‘Una Europa is an alliance that benefits us all’
Eighty students from universities across Europe and Africa are coming together this week to explore the topic of sustainability at the Una Europa Student Congress at Campus The Hague. The event is just one example of the many opportunities the alliance offers our students and staff.
Sustainability and biodiversity is one of the interfaculty themes through which Leiden University aims to strengthen its profile and strategic position. Sustainability is also the theme of the Una Europa Student Congress 2026, where students will work on subtopics such as biodiversity, energy justice and food. Leiden University is hosting this year’s congress at its campus in The Hague. Our university has been actively involved in the alliance of 11 leading European research universities since 2022.
Build connections
Associate Professor Gerard Breeman is the academic lead of the congress. For the programme, he developed a micro-sustainability challenge for the participants. ‘Students will head into the city in three groups to identify sustainability issues and explore possible solutions’, he says. ‘They will visit the Stadsoase Spinozahof, look at houses with an energy coach and consider opportunities for greening the streets together with an ecologist.’
‘For the students themselves, it is also really valuable to learn from one another about how things are done in other countries.’
The aim is to build connections between the city, the students and academic research, says Breeman. ‘For the students themselves, it is also really valuable to learn from one another about how things are done in other countries. On the subject of food, for example, food culture is really different in Italy. And Paris is currently really big in greening.’
From summer schools to seed funding
The student congress is just one of the ways in which Una Europa universities are working on sustainability, says Marja Spierenburg, Professor of Anthropology of Sustainability and Livelihood. The alliance operates through interdisciplinary self-steering committees (SSC). Together with colleagues Dario Fazzi (Faculty of Humanities) and Barnardo Ribeiro de Almeida (Leiden Law School), Spierenburg represents Leiden University on the sustainability SSC, and this has already led to some fantastic projects, she says.
They’ve developed a MOOC (massive open online course), for example, and are working with alliance partners on a COIL (collaborative online international learning) course. Spierenburg also travelled to Finland last year to give a workshop on sustainable food systems at a summer school for PhD candidates. ‘It was a really great co-production with colleagues from KU Leuven, one of the alliance partners.’
A current seed funding call focuses on sustainable seaweed farming and harvesting. ‘We are working on this with colleagues from Leuven, Edinburgh, Helsinki and even South Africa, as Una Europa also works with partners in Africa and Latin America. Some partners are on the sustainability SSC, whereas others are affiliated with the cultural heritage SSC.’
The collaboration goes beyond individual calls: together with the same contacts, Spierenburg and her committee partners recently submitted a Horizon Europe proposal. ‘You need a consortium for proposals like that, and Una Europa is a great place to find partners. The SSCs make it easy to connect with people working on similar topics.’
‘The self-steering committees make it easy to connect with people working on similar topics.’
Cross-border collaboration
Una Europa really is an alliance from which researchers, lecturers and students all benefit, says Spierenburg. ‘And it’s great to explore the opportunities it offers. For example, giving guest lectures with colleagues from other European universities for courses you’re already teaching is great fun, and summer schools are a fantastic opportunity to gain experience.’
When it comes to sustainability, many problems cross national borders, she adds. ‘You can work on energy transition here in the Netherlands, but you need batteries that use natural resources from elsewhere. And when it comes to sustainable food production and transitioning to a less meat-based diet, it is also interesting to see how other countries approach this. A key concern in all these transitions is the fair distribution of the costs and benefits. That’s why it’s worthwhile getting to know one another through an alliance like Una Europa, rather than staying in our own little bubble.’
Explore the opportunities offered by Una Europa!
Would you like to explore the opportunities offered by the Una Europa alliance, or do you have a good idea for a project or collaboration? Get in touch with the colleagues who represent the university in one of the Una Europa self-steering committees, or contact the local team (una-europa@bb.leidenuniv.nl).