EUniverCities Network Meeting Innsbruck, 25.-27.03.2026

In Europe, the intertwined development of cities and universities is nearly a thousand years old. This physical concentration of citizens in their habitat and the questions they inquire upon in their academic quarter turns university cities into special places and spaces vis-a-vis the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

On the one hand, we can see our cities as living laboratories of research and development, of rapid prototyping, and for experiments of participation and conflict resolution on the SDGs. On the other hand, university cities here in Europe provide over a unique history of citoyens, over a precious „civic patina“, in a time where powerful private and particular interests challenge our public spaces and places, goods and services.

In her opening keynote, Verena Ringler likens our university towns to magic gardens of people and ideas. She invites us to take a fresh look at our local voices and networks, resources and hidden champions. She is convinced that our cities are well placed as avantgarde towards the SDGs when the city and the university cooperate and devote as much attention, time and resources to formats of co-creation and cross-fertilization as they place on the technical elements of the climate agenda (e.g. mobility, energy).

A cross-sectoral innovator and alumnae of Innsbruck University herself, Verena spent many years abroad, e.g. in Essen, Pristina, and Washington D.C. She now returned to her hometown to include societal and cultural perspectives into pathways to sustainability and, through her studies and projects, to ultimately help „bring ideas to power.“ (Picture: © Peter Mayr)

Clickhereto watch the videostatement by Verena Ringler.