On Tuesday, 26 October, delegations from six European partner universities visited Paderborn University to exchange and elaborate ideas for the development of a "European University". In addition to Paderborn University, the consortium includes Le Mans University (France), the University of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain), the University of Ferrara (Italy), Kristianstad University (Sweden), Jan Dlugosz University (Poland) and Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek (Croatia).
The idea of European Universities goes back to French President Emmanuel Macron's keynote speech "Initiative for Europe" in 2017. In his speech, Macron proposed creating around 20 European universities by 2024. The EU Commission took up Macron’s idea and is currently funding 41 university alliances in the first two pilot phases with a total budget of 287 million euros. The funding line is now part of the new Erasmus+ programme generation 2021-2027. The European universities aim at promoting European values and identity, and revolutionising the quality and competitiveness of European higher education. Funding is provided for alliances that find innovative formats for cooperation in teaching, research and knowledge transfer.
Paderborn University plans to apply with the above-mentioned partners in the next call, which is expected to be published in November 2021. The joint application of the consortium is led by Paderborn University and coordinated by Paderborn University’s Vice President for International Relations, Prof. Dr. Torsten Meier.
After several virtual meetings, the first face-to-face meeting took place in Paderborn. After a welcome by Prof. Dr. Birgitt Riegraf, a busy day began for the almost 20 guests and Paderborn University’s team. In a workshop, central aspects of the application for the European University were further concretised. Annette Klinkert and Minea Gartzlaff from City2Science led the workshop. The Herford-based agency has extensive expertise in the areas of science communication and strategy consulting and supports the consortium in the complex application process.
Further virtual meetings as well as face-to-face meetings at the various partner universities are planned for the coming months.
More information on the "European Universities" initiative: https://ec.europa.eu/education/education-in-the-eu/european-education-area/european-universities-initiative_en
