More than 20 executive education leaders from 14 schools across Europe gathered in Istanbul on September 9-10 for the UNICON European Meet-Up, hosted by the Executive Development Unit at Sabancı University.
The Meet-Up was built around the priorities participants shared beforehand. Over two days, the group moved from the practical realities of working together across institutions to a forward-looking scenario on what executive education could look like in 2031.
Sabancı's Executive Development Unit sits at university level rather than inside a business school, drawing on faculty from across the university. That structure set the tone: an agile, interdisciplinary model, and a useful lens for a conversation about collaboration.
The European Meet-Up is deliberately regional. It brings together leaders of UNICON member schools based in Europe in a smaller setting, to work through the issues specific to European business schools, from cross-border partnerships and regulation to the geopolitical pressures shaping the region. Our all-member events, the Team Development Conference and the Directors' Conference, bring the global UNICON community together.
What we explored
Four pillars of collaboration
Ahead of the Meet-Up, we asked participating schools what makes collaboration between institutions succeed. Four themes came through, and two of them, governance and the cooperation model, were named most often as the obstacles.
Governance emerged as the single biggest factor. Where decision rights, accountability and quality are unclear, competitive tensions over clients, intellectual property and resources tend to surface quickly.
The cooperation model mattered almost as much. Partnerships built only on short-term financial motives were described as hard to sustain, while those that last tend to be anchored in broader goals such as institutional positioning, shared learning and aligned values.
Participants were just as clear that deep cultural fluency is non-negotiable, sharing practical examples of adapting everything from communication channels to on-site hospitality when working in new markets. And running through every conversation was geopolitics. Shifting geopolitics are forcing rapid strategic adaptation: a focus that opens doors in one region can close them in another, and several schools described having to rethink long-standing partnerships.
Brag, Give, Ask
In a round of Brag, Give, Ask, each school shared a distinctive strength, from a 100% executive education focus to a Nordic leadership ethos, a "makers" approach to learning and mission-driven models. The offers were just as varied, ranging from access to local ecosystems and campus facilities to expertise in SEO, experiential learning and internationalization.
The asks revealed a lot of common ground. Schools were looking for market access, especially in Asia and Africa, partners for co-creation and new models for faculty engagement. One need came up again and again: a shared way to measure the impact of executive education, described by one participant as the "holy grail" of the field.
Looking ahead
Scenario 2031: a fragmented world
The closing exercise imagined a 2031 shaped by geopolitical fragmentation, incompatible technology regimes and travel restrictions, where clients shift budgets toward fast, flexible and impact-driven providers. Groups debated how university-based executive education should respond, and four ideas kept returning.
The first was blended delivery, pairing standardized online content with local, in-person teaching through nearby partner networks. The second was partnering with technology firms without giving up academic rigor and credibility. Groups also stressed human-centric skills, from teaching leaders to question AI outputs to embedding ethics and purpose. And many saw experience itself as the differentiator: in-person, sensory learning in physical spaces that AI cannot replicate.
Who joined us
Schools in the room
Alliance Manchester Business School · Copenhagen Business School · emlyon business school · ESCP Business School · ESSCA · ESSEC Business School · IE Business School · IESE Business School · IMD · INSEAD · London Business School · Nova SBE · Stockholm School of Economics · University of St. Gallen
With gratitude
Thank you, Sabancı University
Our warmest thanks to the Sabancı University Executive Development Unit team for their generous hosting, a thoughtfully designed Meet-Up and the chance to discover a little of Istanbul and Türkiye together.
If your school is based in Europe, your most senior leader can join the annual European Meet-Up. Find out more about getting the most from your UNICON membership, or explore our other upcoming events.
Join Us at TDC 2026