The adoption of the European framework for scientific diplomacy in May 2026 has strengthened the role of universities in international cooperation and in the external action of the European Union. EUTOPIA occupies a unique position in this area. Composed of ten European universities, the alliance has made scientific diplomacy one of its strategic areas of work and has contributed to promoting the concept of “diplomacy in science,” an approach that positions universities and researchers as actors in international cooperation through academic and scientific networks. We spoke with Eric Piaget, coordinator of scientific diplomacy at EUTOPIA and researcher at the Institute of Comparative Studies on Regional Integration of the United Nations University (UNU-CRIS).
– EUTOPIA is the only European university alliance with an explicit commitment to scientific diplomacy. What does this commitment consist of?
EUTOPIA’s commitment to scientific diplomacy is based on the conviction that universities are key actors in international cooperation. They generate knowledge about global challenges, train future generations, attract international talent, and maintain long-term collaborative relationships even in complex political contexts. Therefore, EUTOPIA believes that European university alliances constitute infrastructures with significant diplomatic potential.
This commitment is realized through training activities, conferences, and dialogue spaces that bring together the academic community and policymakers. EUTOPIA seeks to strengthen the role of universities in international cooperation and promote a shared understanding of scientific diplomacy, especially through the fourth dimension of scientific diplomacy (“diplomacy in science”), which considers academic institutions as active players in this field.
In the context of the European Union’s international action, the new framework aims to provide greater strategic and operational coherence. It links scientific diplomacy with democratic values, strategic interests, technological and data sovereignty, open and secure international cooperation, scientific advice, foresight, peace, human rights, multilateralism, and global public goods. For EUTOPIA, this implies integrating scientific diplomacy into the contribution that universities make to the international projection of Europe.
– What does this fourth dimension of scientific diplomacy (“diplomacy in science”) bring to the three classical dimensions (“science in diplomacy,” “science for diplomacy,” and “diplomacy for science”)?
The three classical dimensions remain very useful, although they tend to place states and formal diplomacy at the center of analysis. “Diplomacy in science,” a concept developed by Luk Van Langenhove and Jean-Claude Burgelman from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel —the founding university of EUTOPIA— examines how science itself can act diplomatically and how scientific and academic institutions can protect the international character of knowledge.
As geopolitical fragmentation increases, along with concerns about research security, misinformation, anti-scientific discourse, and growing strategic competition, science can no longer assume that openness will defend itself. It needs actors, practices, and institutions capable of preserving dialogue, trust, academic freedom, and cooperation.
This fourth dimension considers researchers, universities, and university alliances as ambassadors of science understood as a global public good. This role was precisely one of the focal points of the EUTOPIA Global Conference on Scientific Diplomacy, focused on how to strengthen the capacity of the academic community to develop diplomatic skills in service of knowledge.
– At that conference, an especially interesting idea emerged: student mobility and alumni networks as a form of informal diplomacy. What does this consist of?
Student mobility and alumni networks constitute forms of informal diplomacy because they create lasting bonds between people, institutions, and countries. Beyond the acquisition of knowledge, students who undertake international stays come into contact with different societies, academic cultures, and ways of thinking, establishing trust relationships that can endure beyond political cycles. Over time, these students contribute to creating a social fabric that complements traditional diplomatic channels and can facilitate communication and international cooperation. It is also an area where scientific diplomacy and public diplomacy evidently overlap.
For universities, mobility is also a strategic tool. When well-structured, it helps build international communities around shared challenges and fosters long-term academic and institutional cooperation.
– What element of the new European framework changes the landscape the most for an alliance like EUTOPIA?
I would say that the most significant change is that scientific diplomacy is now conceived as a shared European agenda, rather than a fragmented collection of initiatives.
The Council Recommendation adopted on May 29, 2026 —the same day we organized the EUTOPIA Global Conference on Scientific Diplomacy— provides the European Union with its first specific framework in this area and seeks to promote strategic, operational, and facilitative actions.
For EUTOPIA, the main innovation is the recognition that universities and research organizations are part of this ecosystem. This allows university alliances to play a more active role in European scientific diplomacy, translating the objectives of the new framework into concrete initiatives for training, cooperation, and international exchange.
– What capabilities do you consider most important to develop today in universities: understanding the diplomatic context, translating scientific evidence, managing alliances, or research security?
All are important, although I would group them into three main areas.
The first is contextual intelligence: universities need to understand the diplomatic, geopolitical, and regulatory environment in which international cooperation takes place.
The second is the capacity for translation: transforming scientific knowledge into useful information for policymakers and diplomatic actors. This requires foresight, dialogue among experts, the ability to communicate uncertainty, and training future generations of scientific diplomats.
The third is institutional coordination. Scientific diplomacy requires structures capable of connecting international relations, research, ethics, security, communication, and academic leadership, as well as effective coordination between universities and among different national systems.
Regarding research security, its importance is increasing, although it should not be understood as the opposite of openness. The key is to exercise responsible judgment: knowing when to promote cooperation, when to establish safeguards, when to ask better questions, and sometimes, when it is preferable not to proceed.
– In a university alliance, in what types of collaborations or decisions is the tension between academic openness and the protection of strategic interests most visible?
This tension is most evident in collaborations related to sensitive technologies, data, infrastructures, or geopolitical risks, especially in areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, cybersecurity, biotechnology, space, energy, and dual-use technologies.
It also appears in the selection of partners. Universities must assess whether a collaboration may pose risks related to academic freedom, data protection, intellectual property, human rights, institutional autonomy, or strategic dependence. At the same time, they must weigh the risks that may arise from restricting cooperation.
Within a university alliance, the issue becomes even more complex, as partners operate under different regulatory frameworks and political sensitivities. What one university considers a routine academic exchange may require specific safeguards for another. Therefore, alliances need shared principles and procedures that allow for more responsible and sustainable international cooperation.
– In the current context of increasing international tensions, how can science and universities contribute to dialogue, cooperation, and decision-making?
Science can contribute because many of the most important challenges of our time are shared challenges: climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, pandemics, food security, artificial intelligence, migration, energy, or governance of global common goods. All of them require knowledge, trust, and international cooperation.
Universities contribute by keeping channels of dialogue open, providing independent knowledge, training future generations, and creating spaces where cooperation remains possible even in politically difficult circumstances. They also promote better decision-making through evidence-based advice and a long-term vision.
In a context marked by misinformation and polarization, universities can help reinforce public trust in science. However, their most important contribution is also symbolic: they remind us that knowledge has an intrinsically international nature. No university can fully fulfill its mission in isolation from the world.
If we understand scientific diplomacy as a way to connect societies through knowledge, dialogue, and the pursuit of shared understandings, universities embody that mission. However, this vision of scientific diplomacy can no longer be taken for granted in an era of profound geopolitical transformations. Precisely for this reason, universities have an important role to play in its defense.
The opinions expressed in this interview belong to Eric Piaget and do not necessarily represent the position of EUTOPIA or its member institutions.
