Book your spot by 19 October 2026.

Who is it for? Academics, professional services staff, students or societal stakeholders interested in gaining valuable insights into advancing societal impact for sustainability.

What’s it about? In an era of climate change and interconnected environmental, social, and economic challenges, we urgently need to transform the unsustainable practices that have led us to this point. What role can universities play in driving this change? Join us for an engaging and interactive online event that explores how Una Europa universities are advancing societal impact for sustainability through research, education, and collaboration.

Contact Sini Bäckström (sini.backstrom@helsinki.fi).

Join the global effort to strengthen climate knowledge on Wikipedia.

IUCA is delighted to support a 24-hour online Editathon for COP31, bringing together universities, students, researchers and experts to improve and expand climate-related knowledge on Wikipedia.

In collaboration with IUCA, Tatjana Baleta, Wikimedian in Residence at the Global Systems Institute, University of Exeter, is leading the event. This event will run across six two-hour Zoom sessions, which will be scheduled every four hours throughout the 24 hour period to enable participation across different time zones.

No previous Wikipedia experience is needed. Whether you are a senior expert, postgraduate, master’s student or new to editing, trained session leads will provide guidance and support throughout.

What to expect:

• 🌐 24 hours of activity across six online sessions
• 🎓 Open to everyone, with a particular focus on university communities
• ✍️ No editing experience required
• 🌱 A flexible range of climate and COP31-related topics
• 🗣️ Sessions in English, with participants welcome to edit Wikipedia in other languages
• 🤝 Opportunities to connect with fellow researchers, students and Wikimedians around the world

Participants can choose the session that suits their time zone and register via the Wikipedia event page, which contains full details and registration information.

Climate action within universities and colleges can have an impact that reaches well beyond institutional boundaries. Join this free global event, co-hosted by EAUC and the International Universities Climate Alliance, to explore how leading institutions are using their climate commitments, expertise and resources to work alongside local government, businesses, communities and other partners. Through examples spanning green skills, employment, innovation and community engagement, our panel of international speakers will share insights on how to achieve lasting benefits for the communities that universities and colleges serve. 

You will learn about:

• Approaches for building effective cross-sector partnerships 
• Ways to align campus climate action with local and regional priorities 
• Ideas on how to maximise the community benefits of your own climate action work 

Our panel of expert speakers will feature winners and highly commended initiatives from the International Green Gown Awards – 2030 Climate Action category. Proudly supported by IUCA as category ambassador, this award recognises and celebrates organisation-wide and innovative approaches to achieving operational net zero targets. 

This event is open to anyone working in or with universities and colleges. If you are not an EAUC member, select the option to book as a guest, and provide the name of your institution in the ‘other company’ field.

The International Green Gown Awards are delivered by EAUC:

As this is a global online event we are running 2 sessions for your convenience:

Session 1 : Thursday, 22 October 2026 | 09:00 BST (check local time – most suited to Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, UK)

Session 2 : Thursday, 22 October 2026 | 17:00 BST (check local time – most suited to North and South America)

This webinar will introduce researchers to the different ways their research and expertise can contribute to climate policymaking, at COP events and throughout the year. It will look beyond side events to explore where researchers can engage with the UNFCCC process, from responding to calls for evidence and submissions to contributing to workshops, technical meetings and other policy discussions. 

Participants will learn: 

• how research and evidence feed into the UNFCCC process; 
• where opportunities for researchers to contribute arise throughout the year; 
• how to identify relevant entry points for their own research and expertise; and 
• other places where researchers can engage internationally, including through the IPCC, Convention on Biological Diversity, Montreal Protocol and SDGs. 

Where could your research contribute? Throughout the year, UNFCCC bodies seek expert input through submissions, reviews and other opportunities. This session will help researchers identify where their expertise could be relevant and how to start contributing more meaningfully with these processes. 

Facilitated by Tracy Bach 

Professor Tracy Bach is a law professor who focuses on international climate change law and policy, and has attended climate COPs and Subsidiary Body (SBs) Meetings since 2009. During this time, Bach has led university delegations to these COPs and SBs, and co-led the Research and Independent NGO constituency engagement with COP presidencies, the UNFCCC Secretariat, and COP and SB leaders. Bach is currently a Lecturer at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, and the University of Miami Law School.  

Pre-COP | What to expect for COP31?
📅 27 October 2026 | 17:00 – 19:00 EET (Find Local Time)
📍 Tiedekulma, University of Helsinki

Join them for Part 1 of the event series on 27 October at Tiedekulma or online for a look at the key issues, negotiations and wider COP ecosystem ahead of COP31. Hear perspectives from researchers, businesses and policymakers, and explore how different actors are preparing for the conference.

Join them for Part 2 of the event series on 26 November at Marsio (Aalto university) or online for a look back at the key outcomes, discussions and experiences from COP31. Hear perspectives from policymakers, researchers, business and youth, and explore what happens next and how different actors can contribute towards COP32 and beyond. 

Post-COP | What just happened at COP31?
📅 26 November 2026 | 16:00 – 18:00 EET (Find Local Time)
📍 Marsio, Aalto University

Registration is required by 21st October 2026

• Date: 3 November 2026, 9:30-18:00
• Venue: ICMA Centre, Henley Business School, Reading RG6 6DL, UK
• Format: One-day conference with a keynote address, two panels, and academic and industry research presentations.
• Attendance: Both in-person and online participation are available. However, conference speakers are required to attend in person.

Webinar | 11am -12 pm, AEST (Find Local Time)

Join Macquarie University for a webinar organised by the United Nations Academic Impact SDG 15 Hub, bringing together experts from Australia, Malaysia and the United States to explore how cities can move beyond low-carbon development towards a nature-positive future. Discover how biodiversity, ecosystem restoration and climate action can be integrated into urban planning to create more sustainable, resilient and liveable cities.

Moderated by James Balzer, Extreme Heat & Foresight Lead, Sustainable Living Lab (SL2) Group.

Speakers include:

Prof Melanie Bishop, Director Macquarie University Smart Green Cities Research Centre, Macquarie University

Prof Joe Steensma, Washington University in St. Louis

Dr Anumitra Mirti, Practice Leader Sustainability, Stantec

Mr Chau Loon Wai, Co-Director UTM-Low Carbon Asia Research Centre, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

Mr Rudzaimeir Malek, Deputy Director Community Services Department Commission for the City of Kuching North

Seminar | 11:30am – 1:30pm, EAT (Find Local Time)

Duration: 2 Hours

Platform: Zoom

Description: The session will serve as a platform to accelerate climate policy to implementation and multi-stakeholder collaboration for scalable solutions. The session will bring together researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to share lessons and demonstrate the impact of their work in the climate value chain. The institutionalization of research enables better uptake of findings and strengthens climate adaptation and resilience of communities in Africa. Speakers will share project impacts, climate adaptation solutions, climate policies that increase resilience of countries and minimize the effects of climate change on vulnerable communities. 

Objectives

1.To contribute to national plans, policies and strategies for effective adaptation and climate resilient pathways.

2. To discuss adaptation solutions such as tools, data, technologies, models, and approaches being adopted by institutions and communities. 

3. To build the technical and institutional capacities of decision-makers and stakeholders.

 Expected Output

· To strengthen science-informed policy in Africa

· To mainstreaming climate policy in government initiatives 

· To enhance devolved climate action

· To promote innovate climate solutions

Seminar | 9am – 11am, EAT (Find Local Time)

Duration: 2 Hours

Platform: Zoom

Description: The session will serve as a platform to accelerate climate policy to implementation and multi-stakeholder collaboration for scalable solutions. The session will bring together researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to share lessons and demonstrate the impact of their work in the climate value chain. The institutionalization of research enables better uptake of findings and strengthens climate adaptation and resilience of communities in Africa. Speakers will share project impacts, climate adaptation solutions, climate policies that increase resilience of countries and minimize the effects of climate change on vulnerable communities. 

Objectives

1.To contribute to national plans, policies and strategies for effective adaptation and climate resilient pathways.

2. To discuss adaptation solutions such as tools, data, technologies, models, and approaches being adopted by institutions and communities. 

3. To build the technical and institutional capacities of decision-makers and stakeholders.

 Expected Output

· To strengthen science-informed policy in Africa

· To mainstreaming climate policy in government initiatives 

· To enhance devolved climate action

· To promote innovate climate solutions