In July 2023, the University Alliance COLOURS (COLlaborative innOvative sUstainable Regional univerSities) was selected to be one of the 50 European University Alliances that will be funded by the European Commission as part of the prestigious “European Universities initiative – Partnerships for Excellence“ for the next four years. Paderborn University, along with all partners and stakeholders in the COLOURS Alliance, is very much looking forward to designing and implementing innovative collaborations in research, education, and transfer.
COLOURS unites nine universities with around 126,000 students and 12,300 staff members. Apart from Paderborn University as coordinating institution, the members of the Alliance include Le Mans University (France), the University of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain), the University of Ferrara (Italy), Kristianstad University (Sweden), Jan Długosz University in Częstochowa (Poland), Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek (Croatia), Ventspils University of Applied Sciences (Latvia), and the University St. Kliment Ohridski Bitola (North Macedonia).
These institutions are joined in their collaboration by 55 associated partners who will act as multipliers in regional innovation ecosystems. The COLOURS approach is reflected in the Alliance's planned activities, linking open innovation, challenge-based teaching, and impact-driven research to regional Smart Specialisation goals. Thereby, COLOURS will initiate and inspire social and technological innovation for citizens all over Europe.
To mark the start of this exciting journey and to celebrate COLOURS as a European University Alliance, we would like to cordially invite you to join us for the official Kick-Off Meeting on 18 March 2024, 4-6 pm in lecture hall G of Paderborn University. Afterwards, we invite all participants to a reception and the "COLOURS Market Square" at Paderborn University’s “forum”, which offers the opportunity to get to know the partner universities and regions better and to engage in direct dialogue with the partners.
Further information on the event and the agenda can be found on the event website: go.upb.de/COLOURS_Kick_Off.
We look forward to meeting you at the kick-off meeting and to starting our COLOURful journey to explore new pathways in research, education and transfer!