On Thursday 9 July 2020, the new 24 European Universities Alliances have been officially announced: the 165 higher education institutions will join the already existing 17 alliances resulting from the first call of 2019.
Adding to the eleven YERUN members already involved in four alliances, two more members will be joining the family of European Universities: the University of Konstanz, involved in the ERUA alliance, and the University Paris-Dauphine-PSL, involved in the EELISA alliance.
About the ERUA Alliance
The European Reform University Alliance (ERUA) consists of five young European reform universities (University of Konstanz, Roskilde University, Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis, the New Bulgarian University and the University of the Aegean), that will form a transnational university network with the same shared values and goals in research, teaching and continual institutional development. “One of the goals of the European Universities Initiative is to create a blueprint for an ideal European university”, explains Professor Silvia Mergenthal, Vice Rector for International Affairs and Equal Opportunities at the University of Konstanz. “I am convinced that our alliance, with the narrative of permanent institutional renewal shared by all five project partners, can make a decisive contribution to reaching this goal”.
While the ERUA members will engage in individual collaborations, reflection on reform processes will also play a particularly important role in the area of research. The alliance’s main focus, however, will be on teaching: Its members will ensure better student mobility by offering study programmes that are flexible and can be completed around Europe. They will exchange innovative teaching and learning forms and intensify initiatives involving staff exchange, staff mobility and best practices. Capacity-building projects and transfer initiatives that impact society will give the participating universities new impulses to establish their positions in science and society.
About the EELISA Alliance
The European Engineering Learning Innovation and Science Alliance (EELISA) aims to bring students and staff to collaborate closer on a European Engineering Degree. This will be significantly rounded out with interdisciplinary learning, the development of transferable skills and real-world problem solving together with extra-university partners. The Alliance is made of the following institutions: Budapesti Műszaki és Gazdaságtudományi Egyetem, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, Scuola Normale Superiore, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Universitatea Politehnica din București and three French graduate engineering schools: École des Ponts ParisTech, Mines ParisTech and Chimie ParisTech (both affiliated to Université PSL), together with associate partner ENAEE (European Network for Accreditation of Engineering Education).
As the European Commission appraisal highlights: “The proposal has a very significant level of ambition, as it aims to transform the European engineering education by offering a common European engineering educational model that would allow students to obtain a recognised European diploma developed at multiple sites. The proposed new model will go beyond a traditional double degree scheme. In order to strengthen and expand cooperation in education, the alliance will use different mechanisms, such as the creation of a joint campus, a joint catalogue of activities and the award of joint diplomas and credentials. The establishment of the EELISA communities will permit further incorporation of research and innovation in education.”
Academic collaboration does not stop outside of the alliances
While congratulating the winners for joining the new university alliances, YERUN would also like to applaud those universities who have applied to the call, but were not successful this time. We wish them a good continuation of their academic cooperation via their existing networks and collaborative initiatives, recognising their role in strengthening the higher education ecosystems in Europe.
