Members will prepare a fresh application in 2020
Collaboration platform U!REKA intends to participate in the second European Universities pilot in 2020 as soon as application guidelines are announced.
The grant programme for cooperative higher education institutions aims to educate a new generation of European students.
U!REKA - a network of six European universities of applied sciences which includes Edinburgh Napier, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, Metropolia University of Applied Sciences in Helsinki, Oslo Metropolitan University and University College Ghent (HOGENT) –fell just short with an initial application this year.
However, the Urban Research and Education Knowledge Alliance consortium, formed in 2016, has signalled its intention to make a fresh application to European Universities, a European Commission initiative, in 2020.
European Universities
Under the banner of this pilot project, funded under the European Commission’s Erasmus+ programme, higher education institutions across Europe are developing new models of collaboration to build the European universities of the future.
The project aims to enable a new generation of creative Europeans to cooperate across languages, borders and disciplines, in order to address the big societal challenges and skills shortages that Europe faces.
The objectives resonate very strongly with all of the members of the U!REKA alliance and presents them with the unique opportunity to be a pioneer in European higher education development.
17 out of 54 selected
From the 54 applications submitted, 17 consortia were selected to receive grants. The U!REKA institutions would like to express their congratulations to the successful projects.
U!REKA’s application was awarded 78 points, falling just short of the 81 points required to be considered for a grant.
However, the jury praised the high quality of U!REKA’s bid. The evaluation report offers clear points for improvement, highlights innovative ideas and includes constructive suggestions for a new submission.
U!REKA’s steering committee has therefore expressed its intention to participate in the second call for the European Universities initiative in 2020. A team of U!REKA members will start preparing a new application in the coming months, pending the official guidelines for the bid.
The U!REKA alliance has led to collaborative activities across the institutions. These include staff and student mobility projects, annual academic conferences, departmental visits and collaborative research projects.