17-18 June 2026
A practical platform where research, technology, and business partners meet to turn innovation into market-ready solutions.
Brussels | 17–18 June 2026
The “From Widening to Transformation” conference is a high-level forum designed to move beyond traditional “gap-bridging” and focus on deep, systemic change. Hosted at the NCBR Centre in Brussels and organized under the umbrella of theUnite!Widening project,this event brings together the architects of the European Research Area (ERA)—from Rectors of leading technical universities to key directors at the European Commission—to turn the vision of an integrated scientific Europe into a reality.
The European Higher Education landscape is at a turning point.
We are moving from a phase of “Widening” participation to a phase of
a Transformation. This conference explores how European University Alliances, act as operational hubs that don’t just bridge regions, but actively drive regional growth, economic vitality, and strategic autonomy for the entire Union.
Foster Innovation Ecosystems: Advance the evolution of universities from simply “bridging gaps” into active, operational hubs that drive regional growth and economic vitality.
Enhance Knowledge Valorization: Strengthen the pathways that move scientific excellence from the lab to the Single Market, creating sustainable social and economic value.
Promote Transnational Integration: Collaborate on the development of a truly integrated, “borderless” academic environment that facilitates the seamless mobility of students and researchers.
Advance Strategic Policy Alignment: Deepen the synergy between local university missions and the European Union’s long-term priorities to ensure a resilient and competitive research landscape.
Join us in Brussels to help shape a resilient, competitive, and truly integrated European research landscape.
The event features a distinguished lineup of speakers, including:
Unite!Widening is a complementary initiative of the Unite! European University Alliance. It aims to raise scientific excellence and maximize knowledge impact by fostering extensive collaboration across universities and partners from diverse regions, specially in widening countries like Poland and Portugal. More info here.
The conference is hosted at the NCBR Office in Brussels, serving as a hub for substantive, informal dialogue on the key challenges shaping the future of higher education.
Have a Voice in EU Policy: This isn’t just a series of lectures. It’s a chance to sit at the table with the people who write the rules for the European Research Area (ERA). You can directly influence how the next phase of “Widening” and University Alliances will look.
Real Access to Decision-Makers: Skip the formal emails. Here, you can talk face-to-face with top officials from the European Commission and Parliament (including experts from DG MOVE, EAC, and R&I) in a setting designed for real conversation.
Learn from the Best Alliances: See how other Rectors and Vice-Rectors are solving the same problems you face—like how to build a “seamless campus” or how to better connect your researchers with industry and regional partners.
Practical “Hands-on” Insights: We’re moving past the theory. You’ll get a look at the “Digital Bridges” framework—a practical way we’ve found to help universities in countries like Poland and Portugal compete at the highest level in Europe.
Build Better Consortia: Use this time to find your next strategic partners. By meeting the leaders of major European Alliances in person, you’ll be in a much stronger position to lead or join the next generation of high-impact EU projects.
Join us in Brussels to help turn European research into local impact.
Raquel Barreira is an Associate Professor at the Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal (IPS) – Polytechnic University of Setúbal, where she currently serves as Pro-President. Since 2022, she has also been the IPS site coordinator for the European University E³UDRES² – Engaged and Entrepreneurial European University for Smart and Sustainable Regions, and co-leads the work package dedicated to research within the alliance.
In this role, she has coordinated several European projects and initiatives. She served as the local coordinator of the E³UDRES² Entrepreneurship and Innovation Network for Smart and Sustainable European Regions (E.I.N.S.), funded by EIT HEI, and was a member of the coordination team of the Horizon-WIDERA-funded project Ent-r-e-novators (2022–2025). This project focused on co-creating a joint research and innovation strategy and a common agenda within E³UDRES² to accelerate its transformation into a multi-institutional European Research and Innovation Hub for Smart and Sustainable Regions.
Raquel Barreira also led the IPS implementation team responsible for securing the Human Resources Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R) “HR Excellence in Research” award, granted to IPS in 2025. In addition, she will serve as the IPS local coordinator for the Horizon-WIDERA-funded REMAP project, starting in September 2026. REMAP aims to strengthen research management capacity in Europe’s Universities of Applied Sciences, particularly in widening countries, through scalable training, mentorship, policy, and networking solutions that support the professionalisation of research managers and foster inclusive participation across the European Research Area.
Raquel Barreira holds a PhD in Mathematics from the University of Sussex, as well as a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Mathematics from the University of Lisbon. She is a researcher at the Center for Mathematical Studies of the University of Lisbon. Her research expertise includes numerical analysis and partial differential equations, particularly on complex and evolving surfaces; mathematical modelling of physical and biological systems, including reaction–diffusion processes and pattern formation; and data science and analytics applied to engineering systems such as water supply networks. She has participated in several national and international research projects.
Mattias Björnmalm, PhD, is an experienced scientist and policy professional. As of 1 January 2023, he serves as Secretary General of CESAER – the strong and united voice of universities of science & technology. His other engagements include as an Honorary Research Fellow at the Bionics Institute, as an invited member of the World Economic Forum Expert Network and in the Marie Curie Alumni Association. Previously, he led the project qBionano at Imperial College London and was an editor in science & policy for the journal Angle.
In addition to his advocacy and policy experience, Mattias has an extensive scientific background in engineering, nanoscience & biomedicine, with dozens of publications in peer-reviewed journals.
In 2017, he was awarded a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship from the European Union; during this process he was selected as one of Europe’s thirty most ‘highly promising researchers’ out of the 8,916 funding proposals submitted.
In 2019, he was awarded an Imperial College London President’s Award: ‘recognised for outstanding achievements in policy engagement’.
Mattias is originally from Stockholm (Sweden) and following some years in Melbourne (Australia) and London (United Kingdom), he is currently based in Leuven (Belgium).
His LinkedIn is here, and his contact details are available here.
João Freitas Coroado is President of the Polytechnic Institute of Tomar (IPT) since 2019 and has served as President of the KreativEU Alliance – Knowledge & Creativity European University since the beginning of 2025.
He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Geology from the University of Coimbra, a Master’s degree in Geochemistry from the University of Aveiro, and a PhD in Geosciences, also from the University of Aveiro.
He is a Coordinating Professor at IPT. He served as Director of the Department of Art, Conservation and Restoration from 2003 to 2010, as Director of the School of Technology of Tomar from 2010 to 2014, and as Vice-President of IPT between 2014 and 2019.
He was one of the founding members of TECHN&ART – Centre for Technology, Restoration and Enhancement of the Arts, based at IPT, he is currently a Collaborating Researcher. He has participated in research teams for multiple projects and is the author of many national and international scientific publications.
Prof. Josep M. Garrell is former Rector of Ramon Llull University (Universitat Ramon Llull), Spain. He was elected EUA President in 2023, having served on the Association’s Board since 2019.
In 2012, Professor Garrell was appointed Rector of Ramon Llull University, where he went on to serve a second four-year term in (2016-2020) and a third two-year term (2020-2022). In 2015, he was appointed as a member of the Standing Committee of the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities (CRUE), whom he also at the EUA Council and General Assembly from 2016 to 2019.
Prior to his terms as rector, he held several leadership positions at Ramon Llull University, such as Secretary of the Research Commission (1998-2002), Delegate of the Rector for ICT (2000-2002), Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation (2002-2010), Secretary General (2006-2010) and Vice-Rector for University Policy (2010-2012).
Professor Garrell holds a Doctorate in Electronic Engineering from Ramon Llull University. As a faculty member and researcher at Ramon Llull University (URL), he specialised in artificial intelligence and machine learning. He co-founded the Intelligent Systems Investigation Group at the university’s La Salle campus and conducted research at Carnegie’s Mellon University’s Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center.
Professor Garrell was formerly President of the Strategic Alliance of Catholic Universities (SACRU). From 2014 to 2018, he was a member of the Catalan Parliament’s Advisory Council on Science and Technology (CAPCIT), as the representative of Catalan private non-profit universities.
Brigitte Hasewend is founding and acting CEO and Member of the Governing Council of the European Sustainable Energy Innovation Alliance – ESEIA. Founded in 2009, ESEIA currently has some 30 member organisations of which 20 HEIs and Ros, as well as 10 businesses. In her executive role Brigitte has been responsible for devising the ESEIA Strategy 2034 in the context of the European Green Deal and the Clean Industry Deal. In 2025/26 she was actively involved in the EU Strategic Technology Plan Task Force Access to the Market for clean energy solutions. In November 2023 she was appointed Member of the EIT Climate-KIC Association Governing Board. In fall 2022 she created a new ESEIA-TU Graz lecture series entitled Climate Survival Campus for public debate on climate-friendly solutions. Together with her Team Brigitte Hasewend won a number of large-scale Horizon R&I proposals with cross-sector partners from all over Europe and from neighbouring countries. She was Vice-President of the Supervisory Board of Joanneum Research ForschungsGesmbH from 2014-17. Since 2013 Brigitte Hasewend has worked for the European Commission as expert evaluator and rapporteur for Horizon projects. From 2010-12 she directed the Styrian Academy which later became the successful ESEIA Education and Training Programme. Brigitte has headed the International Strategic Research Partnerships at TU Graz since 2007. Before re-joining TU Graz back in 2007 Brigitte Hasewend had spent 10 years living and working in Brussels at DG Research of the European Commission and at the Academic Cooperation Association (ACA). In her early career Brigitte Hasewend had started up the International Relations Office at TU Graz (1991-96).
Director and Member of the Governing Council of the European Sustainable Energy Innovation Alliance (ESEIA), Director International Strategic Research Partnerships (ISP) at TU Graz.
Manuel Heitor is a professor at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) the engineering school at the University of Lisbon. He served as Minister for Science, Technology and Higher Education for the Government of Portugal in 2015-2022 and as Secretary of State from 2005 to 2011. In 2023 he was appointed by the European Commission to chair the Expert group for the interim evaluation of the Horizon Europe programme and to guide the evolution of the European Research and Innovation (R&I) Framework programme. He has coordinated the “CESAER Research Careers Survey 2024”, published in December 2024.
Peter Hošták, PhD, is Head of Administration and the European Projects Office at FunGlass, the Centre for Functional and Surface Functionalized Glass at Alexander Dubček University of Trenčín, Slovakia. Since 2017, he has led the team responsible for project management and administrative support, contributing to the transformation of FunGlass into an internationally recognized research centre that has secured more than €37 million in competitive national and European funding. His expertise focuses on research management, Horizon Europe and widening initiatives, innovation ecosystems, and building international collaborations between academia, industry, and European institutions.
Leszek Kaczmarek is a Professor at the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland, head of the Laboratory of Neurobiology and President of the Center of Excellence for Neural Plasticity and Brain Disorders: BRAINCITY; a Nencki-EMBL Partnership.
Since 1986 his laboratory at the Nencki Institute has been investigated brain-mind connection at all the levels of brain organization from molecular to cellular to network to behavior in health and disease. The major original discovery was to demonstrate increased neuronal gene (c-fos) expression in the context of learning and memory as well as underlying synaptic plasticity supporting reorganization of neuronal networks in the brain. The current major focus is on extracellular enzyme, matrix metalloproteinase, MMP-9, which his laboratory documented to play paramount role in neuronal/synaptic plasticity and then in learning and memory, development of epilepsy, schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorders and alcohol addiction.
Prof. Leszek Kaczmarek has also been very active in professional scientific organizations, serving on governing bodies of International Society for Neurochemistry, International Brain Research Organization, European Molecular Biology Organization, European Molecular Biology Conference, National Science Center (Polish research grant agency), Polish Academy of Sciences (currently as the President of the Warsaw Brannch), Polish-US Fulbright Commission. He served in the panels of the European Research Council (ERC), including chairing the LS5 Neuroscience and Neural Disorders Consolidator Grant panel; currently he is a member of the ERC Scientific Council. Prof. Kaczmarek has been engaged in multiple outreaching activities promoting science into society and he co-authored a biology textbook at middle school level.
Prof. Leszek Kaczmarek is a member of the Polish Academy of Sciences, European Molecular Biology Organization and Academia Europaea. Prof. Kaczmarek has been awarded several prestigious research grants and recognitions including the Foundation for Polish Science (FNP) award for his research on inducible gene expression in the brain. The FNP award is the highest recognition in Polish science.
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Professor at Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Unite!Widening Project Coordinator. An expert in research project management and knowledge transfer. Responsible for the operational implementation of the Unite! alliance’s transformational goals.
Professor Renata Krzyżyńska is Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation at Wrocław University of Science and Technology. Her academic career combines engineering excellence with strong international engagement and leadership in research and innovation.
Her research focuses on flue gas cleaning technologies and the thermochemical conversion of waste into valuable energy products. Her work is strongly oriented towards sustainable energy systems and environmental protection, combining laboratory, pilot-scale and industrial research at both national and international levels.
She has extensive international experience, including a postdoctoral fellowship and visiting scientist positions at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as well as participation in the prestigious Top 500 Innovators programme at Stanford University. She collaborates with leading international institutions such as Brunel University London, Chalmers University of Technology, and Czech Technical University in Prague.
Prof. Krzyżyńska is actively involved in shaping international academic cooperation. She serves as Key Liaison Officer in the Unite! Network for Innovation, Technology and Engineering and, since 2025, as Vice-President of the T.I.M.E. Association, supporting global collaboration between leading technical universities.
Krzysztof Kuik, Director, Clean Planet -Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission.
Krzysztof Kuik is Director for Clean Planet in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, where he oversees work supporting Europe’s transition to climate neutrality, including research and innovation on clean energy and industrial decarbonisation.
Before joining DG RTD, he was Head of Unit in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition, responsible for State aid control in telecoms, media and internet, including the assessment of broadband rollout projects across Europe under EU State aid rules. He also led antitrust enforcement work in the areas of media and sport, overseeing several high-profile investigations.
Mr Kuik joined the European Commission in 2009. Prior to that, he worked as an attorney for an international law firm in Warsaw, Brussels and New York. He holds a law degree from the University of Warsaw and postgraduate law degrees from KU Leuven and New York University.
Célio Gonçalo Marques is a Professor in the Department of Information and Communication Technologies at the Polytechnic University of Tomar (IPT). He currently serves as Vice-President of IPT, Director of the Laboratory for Pedagogical Innovation and Distance Learning (LIED), and Head of the Research and Innovation Support Office (GAII).
He is the Secretary-General of the European University Alliance KreativEU and a member of Portugal’s National Council for Pedagogical Innovation in Higher Education (CNIPES).
He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Management, a Master’s degree in Educational Multimedia Communication, a postgraduate qualification in e-Learning Techniques and Contexts, and a PhD in Educational Sciences, specialising in Educational Technology.
He is an integrated researcher at TECHN&ART (R&D unit), which he directed from October 2018 to January 2024, and a collaborating researcher at the Educational Technology Laboratory (University of Coimbra), the Centre for Administration and Public Policy (University of Lisbon), and the Grigore Gafencu Research Centre for the History of International Relations and Cultural Heritage (Valahia University of Târgoviște).
His research expertise focuses on educational technology, ICT applied to cultural heritage, and public policies. He is a member of several professional and academic networks, including the Association for the Promotion and Development of the Information Society (APDSI), MetaRed Portugal, the Europeana Network Association, and NAU – Online Teaching and Training for Large Audiences, among others.
He has participated in numerous projects related to computer science in education and has acted as a consultant for several companies. He is the author of multiple national and international publications and has been actively involved in the organisation of various scientific and technical events.
Ricardo Miguéis is Head of the INESC Brussels HUB, the Brussels office of INESC, a network of five Portuguese research institutes with more than 2,000 researchers working across computing, energy, microelectronics, and systems engineering.
He has over two decades of experience in European research and innovation policy. Previous roles include National Delegate to Horizon 2020 and to ESFRI (where he chaired the Strategy Working Group on Energy), Chair of the Board of the EMBRC research infrastructure, Chief of Staff to the Portuguese Secretary of State for Science, Technology and Higher Education, and Deputy Secretary-General and Senior Advisor for Research and Innovation at CESAER.
He holds a BA (Hons) in Political Science and Sociology, Kingston University (London), a Post-Graduate course in Economics of Innovation from ISCTE – Lisbon University Institute, a PhD course in History from Universidade Nova de Lisboa and is currently pursuing a joint PhD degree in Engineering and Public Policy at the Faculty of Engineering of University of Porto and Carnegie Mellon University, researching financing and governance models for Research and Technological infrastructures as instruments of European critical and emerging technology strategy. As a researcher-practitioner, he coordinates and participates in several EU Research and Innovation projects.
M.Fatima Montemor is a Full Professor at Instituto Superior Técnico (University of Lisbon) and President of the Scientific Council of IST-ID. She has held several senior leadership positions at IST, including Vice President for Academic Affairs and for Research & International Affairs, and member of the Executive Board.
An internationally recognised expert in functional coatings and electrochemical energy storage, she has authored over 350 publications and 20 book chapters, and leads a research team dedicated to bridging materials science and industrial innovation. She is co-founder of a spin off company – Charge2C-NewCap.
Prof. Montemor is a former President of the European Federation of Corrosion and has served on multiple international boards, including EIT InnoEnergy Iberia and Technology Innovation Institute (Advanced Materials Research Centre). She received the EFC Medal and was awarded with a Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Mons, Belgium.
Joerg Niehoff is Deputy Head of Unit for “ERA, Spreading Excellence and Research Careers” in DG Research & Innovation and coordinates among others the widening policies and the WIDERA Work Programme of Horizon Europe. Joerg has more than 15 years of experience with the coordination of national research policies and programmes and European Partnerships. He started his professional career as a researcher at the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology, Technology consult, and Head of Office Brussels for VDI, Europe’s largest Engineering Association. Joerg holds degrees in engineering and in industrial engineering and a PhD from the RWTH Aachen.
Vivien Quéma obtained an engineering degree in telecommunications in 2002 from the Grenoble National Polytechnic Institute, now known as Grenoble INP – UGA. From 2002 to 2005, he completed a PhD in Computer Science at Grenoble INP – UGA, within a joint research team between Inria Grenoble and the Software, Systems and Networks Laboratory. He then carried out a postdoctoral position at the University of Rome I “La Sapienza.”
In 2006, Vivien Quéma was appointed as a research scientist at the CNRS. He obtained his habilitation to supervise research (HDR) in 2010 and became a full professor at Grenoble INP – Ensimag (National School of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics) in 2011.
Between 2016 and 2018, he served as executive director for the education component of the IDEX site project “Université Grenoble Alpes, university of innovation.” In 2019, he was appointed a junior member of the Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), a distinction that allowed him to devote more time to his research activities.
In June 2022, he became director of Grenoble INP – Ensimag, UGA. As head of the school, he has led a project to redesign the curriculum, with the ambition of training responsible engineers capable of addressing challenges related to digital and environmental transitions. In the same spirit, he took responsibility for the development and, since 2022, the management of the VerIT project. Developed for the entire Grenoble site, VerIT is the first French project selected under the France 2030 “skills and professions of the future” call in the field of environmentally responsible digital technology.
On February 15, 2024, he was elected to the position of General Administrator of the Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP – UGA) for a four-year term starting on February 29, 2024.
Nataliya Shakhovska, Rector of Lviv Polytechnic National University, professors in artificial intelligence, corresponding member of National academy of sciences of Ukraine.
She founded the Department of Artificial Intelligence Systems at Lviv Polytechnic in 2017 and has directed the Institute of Computer Sciences and Information Technologies. In May 2025, she became the first woman elected Rector of Lviv Polytechnic National University, guiding more than 35,000 students. Her vision emphasizes academic integrity, interdisciplinary research, and international cooperation, making her a pioneering figure in Ukrainian higher education and scientific innovation.
Magdalena Sikorska serves as Secretary General of the EUNICE European University. She co-designed EUNICE AISBL in Belgium, one of the first legal entities established by a European University Alliance, and chairs a Community of Practice for AISBL-based alliances. She leads the FOREU4ALL topical group on internationalisation and global outreach. She holds a PhD in management, with research focused on models within the European Universities Initiative, and has authored and co-authored publications on higher education, international collaboration, and university governance.
Expert and Moderator. Deputy Secretary General Unite! University Alliance, Policy and Education coordination
Bernard Vanheusden is the current Rector of Hasselt University. He began his first four-year term in October 2020 and was re-elected in 2024. Since September 2025, he also serves as President of the Flemish Interuniversity Council (VLIR) for a two-year mandate.
Rector Vanheusden holds a Law degree from KU Leuven and obtained a PhD in Law. Before starting his tenure as Rector, Bernard Vanheusden taught (European) Environmental Law and Environmental Policy, served as Vice Dean of Hasselt University’s Faculty of Law (2016-2020) and was head of its Centre for Government and Law.
Professor Arkadiusz Wójs, Rector of Wrocław University of Science and Technology for the terms 2020–2024 and 2024–2028. A graduate of the Faculty of Fundamental Problems of Technology at the same university. He earned his PhD in physics in 1997, obtained his habilitation in 2002, and was awarded the title of Professor of Physical Sciences in 2009.
He is a long-standing member of the prestigious Academia Europaea and Academic Director of the Wrocław Knowledge Hub of Academia Europaea. Since 2019, he has been a member of the Polish Academy of Sciences, becoming a full member in 2025. In October 2025, he was elected Vice President of the European university network Unite!, where he is responsible for the area of research.
Thanks to his efforts, in 2022 the Wrocław University of Science and Technology joined this prestigious alliance, and in 2023 it established— as the first technical university in Poland— a Faculty of Medicine.
Prof. Wójs’s main research areas are theoretical and computational solid-state physics. He is the co-author of six books and 187 publications indexed in the Scopus database, cited 2,940 times by other authors (H-index: 33). His academic achievements also include 50 lectures delivered at international scientific conferences. He has supervised ten PhD graduates, with one doctoral dissertation currently in progress.
He is the recipient of numerous distinctions, including the main award of the Polish Minister of Science and Higher Education for an outstanding scientific achievement in the field of basic research, the Wojciech Rubinowicz Award of the Polish Physical Society, the Stefan Pieńkowski Award of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the “Master” professorial program of the Foundation for Polish Science, and a Marie Curie European Union fellowship.
He is a member of the Physics Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the Scientific Council of the Institute of Low Temperature and Structure Research, the Scientific Council of the Center for Theoretical Physics PAS, the Wrocław Scientific Society, and the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics.