The European University alliance ELLS (Euroleague for Life Sciences) is a forward-looking network of leading European universities committed to life sciences for sustainability. Rooted in scientific excellence and societal engagement, ELLS drives the transformation of agri-food systems through collaboration in education, research, and innovation.
The alliance brings together institutions with deep expertise in Natural Resource Management, Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Life Sciences, Food Systems, Environmental Sciences, and Rural Development — including Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology. Its joint efforts are guided by a shared mission to address global challenges related to food security, environmental sustainability, and inclusive rural prosperity.
While full membership is open to universities in EU and EU-associated countries, the European University alliance ELLS also collaborates with international partner institutions to foster global knowledge exchange and impact. Since 2013, partners such as Lincoln University (New Zealand) and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have been part of this global cooperation, highlighting ELLS’s commitment to excellence in sustainable life sciences worldwide.
The European University alliance ELLS is committed to advancing life sciences for sustainability by fostering transformative education, world-leading research, and deep societal engagement. Its core activities—joint teaching and learning, mobility, and collaborative program development—prepare students and staff to become agents of change in sustainable agri-food systems across Europe and globally.
Through shared resources, mutual learning, and institutional collaboration, ELLS enhances the academic excellence and global competitiveness of its member universities, while creating a strong collective identity aligned with the European Green Deal and Sustainable Development Goals.
The objectives of the European University alliance ELLS are:
To develop and deliver challenge-driven, interdisciplinary study programmes that equip students with competencies for sustainability and societal transformation.
To promote student and staff mobility across the alliance, enabling inclusive and flexible learning experiences across national borders.
To ensure academic quality and innovation through shared pedagogical expertise, joint facilities, and a culture of institutional learning.
To provide transparent, accessible information about joint programmes, micro-credentials, and European degrees within the ELLS framework.
To strengthen the collective impact of member universities by aligning strategies, sharing best practices, and fostering strong European and international collaboration.
Challenge-driven science and innovation
ELLS will investigate the potential of creating a (virtual) Joint Science Centre as a platform of collaboration between scientists and students across the European University, and other stakeholders across Europe and around the world. The (virtual) Joint Science Centre will enable ELLS to conduct world-leading research and will connect the research results to actors in Government, industry, and other sectors, enabling them to make evidence-informed decisions and accelerate innovation to develop sustainable agri-food systems.
Challenge-driven teaching and learning
ELLS will foster key competencies for change-makers to develop sustainable agri-food systems. It will orient its teaching and learning experiences towards the development of these competencies, it will capacitate educators to deliver student-centered, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary, challenge-based, research-grounded, and real-world-relevant learning, and it will build structures and cultural norms supportive of this innovative pedagogical approach within its member universities.
Challenge-driven credentials
ELLS will develop academic programs and credentials which certify students’ preparation as change-makers in the transition towards sustainable agri-food systems. These credentials can include challenge-driven European degree programs and micro-credentials. We will also enable learners to study across the member universities, and ensure academic processes are aligned and that study programs provide the competencies that change-makers need.
The governance of the European University alliance ELLS reflects its commitment to shared leadership, strategic coordination, and inclusive participation across all member universities.
Comprising the rectors, presidents, or principals of the member universities, the ELLS Board serves as the alliance’s highest decision-making body. It convenes annually to provide strategic direction and oversee long-term development.
The Task Force consists of one appointed representative from each member university. Meeting at least twice per year, it coordinates operational activities, develops strategic and policy proposals, and ensures effective communication across institutional, national, and international levels.
The Euroleague Student Association (ELSA) is the student voice within the alliance. ELSA representatives actively contribute to all levels of governance, with one vote on the ELLS Board and two votes on the Task Force, ensuring students are meaningfully engaged in shaping the alliance’s direction.
Subject Areas are academic working groups composed of staff from all partner universities. They are responsible for designing and advancing joint teaching programmes in their respective fields.
Support Teams focus on cross-cutting topics essential to the alliance’s functioning, including legal frameworks, quality assurance, digital learning (e-learning), and mobility. These teams strengthen implementation and innovation across ELLS activities.
The ELLS Board decided in April 2024 to adopt the mission and vision of SUSTAIN-LIFE as the mission and vision (strategy) of the European University alliance ELLS. This document presents a summary of the societal mission and vision and the institutional vision formulated for the SUSTAIN-LIFE proposal to capture the decision of the Board and discuss the consequences for the identity and strategy of ELLS.
ELLS, as European University alliance, is a leading academic actor in Europe on sustainable agri-food systems, covering all activities related to food production and consumption, agriculture in its broad activities of food and non-food production (including forestry), as well as wild fish and aquaculture, and the sustainability of their interactions with landscape (urban and rural) and aquatic systems, biodiversity, and rural socio-ecosystems.
Our Societal Vision and Mission is focused on the development of sustainable agri-food systems that produce sufficient healthy food for all, preserve and enhance the natural environment, and foster more dynamic resilient, and inclusive rural economies and communities. Developing sustainable agri-food systems is essential to address global threats of food insecurity, systematic environmental degradation, and rural economic decline. To fulfill this mission, ELLS is deeply engaged with all concerned societal actors, carries out cutting-edge research, and aims to educate change-makers.
ELLS is both a stand-alone European University owned by its member universities and the deeply integrated alliance of these universities. ELLS envisions delivering its own credentials and degrees. For the realization of the research and innovation strategy ELLS will explore the potential benefits of, for example, a (virtual) joint science centre. ELLS will strengthen its engagement with societal partners to ensure that science translates into progress for sustainable agri-food systems. ELLS will also help its member universities to strengthen themselves and enhance their effectiveness. ELLS will develop through a mix of careful community-building and ambitious change. Its development will be steered by key principles, and ensured by strong commitments between the member universities, enshrined in the ELLS Charter.
The research potential, geographical spread, transformative educational model and societal importance of sustainable life sciences give ELLS a systemic role within the European higher education system and a global responsibility to strengthen education, research, and innovation in the life sciences for sustainability.
Our Societal Vision and Mission and our Institutional Vision define the framework within which ELLS strategic planning and organisational development take place. These commitments, detailed in the following sections, have been endorsed both by the European University alliance ELLS and by each of the university members.
The European University ELLS aims to support Europe and the world in transitioning toward socio-ecological systems that produce sufficient healthy food for all, preserve and enhance the natural environment, and foster more dynamic, resilient, and inclusive rural economies and communities.
This ambition is embodied in three societal priorities: food security, environmental sustainability, and prosperous rural communities. Each priority is essential and interdependent, and sustainable agri-food systems must address them all without compromising the others. Change-makers in these systems must have a comprehensive understanding of technical, ecological, social, and political contexts.
The European University ELLS aims to be a lead academic actor in Europe in advancing the European and global transition towards sustainable agri-food systems by engaging with society, educating and empowering change-makers, and conducting world-leading research.
These three aims are mutually reinforcing. None can be sustainably achieved without the others.
Pillar 1: Challenge-driven science and innovation
ELLS will investigate the potential of creating a (virtual) Joint Science Centre to enable world-leading research and link findings to policy and innovation efforts for sustainable agri-food systems.
Pillar 2: Challenge-driven teaching and learning
ELLS will foster key competencies for sustainability through challenge-based, student-centered, and interdisciplinary teaching grounded in real-world relevance.
Pillar 3: Challenge-driven credentials
ELLS will develop European degree programs and micro-credentials to certify student preparation for sustainability challenges, ensuring aligned academic standards across member universities.
ELLS aspires to become a flagship European university addressing food security, environmental sustainability, and inclusive rural prosperity. Its model is based on a strong central legal entity and a dual degree system, including sustainability-focused European credentials and micro-credentials.
The Joint Science Centre will support interdisciplinary collaboration, provide access to research infrastructure, and translate evidence into impactful policy and innovation. The ELLS brand will grow alongside member institutions to attract talent, build global identity, and contribute to the European Green Transition.
Member universities of ELLS commit to:
