How did you come to be involved in Una Europa?
One of the first discussions we had within the Self-Steering Committee (SSC) in Europe and the World was the creation of a joint degree. Because of my role as an International Relations delegate in my department [at Université Paris 1], it made perfect sense that I would be involved in this, especially to look into the technical possibilities of creating this joint degree. We have been very successful within the alliance in creating such formats, and Paris 1 contributed a lot to the discussions and to pave the way for how we could create these joint programmes.
How has your role in the alliance changed over time?
Joint degrees were the main goal of the SSCs to begin with, but our activities are not limited to educational formats. Now, we are building our Transnational Research Teams [groups of researchers from across Una Europa partner universities working on specific sub-topics linked to the alliance Focus Areas]. Through Galleria Europe, I am involved in the construction of the Transnational Research Teams, helping to identify the topics that are relevant to each institution and figure out how to develop the network of research in European Studies. I also participate in the Transnational Research Teams under the Sustainability Focus Area, in sustainable development.
The aim of the Transnational Research Teams is to try and guide us towards a more research-oriented approach – we have been creating these educational formats, which are successful and we can be proud of, but now we want to go a step further.
" Una Europa offered a great opportunity for me to implement something I had in mind a long time ago: a problem-based learning approach. It engaged the students very much, much more than a lecture would have done. And so, what was originally just a 12-hour teaching load in Kraków, turned out to be transformative for my own practice as well. "
Laurine Martinoty, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.
What Una Europa initiative are you most proud to be part of? Why?
Université Paris 1 has been very involved in the design and creation of the Certificate in European Studies, on the side of the Una Europa Joint Bachelor in European Studies (BAES). The Certificate has no legal value per se, but it has value in the eyes of the students.
The original idea was to construct a sort of compensation system between the degree-awarding partner universities of the BAES and other universities which, for many different reasons, were not capable of awarding a joint degree right away, to still enable students from the mobility partners to benefit from Una Europa expertise in the field of European Studies. The Certificate turned out to be one of the most interesting flexible education opportunities we created in Una Europa. It attracts around 40 students per year, from different disciplinary areas, and gives them the unique opportunity to study Europe with European researchers and students from the Una Europa partner universities.
So at the end of the day, what started as a compensation scheme, offered to the BAES mobility partners, turned out to be one of the most truly innovative and flexible educational formats that we have developed in Una Europa. So we are very proud of it, and I am proud to have helped design, sustain, and try to encourage interest in it.
How has your involvement in the SSCs changed your view of your own teaching practice?
Una Europa has been truly inspiring for my own teaching practice. While I am currently not involved in the teaching of the educational formats under the Europe and the World SSC, I have had the chance to become a member of the teaching staff of the Joint Bachelor in Sustainability (BASUS).
I started teaching in the BASUS this year; the programme had just opened [in autumn 2025]. This was a great opportunity for me to actually implement something I had in mind a long time ago, but I didn’t do in my own institution, I guess out of a mixture of angst, fear, and automatic behaviour: I wanted to try implementing a problem-based learning approach in my BASUS course. In fact, it worked out very well, and engaged the students very much, much more than a mere lecture would have done. And so originally, what was just a 12-hour teaching load in Kraków, turned out to be transformative for my own practice as well.
Now, there are other courses that I’m delivering here in Paris where I could imagine implementing this format. I teach a master’s level course on labour economics, for instance, where this format would apply quite well.
I was glad to be able to test this format in a context where experimentation is encouraged, where it is seen positively.
" European Universities like Una Europa act as toy models for the way European institutions should work together – with autonomy, collaboration, reaching consensus, and also by creativity and a problem-based approach, solving problems together. This places our alliance de facto in the position of safeguarding these values. "
Laurine Martinoty, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.
The upcoming Una Europa General Assembly will focus on the European values of inclusivity, academic freedom, and democracy.
In your view, why are these values particularly important to higher education in Europe right now?
This topic is very much aligned with ongoing discussions at my university – it corresponds to a general atmosphere here, a feeling of concern and hope at the same time. These values are very important, of course, but now when they are being challenged by political and civil actors it is important to share, to protect, and also to promote them. This is very dear to the heart of our Vice President for Europe [Fabienne Peraldi Leneuf, member of the Una Europa Board of Directors].
To me, European Universities like Una Europa act as toy models for the way institutions should work together. We [alliances] have governance systems that are modelled on the European Union. This model is characterised by autonomy, collaboration, reaching consensus, and also by creativity and a problem-based approach, solving problems together. This places our alliance de facto in the position of safeguarding these values.
If we fail as public servants – as academics, as staff, as students – to keep alive the principles of consensus, mutual respect, unity, and diversity that unite Europe, it would, to my mind, send a very negative signal for the EU in general. It’s important to remind ourselves that these are important values that we have to apply ourselves, beyond merely safekeeping them for society, because we are part of this Europe. We are creating the Europe of the future with this alliance. The topic of this General Assembly is a timely reminder of that.
What can Una Europa colleagues expect from the General Assembly in Paris?
The idea of this General Assembly is to create an opportunity to discuss the future of the alliance. We are at a turning point in our funding, our future strategy, and so much more, so there are a lot of very important questions that we will be discussing. Paris will be a forum to discuss together.
In Université Paris 1 and in France, we’re very proud of our history. And actually, the Sorbonne building [where the Una Europa Talk will take place] is the place where Macron, in 2017, first gave his speech on the European Universities initiative, launching the idea of the alliances in the air.
So, almost 10 years later, I believe it’s time to take stock, to reflect on the legacies we have been building. What have we been doing? What are we going to do next? This is the perfect moment to discuss this, and the Sorbonne is the perfect place to do so.
