Our structure guarantees appropriate representation of the various stakeholders, while providing a platform for developing and considering innovative ideas by engaging the creativity and talent of Una Europa researchers, teachers, professional staff members, and students. Moreover, the Future UniLab develops and implements new methods for discussion and problem-solving for European universities, which are also transferable and scalable for use in various contexts and institutional settings.

An essential component of the methodology is the distinction between two types of teams:

• Visionary Teams are given the freedom to dream and think truly out-of-the-box. They respond by producing, depending on the nature and the developed solution, a so-called output which may be a concept note, a report, a prototype or a position paper. The outputs are discussed at the forum of the Steering Committee and presented for the consideration of the Board of Directors and/or the Una.Futura Project Steering Committee. The Visionary Teams may include:

1. Members of the Steering Committee.
2. Senior Fellows, who present different professional backgrounds while coming from both within and outside of academia.
3. Fellows, who are researchers, teachers, professional staff members or students.

• Design Team is tasked with the crucial “reality check” for the dream scenarios. The task is to assist the relevant Una Europa bodies in the implementation process, by providing consultation, advice and feedback. The Design Team consists mainly of professionals from the Una Europa partners.

The interaction of these two central players is orchestrated by the Future UniLab’s Steering Committee. This team is a permanent structure, consisting of representatives from all Una Europa partners as well as Una Europa bodies such as the Brussels team and the Una Europa Student Board. The Steering Committee's role goes from overseeing all the operations of the think-tank, adopting a long-term strategy and annual action plans to selecting the challenges and opportunities and appointing Senior and Junior Fellows.

In order to coordinate the proper functioning of the Future UniLab, there is a Management Team behind the curtain. This team is formed by the:

• The Future UniLab Manager, who assists the Steering Committee’s Chair in the organization of the Future UniLab’s meetings as well as liaisons with and participates in meetings of other Una Europa bodies in order to secure smooth communication of the Future UniLab’s activities within Una Europa.
• Two Future UniLab Assistant Managers, who provide administrative support to the Manager and support for the dissemination of information (and outputs) of the Future UniLab as well as raise the visibility of the think-tank within and outside Una Europa.
• The Financial Officer, who takes care of the budget and finances of the Future UniLab as well as the whole Una Europa budget at the local university leading the think-tank.

The Future UniLab identifies and responds to challenges (fundamental problems for the future of universities) and opportunities (circumstances potentially enabling rapid progress). These:

1. Represent complex and fundamental issues for the future of universities.
2. May emerge from the functioning of Una Europa and are important for the future of the alliance.

Challenges and opportunities may be proposed by members of the Future UniLab, other Una Europa bodies as well as the Una Europa community as a whole through an online participatory mechanism. The final selection is carried out by the Steering Committee in consultation with the Senior Fellows.

The current challenges are:

• The evolving role of the university: What will the university of 2050 look like, and what role should it play in a rapidly changing world? This visionary theme invites us to think critically about the future of higher education in the face of global challenges and emerging opportunities.
• Core values of higher education: What should guide universities in times of uncertainty? How can they stay true to their mission while navigating global challenges? This theme invites participants to reflect on the fundamental principles that define higher education, from academic freedom and open discourse to resilience, responsibility, and global engagement.

All the previous work of the Future UniLab Visionaries can be found here.

As we want to make the work of our Visionaries visible, their outputs are communicated and discussed with the use of innovative communication tools and formats. For instance, you can find discussions about the Future UniLab in podcasts or debates organized by Una Europa, dive for some food for thought in the Una Europa Knowledge Hub or check our most recent activity on the X/Twitter platform. Wherever you find the Future UniLab, our goal is to always make you reflect on the most blatant information.