Holder of the European Commission's Seal of Excellence, ELLS Universities is taking the next step and submitting its application to the European University Initiative. The ambition: to become Europe's leading academic reference for the sustainable transformation of agri-food systems. 

A clear mission: training tomorrow's change-makers 

Europe faces existential challenges directly linked to its ecological footprint — climate instability, geopolitical tensions, and a fragile food sovereignty. In this context, training people capable of transforming agri-food systems is no longer just an academic ambition: it is a strategic necessity. ELLS's application is built around three interdependent objectives: ensuring food security and healthy nutrition for all, preserving and enhancing the natural environment, and supporting dynamic, resilient rural economies and communities — in alignment with SDG 2: Zero Hunger. 

Strong assets, a vision of federation 

ELLS brings together 11 member universities, 10 joint master's programmes, 15 summer schools each year, and a Scientific Student Conference that has drawn more than 300 participants annually since 2009. Member universities account for 7.5% of European publications in agricultural sciences and have collectively secured more than €820 million in R&I funding through the Horizon programme since 2014. The proposed model is one of federation — ELLS as an enabling platform that amplifies each member's capabilities while preserving their national and regional roots. 

Concrete priorities for the next two years 

The application focuses on two key areas: deploying an Agri-food System Changemaker Competency Framework as the shared foundation for the teaching offer, paving the way towards European Degrees; and accelerating pedagogical innovation across the alliance — pooling administrative capacity, connecting innovative initiatives, and developing joint micro-credentials. 

By becoming a European University, ELLS Universities gives itself the means to rise to the urgency: training, at a continental scale, those who will build the agri-food systems of tomorrow.