2025: A year of building, connecting, and moving from ideas to action

As the year draws to a close, we pause to reflect on what the HEROES Alliance has achieved together. It has been a year of strong foundations, growing collaboration, and many important firsts – and above all, a year that brought our alliance closer as a community.

In 2025, HEROES marked a clear shift from planning to implementation. The Skills & Competence Needs Map was finalized and published, Challenge-Based Learning moved firmly into practice, and progress was made on joint modules, minors, and double degree frameworks. The Joint Action Plan for Micro-credentials was launched, and planning for joint staff training advanced, with the spring 2026 training calendar to be shared soon.

Research collaboration also gained momentum through active PODs, thematic brainstorming sessions, and inter-POD cooperation. Clear guidelines for opening infrastructures and facilities across institutions were prepared, laying important groundwork for future collaborative research across the alliance.

Beyond structures and tools, 2025 was also about people. The Student Council met in person to shape its work, the Sandbox Call supported new ideas from students, and initial steps were taken toward building HEROESfriends and strengthening alumni engagement.

We would like to thank everyone across the alliance for their energy, commitment, and collaboration throughout the year. We close 2025 with strong foundations and look ahead to 2026 with confidence, ambition, and a growing HEROES community.