European university alliances offer new opportunities for international cooperation, yet collaboration between institutions does not necessarily lead to meaningful integration. This Future UniLab envisioning report explores how universities can move beyond project-based partnerships towards deeper, more sustainable relationships built on mutual understanding, shared values, and collective responsibility.

The publication distinguishes collaboration from integration, arguing that genuine integration requires interdependence, permanence, mutual reliability, and a willingness to compromise for the collective good. It identifies communication as the essential foundation of this process, highlighting the limitations of existing institutional structures and the need to overcome divisions between academic staff, administrators, students, and university leadership.

At the centre of the report is a proposal to establish a new cross-university communication forum within Una Europa. Conceived as an independent and inclusive space for dialogue, the proposed body would bring together representatives of academic communities, students, university administration, alumni, civil society, and external stakeholders. Rather than exercising direct managerial authority, it would facilitate collective reflection on major challenges facing European higher education and provide evidence-based recommendations to university leadership.

The report identifies a broad range of potential discussion topics, including transdisciplinarity, doctoral education, academic values, sustainability, digital transformation, public trust, and the civic responsibilities of universities. It advocates open, transparent, and participatory communication supported by structured opportunities for unexpected encounters and interdisciplinary exchange. Ultimately, the publication envisions Una Europa as a shared intellectual community capable of developing a collective European university identity while preserving the institutional diversity of its members.