The futurEU Competition is an initiative aimed at fostering dialogue and discourse on the future of the European Union. It seeks to engage students and PhD researchers from CIVICA member universities in addressing EU-related challenges through a structured competition.

The competition aims to:

• Promote awareness of CIVICA and its initiatives.

• Encourage collaboration among students from different universities.

• Include students' perspectives in academic and public discourse on EU topics.

The competition is open to students enrolled in any CIVICA member university for the academic year 2025-2026. Participants must be pursuing a bachelor’s, master’s, or PhD degree.

You can register individually so that you can be assigned to a team, because in the competition participation is only allowed as part of a team. Click here for individual registration.

Participants must either register individually or as a team.

Click here for registration as individual.

Click here for registration as a team.

Changes to team composition are only allowed under extraordinary circumstances and must be approved by the organizing team.

The competition consists of two rounds:

1. Written Round: Teams submit a short summary in the form of Threads of their solution. Selected teams will expand this into a policy brief.

2. Oral Round: The top eight teams present their policy brief to a panel of judges.

• Idea submission: February 11, 2026.

• Policy brief submission: March 11, 2026.

The final round is planned to be held in Berlin in May 2026 (exact date will be released soon)

The short summary must not exceed 250 words and shall be written in a Threads style.

A thread is a structured series of concise, connected statements used to present complex ideas in an engaging and digestible format. For the futurEU Competition, your 250-word summary should adopt a Threads style, mimicking the format used on platforms like Twitter. This means breaking your argument into short, impactful sentences or bullet points that logically flow from one idea to the next. The goal is to make your policy recommendation clear, compelling, and accessible while maintaining brevity and precision. Ensure each "point" builds on the previous one to tell a cohesive story, culminating in a concrete policy recommendation.

• Maximum word count: 1,500 words (excluding the cover page and references).

• Must include a cover page, a clear title, structured body (background, analysis, recommendations), and a reference list.

No, submissions cannot be altered, deleted, or re-sent after the deadline.

The panel consists of early-stage researchers, experts, and faculty from CIVICA and the Jacques Delors Centre.

• Written Round: Originality, depth, relevance, logical rigor, and clarity.

• Oral Round: Argumentation, style, mastery, responsiveness, and delivery.

Yes, all decisions are final and unappealable.

Yes, at least one team member must attend a workshop. Failure to do so may result in disqualification.

The winning team will receive a plaque and the opportunity to have their work published by the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI). Travel and accommodation expenses for the final round will be reimbursed for all qualified teams.

Participants must exhibit fair play, respect intellectual property, and ensure the originality of their submissions. Plagiarism or misconduct may result in disqualification.

Any questions you may have can be directed to us by writing to info@futureu-initiative.org