Experiencing European Citizenship: the NEOLAiA Focus Academy in Tours
on the March 27, 2026
Experiencing European Citizenship: the NEOLAiA Focus Academy in Tours
From 23 to 27 March 2026, the University of Tours welcomed around twenty students from universities within the NEOLAiA alliance as part of the Focus Academy European Citizenship. As the culmination of a hybrid programme that began online in January 2026, this in-person week transformed learning into concrete experience: debating, creating, exchanging and living European citizenship beyond theoretical concepts.
Diverse profiles to rethink Europe
Participants came from a wide range of disciplines, including law, computer science, social sciences, health, economics and engineering. This is a key feature of the Focus Academy: bringing together students from different disciplines and academic levels, with no specific prerequisites. This approach encourages rich exchanges, where perspectives complement one another and enable a more concrete and nuanced understanding of European issues.
An innovative and open format
Developed within the NEOLAiA alliance, Focus Academy courses are taught in English and centred on transferable skills, making them accessible to all. Their hybrid format combines a period of online learning with a short in-person mobility. Another distinctive feature is that each Focus Academy includes an activity open to a wider audience (“open activity”). In Tours, this open activity took the form of a conference-debate entitled “EU citizenship and digital transformation”. Organised on the very first day of the in-person week, it brought together, both on site and online, students and staff from the campus, participants from partner universities, as well as people from outside the academic world. This moment of exchange provided an opportunity to explore different perspectives on the transformations of European citizenship in the digital age.
Learning by doing
The in-person week was structured around active learning:
-Creation of podcasts, in English and in all the languages of the alliance, focusing on practical applications of European citizenship
-A European simulation serious game, in which students took on the roles of EU institutions (Commission, Parliament, Council of the EU) and interest groups to adopt a fictional law
These immersive formats help participants better understand how European Union institutions function, while developing essential skills such as argumentation, teamwork and public speaking.
What comes after Tours?
Other Focus Academies are being offered this semester by NEOLAiA partner universities:
- Visual Competence and Gender in the Digital World (University of Ostrava), focusing on gender issues and visual culture in the digital age
- Data Analytics for Inclusion and Diversity (University of Jaén), dedicated to data analysis to better understand and promote inclusion
- Eyes Wide Open: Learning to See Possible Inclusive Worlds (University of Nicosia), exploring diversity through creative, artistic and visual approaches
An invitation to follow these initiatives closely and to take part in these activities alongside our European neighbours!
