Policy Brief: Resilience as a Core Competency in Higher Education

Purpose and Rationale

This policy paper, developed by the Transform4Europe Alliance, addresses a critical gap in European higher education: the lack of a coherent and shared approach to resilience as a long-term institutional capacity. In an era marked by overlapping disruptions—from geopolitical instability and ecological crises to digital transformation and democratic fragility—universities must ensure both continuity and innovation. This requires us to reframe resilience as a value-based transformative capacity, which must be carefully embedded into organizational governance, learning processes and external engagement.

Proposed Innovation

For the first time, resilience is conceptualised as a multi-level institutional competence—operational at individual, organisational, and ecosystemic levels. The paper positions resilience not as reactive emergency management but as a foundational dimension of higher education strategy and collaboration. It introduces a shared definition and actionable pathways for universities and policymakers to operationalise resilience systemically.

Key Contributions

  • A unified definition of resilience as a core competence for learners, staff, and institutions
  • Concrete recommendations for universities, national governments, and EU bodies on integrating resilience into policies, practices, and quality assurance
  • Strategic alignment with major EU frameworks including the European Strategy for Universities, the European Skills Agenda, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the Inner Development Goals (IDGs)
  • A compelling illustration based on the wartime experience of Ukrainian universities, demonstrating how adaptive leadership, agile governance, and civic mission can sustain academic continuity under extreme disruption

Impact and Relevance

The paper offers a forward-looking strategy to embed resilience as a cornerstone of sustainable and future-proof higher education. It empowers institutional leaders, national authorities, and European stakeholders to move from reactive adaptation toward anticipatory transformation. In doing so, it strengthens the role of higher education in ensuring knowledge sovereignty, social cohesion, and democratic resilience across Europe.

The full policy document is anticipated by the end of the year. Please monitor for further official updates and the final release notification.