EU-CONEXUS participated in the third FOREU4ALL transversal workshop, “From Campuses to Communities: Enhancing Engagement and Sense of Belonging in European Universities”, held on 2โ€“3 June 2026 at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

EU-CONEXUS was represented by Inga Petrauskienฤ—, member of the Communication and Dissemination Topical Group, and Neringa Narbutienฤ—, member of the Community Engagement Topical Group. Both representatives contributed to discussions on how European University Alliances can strengthen engagement, visibility and sense of belonging across their communities.

During the poster session, Inga Petrauskienฤ— presented “Building Belonging through Co-Creation: EU-CONEXUS Pathways from Schools to Stakeholder Communities”. The poster showcased the EU-CONEXUS School Contest and the EU-CONEXUS Stakeholder Academy as engagement formats connecting pupils, lifelong learners, municipalities, industry, port authorities, civil society and university communities around shared coastal sustainability challenges.

Neringa Narbutienฤ— presented the poster “From a Student to EU-CONEXUS Student: Methodology to Define and Shape a Shared Student Identity”. Her poster introduced a student-centred methodology based on surveys, focus groups and a proposed EU-CONEXUS Student Congress, aimed at co-creating a shared student identity and encouraging students to see themselves as active members of the Alliance community.

Throughout the workshop, participants worked in groups on a wide range of relevant topics related to engagement and belonging. After two intensive and creative days, the teams developed and presented more than a dozen prototypes, models and initiatives designed to strengthen the involvement of students, researchers, academic and administrative staff. These outputs will be published and made publicly available to all European University Alliances as examples of good practice and peer learning.

For EU-CONEXUS, the workshop was a valuable opportunity not only to exchange practical ideas, but also to experience the strength of the wider European Universities community. The intensive work of colleagues led to tangible results, while the discussions and co-creation process reminded participants that we are all contributing to the development of a new generation of higher education and European University Alliances.