Below you can find information about the programme for the XIII Unite! Dialogue taking place at Politecnico on 9-12 February 2026.
Download the PDF of the XIII Unite! Dialogue Welcome Guide to browse all the latest information about the upcoming Dialogue (updated on 11/02/2026).
Registration Desk
The Registration Desk will be located on
- February 9-10: Sala Emma Strada, easily accessible from PoliTO main entrance (Corso Duca degli Abruzzi, 24)
- February 11-12: R Classrooms building, easily accessible from Corso Castelfidardo.
Opening and closing ceremonies
The opening and closing plenary sessions of February 10 and 12 will be held in Aula Magna, easily accessible from PoliTO main entrance (Corso Duca degli Abruzzi, 24).
Governing Bodies meetings
The Governing Bodies meetings will be held at PoliTO Rectorate (Sala Giunta, Sala CDA, Salette A-B), easily accessible from Corso Duca degli Abruzzi, 24.
Community Meetings and Future Sessions
The main meetings' venues (included the Future Vision plenary essions) will be the R and I Classrooms Pavilions, at PoliTO Main Campus. You can find them on Google Maps or browsing our web maps. You can reach them by entering from Corso Castelfidardo.
All Politecnico's maps are available at this link: https://www.polito.it/en/maps. When browsing one of our maps, click on the link “directions” to open up a Google Maps itinerary.
The Future Vision plenary sessions are forward-looking strategic discussions aimed at sharing the ideas and views of the whole Unite! community on the medium- to long-term role of our Alliance (i.e., within the horizon of the next framework program 2028-2034) in the evolving landscape of European and global higher education. It is hoped that these discussions may also help us put the currently in preparation bridge funding short-term/two-year proposal in the proper perspective.
These sessions will focus on how the participation in the Alliance is shaping the institutional strategies of its partner universities across all missions -- education, research, innovation, and service to society, and how this collective transformation can generate a lasting structural impact. Particular attention will be given to the present and possible future contribution of European University Alliances in general, and Unite! in particular, to the competitiveness of the European Union, identifying the areas in which the Alliances are making/could make a concrete and distinctive contribution at European and international level.
Competitiveness will be seen both from the perspective of the individual partners, through the benefits they are getting from their participation in their Alliance, and from the perspective of the Alliance as a whole, through the added value it can bring with respect to the simple sum of its partners.
The first Future Vision plenary session, in the afternoon of Tuesday 10/02, will be led by SURE!, the Unite! Students Council, and will provide a dedicated space for students to articulate a collective vision for the future of European University Alliances. The session aims to foreground student perspectives on how higher education and alliances such as Unite! can evolve to respond to societal, technological, and institutional change, placing students at the centre of reflections on the long-term development of the alliance.
The session will encourage the exchange of diverse experiences and viewpoints, fostering dialogue across institutional and cultural contexts. By bringing together student voices from across Europe, the plenary seeks to contribute a forward-looking, student-driven perspective to the broader Future Vision dialogue, highlighting the role of students as active shapers of the future of European higher education.
The second Future Vision plenary session, in the afternoon of Wednesday 11feb, is conceived in three parts of roughly one hour each: part I will provide the teaser for the next two parts and will be organized in the form of a round table with broad scope, looking at the EU level and considering both the whole landscape of Alliances (FOREU4ALL) and the vision of another Alliance, ENHANCE, also focused on technology as Unite!; part II, in the form of a fishbowl discussion as the subsequent part III, moderated and stimulated by selected VP/VRs from Unite! partners, will focus on contributions from the Research&Innovation dimension in Unite!, while part III will focus on contributions from the Education dimension in Unite!, with due attention to the synergies between the two.
Financial and institutional sustainability, as well as internationalization within and beyond Europe, will be enabling factors at least for some of the strategic directions identified to maximize the impact of our Alliance.
All members of the Unite! community are strongly encouraged to participate in and contribute to all Future Vision plenary sessions, given the broad scope and relevance of the topics addressed, as well as the opportunity they provide to hear and discuss diverse perspectives, and to collectively reflect on Unite!’s long-term strategy.
Wednesday 11/02 11:00-12.00
PDCA in Practice – A Hands-On Training
Room R1B - QM Team
This interactive training explores the practical use of the PDCA (Plan–Do–Check–Act) cycle to improve everyday work. Participants apply PDCA to their own challenges and leave with a simple, ready-to-use improvement approach.
Wednesday 11/02 11:00-13:00
aUPaEU Focus Group – Agora and Institutional Transformation
Room R4 - aUPaEU
The focus group, organized by the aUPaEU project, will examine how the Unite! Agora digital platform can support institutional transformation within the Unite! Alliance in alignment with the European Research Area (ERA) priorities. The session will present Agora services and and engage participants in a guided discussion to collect feedback on improving access to and sharing of infrastructures and resources, as well as research career attractiveness and talent circulation.
Building collaborative Unite! courses: A teachers’ workshop
Room 11I – Collaborative Courses support WG
Interactive training on designing collaborative international courses (blended/online). Covers key benefits and challenges of cross-institution teaching, with real Unite! case studies. Gives practical tools and support info to help create new courses aligned with Unite! strategy and EU job-market needs. Please register by Monday 09/02 at https://forms.office.com/e/m1bZVpv2fv
Creating impact within Unite! From ripples to waves
Room 5I – Cm9
This interactive workshop is open to all Uniters! to help them understand how they can transform the outputs of their activities into impactful results. Through reflection and the sharing of results, participants will work in groups to go through the process of converting immediate outputs (“dropping stones into water”) and identifying the first ripples, to achieve longer-term transformative results (“waves”). Together, we’ll work on connecting these effects to the goals and mission of Unite!, to create impactful stories using the Impact Toolkit as a guide.
Road to Institutional Politeness Workshop
Room 3I – Cm3
The workshop builds on previous activities and the Road to Institutional Kindness podcast, focusing on non-violent communication, politeness and kindness. It examines how politeness and kindness are understood across cultural contexts and shaped by patriarchal culture and pretty privilege. The workshop combines a theoretical section with reflective exercises and a participatory discussion aimed at collective, action-oriented thinking. Please register at https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/1b8dcrYA5A
Sustainability at POLITO: The Campus as a Living Laboratory
Room R3B + campus tour (only offsite) – Cm8
An overview of the sustainability initiatives at Politecnico di Torino, presented as a living laboratory, by Prof. Patrizia Lombardi, Vice Rector for Sustainable Campus and Living Lab. From the Green Team governance structure to on-campus actions, highlighting the key role of students and staff.
Lunch and coffee break
All lunches and coffee breaks, beginning Tuesday, February 10th, will be provided on the ground floor of the R Classrooms Pavilion.
Unite! Dinner Party
The plenary dinner on Thursday, February 11th, at 8 p.m. will take place at the Foyer del Toro in the renowned Teatro Regio, Torino’s celebrated opera house, located at Piazza Castello 215.
Do not forget to bring your badge!
Social activities
All the registered participants have received detailed information via e-mail. In case you need, contact the organisers via e-mail at unite-dialogue@polito.it.
Reach out our KLO Professor Roberto Zanino to join him skiing in Monginevro! Contact him with an e-mail to: roberto.zanino@polito.it.