Rome, 12 February 2026 – As part of his official visit to Rome, UNDP Administrator Alexander De Croo delivered a public lecture at LUISS University and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University, formalizing and expanding the strategic partnership between UNDP and LUISS across education, research and talent development.

The event, held at the Sala delle Colonne at LUISS’ Viale Pola campus, featured a high-level Dialogue on Multilateralism: Public–Private Partnerships for Sustainable Development. The discussion was moderated by Professor Raffaele Marchetti, Director of the Center for International and Strategic Studies (CISS), and brought together students, faculty and development practitioners for an exchange on the evolving architecture of international cooperation.

In his remarks, the Administrator underscored that development cooperation is undergoing profound transformation. Traditional models centered on Official Development Assistance are increasingly constrained by fiscal pressures and geopolitical fragmentation. In this context, he emphasized the need to mobilize innovative and sustainable financing mechanisms that blend public and private capital, and to position public–private partnerships not only as financing tools but as governance platforms capable of aligning political priorities, private investment and sustainable development outcomes.

Reaffirming his commitment to “put development back at the center of the global agenda,” the Administrator highlighted three core priorities for his mandate: scaling innovative finance, deepening private-sector engagement, and harnessing digital transformation and artificial intelligence as drivers of inclusive growth. He stressed that sustained investment in development remains the most effective response to global instability, forced displacement and climate vulnerability.

The dialogue was followed by closing remarks by Professor Paolo Boccardelli, Rector of LUISS University, and an interactive Q&A session with students, which focused on UNDP’s comparative advantage in today’s development landscape, the role of climate finance in supporting a just energy transition, and how multilateral institutions can maintain legitimacy and trust in an increasingly polarized world.

The visit culminated in the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding between UNDP and LUISS. The agreement builds on a partnership that began in October 2024, when former UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner delivered a guest lecture at LUISS, and that deepened in 2025 with the signature of a Statement of Intent and the launch of UNDP’s first pilot corporate academic course.

Within the LUISS Master’s Degree Programme in International Relations, UNDP experts delivered the course “Foundations and Frontiers of International Relations and Sustainable Development,” bridging theory and field-based practice. Drawing on operational case studies from across regions, the course equipped students with practical insight into energy transition, climate finance, geopolitics, youth engagement and crisis response. A joint fellowship programme was also launched to strengthen the bridge between academic excellence and multilateral practice, providing high-potential graduates with exposure to UNDP’s operational work.

The newly signed MoU consolidates this collaboration, providing a structured framework for joint academic programming, research initiatives, policy dialogue and talent pipelines. By connecting academic excellence with multilateral practice, the partnership aims to equip the next generation of development leaders with the analytical tools and practical experience required to navigate an increasingly complex global environment.

The event reaffirmed a shared commitment between UNDP and LUISS to foster critical reflection on the future of multilateralism and to advance partnerships that remain effective, inclusive and aligned with sustainable development principles in a rapidly changing world.