UM hosts SEA-EU BIP on Managing European Alliances

The SEA-EU Office at the UM hosted members of the SEA-EU Offices at the Valletta Campus between 11 and 15 May 2026 for a Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) dedicated to Managing a European University Alliance: Governance, Communication, and Practice.

Preceded by a virtual session on 29 April, the five-day event brought together colleagues from the SEA-EU Offices at the Universities of Malta, Algarve, Gdańsk, Split, and Nord to exchange knowledge, share institutional practices, and strengthen the collective understanding of how European University Alliances operate in practice.

The programme opened with a session chaired by Ms Maria Grima Calleja, Senior Manager of the University of Malta's SEA-EU Office, exploring the organisational evolution of SEA-EU Offices across partner universities. Participants reflected on how alliance structures have grown rapidly from small project teams into dedicated institutional units, and on the coordination, governance, and communication challenges that come with that growth.

The exchanges were as enriching as they were practical, offering participants a clearer picture of what their counterparts across the Alliance are navigating, and what can be learned from one another.

Among the highlights of the programme was the session presented by the UM’s Legal Director, Dr Angele Attard Chetcuti, on the formal establishment of SEA-EU as a registered Association, officially endorsed in April 2026.

The session traced the Alliance’s remarkable journey from an informal network of nine universities to a structured legal entity, charting the key milestones in Rectors’ Council discussions across Europe and the signing of the statute in Naples in November 2025.

The governance structure now in place, comprising a Rectors’ Council, a Board of Administrators, Vice-Rector Committees, and a rotating Presidency, provides the Alliance with a robust institutional framework and a commitment to cooperation that extends well beyond EU funding cycles.

A session on creative thinking and innovation, delivered by Prof. Leonie Baldacchino from the Edward de Bono Institute for Creative Thinking and Innovation, introduced participants to creativity as a learnable, practicable skill and to the role of divergent thinking and perception in navigating complex organisational environments. The session invited reflection on how alliance offices might cultivate a culture of innovation, not as an occasional aspiration, but as an embedded way of working.

Project impact and long-term value creation were explored in a session led by Prof. Alan Deidun, which examined the distinction between measuring outputs and generating lasting societal value.

Drawing on frameworks including Key Exploitation Results, Technology Readiness Levels, and stakeholder engagement models, the session made a compelling case for science-to-policy communication as an essential, and frequently underused, tool for demonstrating the real-world relevance of Alliance work.

Further sessions addressed the human dimensions of alliance management. An interactive workshop on intercultural competence and inclusive communication, led by Prof. Magdalena Żadkowska from the University of Gdańsk, examined how cultural assumptions shape the way we collaborate, making the case for inclusion as a strategic rather than merely ethical priority.

A session grounded in the Inner Development Goals framework, facilitated by Dr Tove Holm from Nord University, turned attention inward, exploring the personal qualities that effective alliance leadership requires. A dedicated discussion on communications strategy, led by Ms Irene de Andrés, SEA-EU Communications Manager at the University of Cádiz, addressed how the Alliance can communicate its work and impact with greater clarity to audiences both within and beyond the network, strengthening its visibility and policy relevance.

The programme also created opportunities for cultural exchange. Traditional snacks from the different countries were shared over coffee breaks celebrating the cultural diversity within SEA-EU.

A Language Café facilitated by Ms Fernanda Giraldo, at the UM's SEA-EU Office, offered a relaxed space for Spanish language exchange.

Workshops and discussions enabled participants to identify shared challenges across SEA-EU Offices. Common concerns included variability in procedures and templates, fragmented internal communication structures and the persistent difficulty of aligning strategic governance with operational realities in fast-growing alliance structures.

A dedicated session chaired by Maria Grima Calleja focused on KPI interpretation and reporting, a timely exercise as the Alliance prepares its final report. Participants also put forward proposals for the road ahead, including a strategic planning framework for alliance activities, standardised templates for joint initiatives, and the development of a Mobility Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (MCTS), presented by Ms Gordana Dujmovic, Technical Manager at the University of Split's SEA-EU Office, to bring consistency to how all forms of mobility are recognised across the Alliance.

The BIP reaffirmed the SEA-EU Alliance’s commitment to strengthening cooperation across its partner universities. With a legal identity now secured and a shared understanding of both the challenges and the opportunities ahead, the Alliance is well placed for its next chapter. Should a further phase be awarded, the frameworks, practices, and connections built during this week in Valletta provide a strong foundation to build upon.

For the SEA-EU Office at the UM, hosting this BIP was an opportunity to reflect on how far the Alliance has come, deepen ties with partner offices, and look ahead with a clearer sense of what the next chapter requires, and what it can achieve.