The Annual Forum of the international European Campus of City-Universities (EC2U) Alliance took place on 19–22 May 2025 at the University of Coimbra in Portugal. The event brought together staff, students and stakeholders from member universities to discuss how to build a more sustainable future. In 2026, the Annual Forum will take place in Turku.
The Young Researchers' Meeting at Turku attracted early career researchers from all EC2U universities – as well as from Lviv in Ukraine.
On 12 March, the University of Turku hosted the EC2U Think Tank, gathering experts to discuss ideas and measures for strengthening climate resilience in cities and communities. The event fostered an open dialogue among different stakeholders with the aim of identifying challenges and solutions for resilient urban development.
In the first joint application round of spring 2025, a total of 7,275 applications were submitted to the international bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes of the University of Turku. While the new national application fee, introduced at the beginning of 2025, led to an expected decrease in the overall number of applications, several programmes still saw an increase in applications.
The first joint application round of 2025 runs from 8–22 January, including the English-taught degree programmes of the University of Turku: two new bachelor's programmes and 16 master's programmes. At the same time, there will be separate applications for two additional international master’s programmes.
The EC2U Think Tank, held at the University of Turku on 29 May, brought together experts to discuss how social innovations can support inclusive and sustainable peacebuilding through grassroots initiatives.
Reinvent the Future -themed interactive Makeathon event brought together students, researchers and local organisations to tackle societal challenges. The hybrid event, focused on innovative solutions, was organised simultaneously in several European cities and universities as well as a virtual event.
The first six students from across Europe will graduate this spring from the University of Turku.
In the first joint application round of 2024, the international Master’s degree programmes of the University of Turku received a total of 10 239 applications. The number of applications grew by 72 percent compared to the number of applications in 2023.