The alliances have brought a policy drive for large scale changes at EU and national levels , with benefits that spur beyond the alliances themselves. We observed in the relative short period of time since the launch of the first pilots, that the European Universities became individual motors for policy change. At Member States level they have managed to establish a direct dialogue among involved HEIs and also with their national authorities, leading to progress in the national legislation to allow more flexibility for higher education institutions involved in transnational alliances. Examples can be found in Croatia, Cyprus, Greece and Spain, when it comes to moving from a programme to an institutional-based external quality assurance approach, giving more flexibility to their universities involved in transnational alliances to develop joint programmes, define the number of ECTS, tuition fees, proportion of language and digital learning. Despite this progress, European Universities still face administrative and legislative challenges. Further efforts are still needed within the national contexts . This is one of the purposes of the Council Recommendation on building bridges for effective European cooperation in higher education , adopted in April 2022, which aims to drive legislative progress in the Member States. It encourages Member States to take action and support higher education institutions in addressing the current challenges and to remove obstacles that hamper the development and effective implementation of joint educational programmes – including their accreditation and quality assurance and the full implementation of the Bologna transparency tools.
Following their start-up phase, European Universities alliances are now expected to deploy and mainstream their activities to more faculties, reaching out to a majority of students and staff . The needed transformation at institutional level requires a long-term vision, going beyond any existing cooperation model, and a strong engagement of leadership teams at all levels of the institutions, as well as students, staff and researchers across all faculties and levels. Aligning the overall strategy of each institution with the alliances’ strategy is a requirement for success. To realise the ambition of the European Universities requires a long-term engagement . This is a necessity for alliances to be able to transcend existing cooperation models, establish novel governance structures and have sustainable impact. The Commission stands ready to support this long-term engagement of the alliances. As announced in the European strategy for universities, the Commission services started working with stakeholders and the Member States on an investment pathway for European Universities alliances to provide continuous support to the alliances beyond 2028- 2029. The objective is to facilitate a more comprehensive funding approach, complementing the educational dimension with support across all alliances’ missions, and seeking for synergies with national and regional funding. For me it is clear that European Universities, together with the Commission, Member States, and higher education institutions across Europe, will keep pushing the boundaries to unlock their full potential. Together, these actors will build the universities – and the societies – of the future.
education institutions at the European level. We have launched 10 Erasmus+ projects to test these new forms of transnational cooperation between higher education institutions. 100 partners, including 90 higher education institutions, are taking part in these pilot projects. Spain actively contributes with 34 institutions involved. Based on the results of this Erasmus+ pilot, the next possible steps will be explored. This, naturally, together with Member States, and aligned with the Bologna Process tools. Second , we are working towards a European Quality Assurance and Recognition System. The aim is to support robust and future-proof quality assurance systems across Europe. These should be the basis for trust and transparency and key enablers for in-depth transnational cooperation and seamless mobility. This is also key for the set-up of quality assurance and accreditation of joint transnational educational activities and programmes at all levels, including joint European degrees and micro-credentials. Third , we want to develop a framework for attractive and sustainable careers in higher education . High quality staff are essential for thriving European higher education institutions and deeper transnational cooperation as the one witnessed within European Universities. Yet, they face uneven recognition of their diverse roles on top of research, such as teaching, the development of transnational education
activities, of micro-credentials, or for mainstreaming sustainable development in their education offer.
What’s next for the European Universities initiative?
We are also supporting the alliances with higher education policy developments at the European level .
The European Universities initiative has fostered an unprecedented enthusiasm among higher education institutions to put their strengths together to dream of the universities they want to become in the future.
First , we are examining options and necessary steps towards a possible joint European degree , as well as a voluntary and flexible legal status for alliances of higher
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