New funding for additional European Universities alliances will boost cooperation in higher education
The European Commission has selected 14 new European Universities alliances under the 2024 Erasmus+ European Universities call. This brings the total to 64, delivering on the goal of the European strategy for universities to set up at least 60 alliances by mid-2024.
The new alliances
14 new alliances, encompassing 130 higher education institutions, will receive support to build their European Universities alliance.
The European Universities alliances aim to
- improve the international competitiveness of higher education institutions in Europe
- promote European values and identity
by fostering long-term structural, strategic, and sustainable cooperation between higher education institutions.
They will
- put in place a long-term joint strategy for education at the service of society, with links to research and innovation where possible
- build European inter-university campuses for students and staff members to study and work in different European countries, different languages, and across sectors and academic disciplines
- set up European knowledge-creating teams with their innovation ecosystem to help tackle current and future societal challenges
The new alliances will receive up to €14.4 million each for 4 years. They will start their activities in the autumn.
Delivering on the European strategy for universities
The 14 new alliances are joining the 50 European Universities selected under the Erasmus+ calls in 2022 and 2023.
This means that the objective set in the European strategy for universities to have at least 60 alliances by mid-2024 has been met.
In total, the 64 alliances involve more than 560 higher education institutions of all types and from 35 countries, including all EU countries, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Montenegro, the Republic of North-Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, and Türkiye.
The 64 alliances bring together almost 2,200 associated partners from non-governmental organisations, enterprises, cities, local and regional authorities and other higher education institutions from Bologna Process countries, including almost 40 higher education institutions from Ukraine.
The alliances are forging what Enrico Letta’s Report on the Future of the Single Market calls the “fifth freedom” to learn, study, teach and research without boundaries.
Community of practice
This year’s call also included the creation of a community of practice for European Universities.
This community of practice aims to reinforce peer learning between all existing European Universities alliances by sharing best practices and enhancing synergies between the European Universities community and beyond.
The community of practice will also boost dissemination of reusable results and models with the wider higher education sector.
Next steps
Over time, European Universities alliances will
- connect more and more faculties, departments, staff and students
- embed more (physical, virtual and blended) mobility opportunities to students and staff in their curricula
- offer more innovative pedagogies and flexible learning pathways based on challenge-based and transdisciplinary approaches
- establish more joint degree programmes and deliver micro-credentials
- become even more inclusive and engage more with their communities
The blueprint towards a European degree can be a key enabler for European Universities alliances to deliver joint degree programmes.
As announced in the European strategy for universities, the European Commission is working on an investment pathway with national authorities and higher education stakeholders to facilitate a more comprehensive funding approach for European Universities alliances for 2028-2034.
About the 2024 Erasmus+ European Universities call
On 3 October 2023, the European Commission opened a Erasmus+ European Universities call to further support the rollout of the European Universities initiative.
With a maximum budget of €189.2 million, this call supported the set-up of new alliances and of a community of practice for the European Universities alliances.