged to submit their work to scientific journals after the conference.

Post-Conference Publication: Conference Proceedings

All papers accepted for presentation at WEAVE 2027 will be included in a peer-reviewed conference proceedings volume, published following the conference. Authors of accepted papers will be asked to submit a final, revised version of their Full Paper for inclusion; no additional round of review beyond the double-blind evaluation of the Extended Abstract is required. Participation in the proceedings does not preclude authors from also submitting their work, in a different or extended form, to a scientific journal. Further details on the publisher, format and timeline will be announced in due course.

Travel funding

Hochschule Bremen offers travel funding for a small number of participants. If you are interested, please contact us individually at weave@hs-bremen.de.

A Peer-Driven Discussant Format

Each accepted paper is assigned a discussant, drawn reciprocally from the pool of accepted authors. Sessions run in 90-minute blocks of four papers, with each paper allotted 12 minutes for presentation, followed by a 5-minute discussant response and 3 minutes of audience Q&A. Discussants receive the full paper three weeks before the conference — a format designed to ensure scholarly quality and lively dialogue.

WEAVE 2027 is held on-site at Hochschule Bremen and runs parallel online-only sessions for authors who cannot travel. The two modes are not hybrid — each session is either fully on-site or fully online — but online sessions follow exactly the same format, discussant model and double-blind review standard as on-site sessions. Attendance is free of charge, both on-site and online. Authors indicate their preferred mode at submission.

Key Dates

How to Submit

Please send your Extended Abstract by email to weave@hs-bremen.de no later than 30 November 2026, 23:59 CET.

• Attach the Extended Abstract as a PDF file. To allow double-blind review, the file must not contain author names, affiliations, or acknowledgments.
• In the body of your email, state the title of your paper, the names and affiliations of all authors, the presenting author, and whether you intend to present on-site in Bremen or in an online session.

We confirm receipt of every submission by email. Questions are welcome at the same address.