Bringing European University Alliances to High Schools: A Hands-On Collaborative Workshop

European University Alliances have emerged as a transformative initiative to foster collaboration, mobility, and innovation within higher education across Europe. Despite their growing relevance, younger audiences often demonstrate limited awareness and understanding of their significance. This paper presents a novel educational approach that utilizes Open Data to engage high school learners with alliance goals and evolution. The proposed activity involves an unplugged, hands-on, and collaborative experience in which participants analyze textual descriptions and validate information by cross-referencing them with data visualizations. Learners are assigned to distinguish between true and false statements based on materials presented in two distinct formats: scientific articles and dialogues resembling outputs from generative artificial intelligence systems. The study assesses the effectiveness of data-driven educational approaches in enhancing learners’ understanding and perceptions of European University Alliances, illustrating how Open Data can facilitate meaningful engagement with key concepts shaping the future of academia in Europe.