European Universities Initiative

The European Universities Initiative was launched by the European Commission in 2019 with the aim of encouraging greater strategic collaboration and mobility between European institutions. With 100s of participating institutions, the initiative is now an integral part of the Erasmus+ 2021-2027 programme and is a key element of the push towards establishing a European Education Area by 2025.

Following the 2022 Erasmus+ call for proposals, there are now 44 European Universities involving:

• 340 higher education institutions in both capital cities and remote regions of 31 countries, including all EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, Serbia and Turkey.

AND

• 1,300 associated partners ranging from non-governmental organisations (NGOs), enterprises, cities, local and regional authorities.

Each alliance receives up to €5 million funding from Erasmus+ funding, along with up €2 million from Horizon 2020 to facilitate the development of their “European University”. Most national governments also provide supplementary funding for successful applicants from their nation. To learn more about the European University Initiative check out the factsheet here.

Thanks to their strong international and collaborative profile, Irish institutions are strongly represented in this activity. EUI alliances offer Irish universities the chance to cooperate closely with other leading European institutions on the biggest issues of the day, transcending traditional geographical and disciplinary boundaries in order to develop exciting new joint programmes, enhanced student and staff mobility, joint research programmes, and a new EU-wide model of education, research and innovation. To help institutions fully capitalise on these benefits, the IUA facilitates its members in their EUI activities and encourages the Irish government to provide institutions with the support they need to ensure that their EUI alliances’ activities are both successful and sustainable.

There are currently seven EUI alliances which include IUA members: