Bringing Standards to Universities: Integrating Compliance and Innovation into Higher Education

The full-day workshop "Bringing Standards to Universities" takes place on Thursday, 28 May 2026, at the CENELEC Offices in Brussels. Aimed at university program directors, deans, lecturers, and PhD candidates, this free event addresses the fragmentation of standardisation education in Europe. It provides practical strategies for integrating standards, compliance, and market realities into engineering and academic curricula to boost graduate employability and research impact. A key highlight includes an interactive session featuring HSbooster.eu expertise on maximising the value of standardisation within Horizon Europe projects.

Event Overview and Core Themes

The full-day workshop, "Bringing Standards to Universities: Integrating Standards, Compliance, and Market Reality into the Engineering Curriculum," takes place on Thursday, 28 May 2026, from 09:00 to 16:25 CEST at the CENELEC Offices located at Rue de la Science 23, 1040 Brussels. This event directly addresses the historical underutilisation and fragmentation of standardisation education within European higher education and research, which remains a critical barrier to achieving major strategic initiatives like the European Green Deal. Admission to the workshop is entirely free, though seating is limited, making it a highly targeted gathering for university program directors, deans, lecturers, teaching staff, and PhD candidates across Europe who want to align their programs with modern industrial requirements.

The day is strategically divided into two main blocks: a policy and institutional block in the morning, followed by an industry and academia block in the afternoon. Rather than just reviewing theoretical frameworks, the workshop focuses on actionable insights, bringing together key European stakeholders to showcase compelling approaches, tools, and materials that can be immediately deployed in EU Higher Education. Attendees will move through a structured narrative that connects European policy priorities directly to practical classroom execution and real-world industrial application.

Mastering Standardisation in Horizon Europe

A central highlight of the morning's institutional landscape session focuses heavily on funding and research impact, featuring a joint presentation from 10:00 to 10:25 CEST. Ms. Raquel Fernandez Horcajada, Research Program Manager at the European Research Executive Agency (REA), will present alongside Mr. Nicholas Ferguson, Coordinator of the HSbooster.eu and Work Package Leader on standardisation under the Wider Advance Facility. During this presentation, Nicholas Ferguson will deliver a dedicated ten-minute focus on the concrete lessons learned for universities, academic centers, and PhD candidates on how to effectively address and leverage standardisation within EU-funded research projects. This segment provides a rare opportunity for researchers to understand how aligning with European standardisation pathways satisfies strict project requirements, strengthens future grant proposals, and maximises the ultimate socio-economic impact of their research outputs.

The HSbooster.eu project’s impact continues later in the morning during the dedicated session on empowering standardisation education and research. Ms. Kirsten Glennung, representing both CEN-CENELEC and the HSbooster.eu project as an EDU4Standards Representative, will lead key discussions on the tools, communities, and opportunities available for developing essential standardisation skills. She will also spearhead the session on Research and Innovation in Standardisation, later returning to deliver the formal closing remarks and call to action for the event. Through the dual expertise of Nicholas Ferguson and Kirsten Glennung, HSbooster.eu serves as a core driving force behind the workshop's mission to bridge the gap between European research policy and academic implementation.

Bridging the Gap: Industry Practice and Academic Curricula

The afternoon sessions pivot to real-world deployment, starting with the industrial landscape where global powerhouses like Siemens, IBA, and Niko will demonstrate how standards dictate modern engineering practices. These industry experts will showcase how standards govern everything from everyday electrical accessories to cutting-edge advancements in medical proton therapy and industrial AI. This industrial perspective sets the stage for the academic block, where professors from Université Catholique de Louvain, Odisee Hogeschool, and Ghent University will share practical methodologies for integrating standards into engineering curricula, covering vital topics such as smart grids, machinery safety, and compliance with the LVD and EMC Directives.

Attending this workshop offers clear institutional and practical benefits for university staff looking to bridge the gap between classroom theory and market compliance. Participants will learn how to systematically embed standardisation to enhance curriculum relevance, graduate employability, and university accreditation while gaining direct access to ready-to-use teaching modules, guest lectures, and case studies. Prospective international and local attendees can register directly through the event portal to secure one of the limited remaining seats at the CENELEC offices.

The full agenda is available here: https://www.ceb-bec.be/en/news/bringing-standards-to-universities-full-day-workshop-on-28-may-2026