European Universities designing the horizons of sustainability

Sustainable Horizon Alliance will contribute to an inclusive society, supporting researchers/academics deeply thinking, respecting nature, practical problem-solving professionals, adapting to new challenges. We are six young HEIs, open to innovation, located in small cities within EU periphery, from South Extreme (Faro-Pt, Huelva-Es), Central (Zlìn-Cz, Ludwigshafen-De), Eastern (Timisoara-Ro) to North (Lahti-Fi) carried out activities of co-production with relevant economic regional impact. The complementary strength in sustainability scientific fields aiming at inclusive institutional transformation and providing a platform as preferential partners collaborating with surrounding ecosystems. The goals are to support the Alliance created in 2019 and in especially the Widening Countries HEIs (UAlg, BUAS UTB) to, within the network and with the best practices, define road maps to effectively implement inclusive approaches to open science policies, gender balance plans, careers management, researcher’s societal links. Our sustainability research approach will be anchors on traditional sciences (environmental, socioeconomics) but with strong interdisciplinarity innovation based on Artificial Intelligence, allowing Entrepreneurship and Employability to impact regional ecosystems. The Alliance will rely on a creative governance model with a balanced top-down and bottom-up approach with the academic/researcher clusters (Science & Technology, Health, Socio-Economics), the leadership (Rectors& Directors), to an effective institutional change that will achieve balance between careers and life, to foster a variety of joint research projects based on excellence and trustful collaboration to allow International competitiveness. Using our HEIs geographic proximity, historic, cultural and linguistic links, we aim to project the Alliance outside Europe (eg. Africa & South America) offering Distance learning PhD supporting locally at global level sustainability and a Healthy Planet.