5th Edition

futurEU Competition

The EU is facing existential challenges. Join futurEU 2025 and compete with CIVICA students from all over Europe to develop the most innovative policies to move the EU forward.

Finalists are announced on the 8th of April!

Online Workshop | 01.04.2025 at 16:00 CET

Register Now: “The Future of EU Competitiveness” with Daniel Gros, Director of the Institute for European Policymaking at Bocconi University

The Topic: Enhancing EU Competitiveness

Several ideas have recently been floated around for how the EU can increase its competitiveness. Now it is your turn: How do you think the EU can become more competitive? Feel free to interpret competitiveness in an economic, social or some other way. Send us a short summary of your ideas in the style of a “thread” (225 words max.) by February 4!

“The futurEU Competition is a dynamic and inspiring project where students like you can propose fresh ideas and innovative solutions for the European Union’s future.”

Enrico Letta, EU Rapporteur on the future of the Single Market, President of the Jacques Delors Institute and former Prime Minister of Italy

Finalists are announced soon!

All semi-finalists who have submitted their policy briefs will be reviewed and ranked by the futurEU comittee. The finalists are announced on the 8th of April!

Impressions from futurEU 2024

Read winning proposal

Idea submission is closed!

All semi-finalists are now submitting their full policy briefs to the futurEU team.

Timeline Competition

  • Launch Competition

    03.12.24 - 12:00 CET

    It all begins with an idea. Check out the topic, find your team and register!

  • Deadline Individual Registration

    07.01.25 - 23:59 CET

    Would you like to participate but don’t have a team? Register as an individual and we will help you find the perfect team for you! You will get to meet students across the whole CIVICA Alliance.

  • Deadline Team Registration

    14.01.25 - 23:59 CET

    Have you found your team? Do you have friends you want to participate with? Remember to register your team by the deadline. You are not allowed to register to the competition individually.

  • Deadline Idea Submission

    04.02.25 - 23:59 CET

    Submit an abstract of your visionary idea on our website by the deadline!

  • Notification of Semi-Finalists

    18.02.25

    We will announce the teams who have made it into the semi-finals.

  • Deadline Policy Brief Submission

    11.03.2025 - 23:59 CET

    You and your team will turn your idea into a full policy brief.

  • Announcement of Finalists

    08.04.2025

    We will announce the teams who will be invited to take part in the futurEU 2025 final in Berlin!

  • Finals in Berlin

    16.05.2025

    The finalists will win a paid 3-day trip to Berlin, where they present their policy proposal to judges and fellow students.

The Rules

Nobody likes them; nobody reads them, but you should.

As every competition, ours has rules too. You might think they are too long, too boring, but they will be helpful. When you sign up, you will agree to them, so better take a look at what you are agreeing to!

Rules
 

 FAQs

  • 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 2024-2025. Participants must be pursuing a bachelor’s, master’s, or PhD degree.

  • No, participation is only allowed as part of a team. Individual registrants may form teams during the pre-registration stage or request the organizing team to assign them to a team.

  • Participants must register as a team by January 14, 2025, via the futurEU website. Registration is free of charge.

  • 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.

    • Short summarysubmission: February 4, 2025.

    • Policy brief submission: March 11, 2025.

  • The oral round is planned to be held in Berlin on April 25, 2025, subject to funding and public health conditions.

  • 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 oral 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