CIVICA, the European University of Social Sciences

CIVICA brings together ten leading European higher education institutions in the social sciences, humanities, business management and public policy, with a total of 72,000 students and 13,000 faculty members. Together, they build on an ever-stronger combination of teaching, research and innovation to mobilise and share knowledge as a public good and to facilitate civic responsibility in Europe and beyond.

About

Since its founding in 2019 by leading European social science universities, CIVICA has worked to establish a truly European inter-university campus. In doing so, it has piloted the EU's flagship initiative to enhance strategic partnerships in European higher education and research. CIVICA members have drawn on their joint expertise and shared European values to offer students and staff innovative, transnational opportunities in education, research and civic engagement, with special emphasis on digital innovation and an overarching mission to serve European societies.

Vision

Together with our CIVICA partners, we aim to:

deepen and expand activities in key areas such as education, research, service to society, innovation and lifelong learning;
develop a diverse and inclusive CIVICA community;
establish CIVICA’s lead role in the social sciences with further global outreach;
and set up a framework for sustainable institutional cooperation.

CIVICA embodies our ambition, as forward-thinking higher education institutions, to assume our civic responsibility as Europeans towards both future European generations and the role of Europe in the world.

Mission

CIVICA will continue to serve local and global communities, defend core European values, foster environmental sustainability, and advance policy-relevant research in the social sciences. Yet, the focus will remain on the alliance’s internal communities. Between autumn 2022 and autumn 2026, thousands of students and (post)doctoral researchers are expected to benefit from enhanced mobility, new and expanded joint educational offers, and Europe-wide opportunities for civic engagement and extracurricular activities. In the face of evolving political contexts, CIVICA strives to build bridges between academia and civil society, while acting as a model of sustainable institutional cooperation and providing a stable and inclusive environment in which the values of autonomy and academic freedom are defended.

Read the full mission statement