futurEU 2026: CIVICA students present innovative solutions for Europe's security and defence challenges

First Place 

First place was awarded to Team 21, Sciences Po students Alexia Puiu and Samuel Petráš, for their policy brief ‘From Spending To Capacity: Bridging Europe's Defence Resilience Gap’ examining one of Europe's key defence challenges: the gap between increased defence spending and actual production capacity. 

Their proposal argued that Europe's defence bottleneck lies not with major contractors, but within the network of more than 2,500 highly specialised small and medium-sized suppliers that form the foundation of the defence industrial ecosystem. The team proposed measures to strengthen these critical supply chains and improve Europe's long-term defence resilience. 


Reflecting on the experience, Alexia Puiu said:" futurEU made me realize how much potential there is when passionate people come together to work on problems bigger than themselves. More than winning, it gave me confidence that students can meaningfully contribute to shaping conversations about Europe's future."

Samuel Petráš added:“What stays with me most is the realization that the problem we identified is real and urgent. We didn't just write a paper, we became genuinely convinced that fixing Europe's defence supply chains matters, and that students can contribute meaningfully to that conversation.” 

Second Place 

Second place went to Team 68, Andrea Picone, Vittoria Digilio, and Paolo Zurlo, from Sciences Po for their policy brief, "The Arsenal Nextdoor: Ukraine's Solutions to European Drone Insecurities." 

Their proposal explored how the European Union could integrate Ukraine's extensive expertise in drone technology into its own defence industrial base. Recognising Ukraine's transformation from a security recipient to a leading source of battlefield innovation, the team proposed a three-stage framework: establishing a common EU regulatory framework for military drones, negotiating a formal EU-Ukraine industrial agreement, and creating a joint coordination body to support implementation and large-scale drone production.

Reflecting on their proposal, the team said: “Building on the recognition of Ukraine as a novel key security provider, we contributed to the dialogue by arguing that the European Defence Industrial Base should actively harness Ukrainian know-how in unmanned systems to strengthen Europe's own capabilities.”

Third Place 

Third place was awarded to Team 29, Filippo Branchi, Anna Montanari, and Camilla Cantarini, from Università Bocconi for their policy brief, "From Bottlenecks to Backbone: Rethinking EU Electricity Grid Regulation." 

Their proposal focused on one of the key challenges facing Europe's energy transition: electricity grids. As renewable energy production and electricity demand continue to grow, distribution grids risk becoming a major bottleneck. The team identified fragmented national regulatory frameworks and a lack of forward-looking investment planning as two key obstacles and proposed reforms to support a more resilient and integrated European electricity network. 

"It was a great opportunity to explore a historically national issue that now needs to be addressed at the European level. Seeing a competition inspire students to engage with so many topics about Europe’s future truly made me feel that we are on the right track," said  Filippo Branchi.

The remaining finalist teams also impressed the jury with their research, creativity and policy expertise. Congratulations to Matteo Carlo Agosto, Tamer El-Imad, Antonio Maria De Micco, Sofia Pasqualis Politi, Michele Cavallero, Nathan Glückman, Jonathan Rasmusson, Jekaterina Tralkova, Sara Uggeri, Oliwier Zuchniak, Mateusz Konieczny, and Ameli Arzykulova for their contributions to this year's competition and for bringing fresh perspectives to some of Europe's most pressing challenges.
 

Organising futurEU 2026

The success of futurEU 2026 would not have been possible without the dedication of the student organising team. The initiative was co-led by Alicia Monsefi-Pour and Nico Kelessidis, alongside Ann-Kathrin Franssen, Konstantin Lux, Marco Uzzau, Alessandra Ghitturi, Jocelyne Carrillo Herrera, Catherine Orientale, Nico Braun, Helen Felbek, and Addie Esposito.

Throughout the competition, participants also took part in a series of workshops with experienced practitioners and policy experts, giving students the opportunity to develop new skills, refine their ideas, and gain direct insights into real-world policymaking.

futurEU continues to provide a space for students from across the CIVICA alliance to collaborate across borders, engage with pressing European challenges, and contribute fresh ideas to policy discussions.