NTNU European Conference
Save the date 4 November 2026!
The 10th edition NTNU European Conference
4 November 2026 | THE RESIDENCE PALACE | In-person event with streaming
Marking the 10-year anniversary of the NTNU European Conference, this edition reflects on a decade of engagement with Europe’s research and innovation agenda while looking ahead to the next phase and the priorities and opportunities it presents.
Against the backdrop of today’s global challenges, the conference will highlight the value of knowledge-based solutions in addressing them. Special attention is given to emerging technologies, energy transition, climate, and fairness as central dimensions shaping global transformations. Dual-use issues and relations with the Global South will feature as important cross-cutting themes throughout the discussions.
The conference will conclude with a reflection on funding instruments and their capacity to support the pathways explored. As the design of FP10 and the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF) enters a decisive phase, this discussion takes on particular importance.
Programme
08:30 Registration
Welcoming coffee and pastries
09:00 Opening session
Moderated
10:30 Coffee break
11:00 Parallel sessions
PARALLEL SESSION 1
Energy Security and Global Transitions:
Key Dilemmas for European Competitiveness
Moderated
Panel debate followed by an audience Q&A
PARALLEL SESSION 2
Emerging Technologies as a Competitive Advantage:
The Race for Trustworthy Innovation
Moderated
We are living through a period of technological acceleration without precedent. Artificial intelligence, quantum computing, advanced materials, cyber, robotics, advanced biotechnology, and next-generation autonomous technology necessitate infrastructures that are reshaping economies, redefining security, and reconfiguring the boundaries between the public and the private. The pace of change is outrunning the frameworks designed to govern it.
For Europe, this creates a strategic paradox. The continent’s commitment to open science, democratic values, and fundamental rights — the very foundations of the European Research Area — is increasingly at odds with the competitive pressures of a global technology race dominated by large, state-backed actors and platform standards. European researchers and institutions must operate at the frontier of discovery while navigating an environment shaped by export controls, dual-use concerns, asymmetric data access, and deepening geopolitical rivalries.
The promise of emerging technologies as engines of societal progress can only be realised if their governance is inclusive, their development trustworthy, and their deployment just.
This session convenes researchers, innovators, policymakers, and civil society stakeholders to examine these challenges at the intersection of technology, governance, and values. Leaning on insights from across disciplines — including computer science, ethics, law, social science, and engineering — we will explore what a genuine European approach to emerging technologies might look like in practice.
Ultimately, we ask:
How can Europe harness the transformative power of emerging technologies without sacrificing the openness, equity, and democratic accountability that define its research culture — and how FP10 and ECF will contribute to make this possible?
Panel debate followed by an audience Q&A
12:30 Networking lunch
14:00 Closing session
Moderated
As highlighted in the Draghi Report, Europe must close its innovation gap by improving the translation of research excellence into commercial success and by making more effective use of its financial resources. In this context, the design of a robust and future-oriented Research and Innovation (R&I) funding framework is becoming a key strategic priority for Europe, being for the first time considered as a cornerstone of the MFF competitiveness allocation.
By November 2026, discussions on the future Framework Programme (FP10) and the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF) are expected to have reached a mature stage, with many of the main policy choices and structural elements already taking shape. The evolving framework will define not only the relationship between these instruments and the introduction of new funding mechanisms, but also a renewed system of Strategic Partnerships that will shape collaboration between industry, research organisations, universities, and public authorities in the years ahead, contributing to bridging ECF and FP10.
Against this backdrop, the closing session of the NTNU European Conference will provide a timely opportunity for reflection and strategic debate. Bringing together key European stakeholders, the session will examine the direction that the emerging R&I landscape is taking, assess its implications for competitiveness and innovation, and discuss the opportunities, risks, and implementation challenges associated with the proposed framework. The session aims to offer a platform for feedback and dialogue at a pivotal moment in the policy-making process alongside the final negotiation stages of Europe's next research and innovation agenda.
15:30 Closing address
Practical information
Venue
The Residence Palace
Contact: info@residencepalace.be
- Phone: +32 2 235 21 11 (reception)
- Map
Contact
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us via anlaug.o.ostby@ntnu.no
Practical information NTNU Brussels office
Organising committee
About the conference
The NTNU European Conference is an event introduced in the Brussels arena in 2016. It aims to facilitate discussions on R&I and Education policies and strategies between stakeholders.
The conference has grown in siginificance and popularity with increasing registrations and attendance over the years, becoming an arena of interaction between policymakers and representatives of higher education, industry, research, innovation as well as the civil society.