The future of universities is a widely contested issue on a worldwide scale. The future is always intriguing and uncertain. Futurism, however, shouldn’t be confused with the sustainable future. Contemporary discussions about the future are more complex for a multitude of reasons, such as our inability to predict the disruptive effects of technological innovation and the cascades of crises we are currently experiencing, which have a multiplying effect on the quality of life and work.

One word has been omnipresent and fundamental in talks about the future – change. Universities of the future have to observe and continuously adapt to
 social needs, but they must also to create, innovate, and refocus processes of societal upgrading. Not all future universities will be the universities of the future. Even though it is challenging to do so in the world of academia, the universities of the future will be those that focus on the resilient future rather than past.

Answering this issue requires a diversity of perspectives and social stakeholders with a range of experiences. The idea behind this European Forum is to foster multilateralism and multilevel intersectoral collaboration. One of the foundational elements of universities in the future will undoubtedly be the collective wisdom generated by dialogues between the business and academic worlds.

The European Forum consists of four dialogues between representatives of the key regional stakeholders from the business and financial sector, diplomats and experts in multilateral relations and the representatives of academic sector. The Forum’s main goal is to go beyond stereotypes and openly discuss the existent dichotomies between private and public, state and market, traditional and progressive, corporate and participatory, and many others.