UCL’s Pro-Vice-Provost (Europe) Dr Uta Staiger, from Germany, is Executive Director of the European Institute, UCL's interdisciplinary hub for research, collaboration and policy engagement on Europe. Here Uta talks about the work of the European Institute – which celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2020 – and her strategic role shaping UCL’s activity with European partners. She also shares her own research and teaching focus on the intersection between European thought, culture and politics.