37th UNICA General Assembly & Rectors’ Seminar | Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL), 23-25 June 2027

The 37th UNICA General Assembly and Rectors’ Seminar will take place in Paris, from 23 to 25 June 2027, kindly hosted by Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL).

The Rectors’ Seminar 2027 “Capital Universities: from Urban Challenges to Global Opportunities” aims to explore how universities in capital cities can act as strategic drivers of ecological, social, and political transformation.

More about the theme of the Seminar

In capital cities, university campuses face intense urban, social, and political pressures. They also share with companies the challenge of competing to attract and retain talent in a context of globalization and international competition, highlighted by national and international rankings. Moreover, university sites in capitals are increasingly called upon to differentiate themselves, develop a brand image, and create a community and shared culture.

The profound transformations universities are undergoing and the numerous challenges they are facing (massification of higher education, digital transformation, international competitiveness, ecological imperatives, housing, social cohesion) require a global vision and an integrated approach at the scale of universities, but also a close connection with local actors in order to best respond to these challenges.

While these transformations represent a political, organizational, urban and financial challenge for these universities, it is also a major opportunity for them to reinvent and reinforce their key role in capital cities.

Discussions will focus on the following themes:

• The role of Universities in the making of the city – universities in capitals are key actors in territorial planning and powerful drivers of metropolitan attractiveness. Key issues include: integrating campuses into the urban fabric, opening university spaces to local communities, fostering science–society dialogue, how can urban campuses be more closely connected to their R&I ecosystems.
• Balancing global excellence with a civic mission — reconciling international ambition with local responsibilities in research, student recruitment, teaching languages, public engagement and institutional partnerships.
• Ecological transition and public responsibility — using campuses as living laboratories for sustainable buildings, renewable energy, low-carbon mobility, biodiversity and new relationships with the natural world.
• Spatial justice and social cohesion — addressing unequal access to campuses, affordable student housing, transport pressures, accessibility and the divide between central and peripheral university locations.

The seminar will examine how capital-city universities can turn local urban pressures into opportunities for innovation, collaboration and global engagement, developing models that are simultaneously internationally connected, locally rooted and socially responsible.

Target audience

Rectors/Presidents, Vice-Rectors/Vice-Presidents from UNICA member universities, Institutional Contact Persons, Heads of International Offices and senior managers involved in International and European Affairs from UNICA member universities

More information coming soon!