Universities are interconnected with the cities they are located in. Universities often shape urban development, social structures, economic competitiveness, and sustainability transitions. Meanwhile, cities provide spatial, political, and societal context for the universities. Increasingly commonly universities and cities actively build models and programs for long-term strategic collaboration. UniverCities 2026 invites researchers, policymakers, university administrators, urban planners, and innovation practitioners to discuss the changing relationship between universities and cities and how collaborative models can help solve urban problems.
UniverCities 2026 seeks interdisciplinary contributions from various fields, welcoming theoretical, empirical, and practice-oriented papers, and presentations.
Themes of the conference include:
1. Tackling urban challenges together
2. Creating impactful city-university partnership models
3. Driving innovation and economic development.
The call for papers is open right now and the submission deadline for abstracts is 1 June 2026. The conference is 29-30 September, at University of Helsinki, Finland.
See detailed information on the conference website: