In January 2026, the city of Málaga hosted the DiPYUA (Digital Platforms of Young University Alliances) Workshop, bringing together representatives of European University Alliances, platform developers, IT experts and policy-minded practitioners. Hosted at the Universidad de Málaga, the workshop created a space for open, experience-driven exchange on what actually works when building and operating digital platforms for alliances.
Across two intensive days, participants moved beyond theory to focus on lived practice: successes, failures, governance challenges and design decisions that shape digital collaboration across borders.
A shared challenge: digital platforms for collaboration at scale
European University Alliances face a common reality: supporting complex, international collaboration while respecting data sovereignty, institutional autonomy and diverse local contexts. DiPYUA addressed this challenge by bringing together first- and second-generation alliances, enabling valuable cross-generational learning.
What emerged was a shared understanding that digital platforms are not neutral tools, but strategic infrastructures that directly influence trust, participation and long-term alliance sustainability.
Platform deep dives: Agora and Outfox
Two alliance-tailored platforms were explored in depth: Agora (aUPaEU), built on Odoo, and Outfox.EU, built on Drupal. Rather than promoting a single solution, the workshop highlighted how both platforms extend general-purpose open-source systems with alliance-specific capabilities.
Key topics included identity and access management, interoperability with institutional systems, GDPR compliance, data sovereignty and scalability across different governance models.
Learning from lived experience
A strong element of the workshop was hearing directly from alliance representatives actively using these platforms. User perspectives demonstrated how digital platforms support joint course offerings, microcredentials and cross-institutional workflows.
These sessions reinforced a clear message: people-centered design and real use cases matter more than feature lists.
Strategic alignment with European priorities
Discussions throughout the workshop showed strong alignment with European priorities on digital education. Digital platforms were positioned as enablers of EU-wide collaboration, lifelong learning and future-proof education models, rather than purely technical solutions.
Key takeaways
- Start with trust: identity, access and governance come first
- Compose and integrate rather than reinvent everything
- Governance and dedicated IT capacity matter more than shiny features
- Cross-generational exchange accelerates learning
- Collaboration beats competition when building alliance infrastructure
Thanks to all speakers, participants, and organizers for making this possible: Victoriano Giralt, Gabriel Maciá Fernández, Mathew Birdsall Abrams, Inmaculada Perianez-Forte, Jean-Loïc Cavazza, Antonio Fernández Martínez, Alen Novosel, Jesus Alcober, Alba Roma Gómez, Marcel Oostdijk, Amparo Zamora Mogollo, Miloš Borozan
Looking ahead
The DiPYUA Workshop in Málaga demonstrated the value of open knowledge sharing across alliances and generations. By turning lived experience into reusable lessons, the community took a meaningful step towards more resilient, people-centered digital platforms for European higher education.