La Salle - Universitat Ramon Llull hosted the second day of the ENGAGE.EU Annual Conference 2026, the annual gathering of the European university alliance ENGAGE.EU, which brought together nearly 180 representatives from member universities in Barcelona.
Over three days, students, academic and research staff, members of the International Advisory Board and Associate Partners, university leadership teams and institutional representatives met at different Universitat Ramon Llull (URL) institutions to share knowledge, experiences and projects focused on the future of higher education in Europe.
Discussing the future of European universities
The programme at La Salle-URL on 22 October began with a welcome address by Director General Josep M. Santos, followed by a contribution from Josep M. Garrell, President of the European University Association, who reflected on the strategic evolution of European university alliances.
The programme included two roundtable discussions on the main challenges and opportunities facing European universities. Topics included joint programmes, micro-credentials, international mobility and new forms of collaboration between higher education institutions. The day concluded with an official dinner at Palau de Pedralbes, providing an opportunity for participants to continue exchanging experiences.
At the closing session the following day, it was announced that Universität Mannheim would host the next edition of the ENGAGE.EU Annual Conference.
The conference highlighted Universitat Ramon Llull’s role in European university cooperation initiatives and its commitment to internationalisation. Over three days, the campuses of Blanquerna-URL, La Salle-URL, IQS-URL and Esade-URL welcomed the ENGAGE.EU community, an alliance of European universities working together to develop new approaches to learning, research and innovation in response to the social, economic and environmental challenges of the 21st century.