EUNICE: General Assembly in Italy - Starting signal for the new phase

The University of Catania (Italy) hosted delegations from the EUNICE partner universities from September 18-20 to plan the next steps of the Alliance in the new phase of the project and to discuss cooperation regarding European higher education.

Rectors and high-level representatives of the ten universities of the consortium took stock of the achievements and the challenges ahead, focusing on the development of future joint European final degrees. The occasion was also used to discuss the European H2020 project to promote joint research within the Alliance, REUNICE (EUNICE Research).

Francesco Priolo, Rector of the University of Catania, said, "EUNICE is not just a project, it is a dream we are realizing together. A large European university with campuses in 10 countries will give students the opportunity to study at ten partner universities. Three years ago we took on an ambitious challenge, and we are starting a new phase, with the addition of three new partner universities."

After the opening event, in which external interested parties could also participate online, the leaders of the EUNICE work packages reported on their achievements so far in the session "Activating a European University", such as the extensive course catalog, the multicultural events in the framework of the EUNICE Weeks or the internship and thesis platform. In addition to the Rector's Summit, parallel meetings were also on the agenda, for example to advance the development of Joint Degrees or to intensify cooperation in research. Meetings of the student advisory board and the mobility and communication teams also took place over the three days.

The BTU delegation consisted of nine people, including Vice President for Research and Transfer Prof. Dr. Michael Hübner, President's Representative for Internationalization Prof. Dr. Michael Schmidt, Head of the International Relation Office Mareike Kunze and EUNICE Project Coordinator Janina Biell.

November marks the start of the second phase of EUNICE for the Alliance, the European University for Customised Education, which has received €14 million in European funding (Erasmus+ program) to fulfill its mission. Established in 2020, the alliance currently consists of ten universities with campuses in ten European countries, responsible for the education of 150,000 students. Its potential spans 60 faculties, 15,000 teaching, research administrative staff members, as well as knowledge contained in more than 280,000 scientific publications.

The initiative enables students of the participating universities to access the common learning offer, to exchange with European students and lecturers and to experience multicultural learning.

On the website you can find the current course offers, internships abroad or interesting contributions from the EUNICE cosmos:  //eunice-university.eu/.

The next highlight will be the EUNICE Weeks, the European cultural event of the university alliance, which will open with a sporty kick-off, a volleyball tournament at the university of technology in Poznań (Poland) in October.

Those who would like to experience the EUNICE offerings live beforehand are invited to the 2nd Speak-Dating at the Cottbus City Museum.

Background:

EUNICE (European University for Customised Education), these are universities from different European countries with a common DNA: all universities are medium-sized and strongly anchored locally, they are in a process of structural change and students are the focus of interest everywhere. Tailor-made course offerings are created for these very students in order to prepare them in the best possible way for the European job market. The alliance is supported by ten universities: Poznań University of Technology (Poland), Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg (Germany), University of Cantabria (Spain), University of Mons (Belgium), University of Catania (Italy), Université Polytechnique Hauts-de-France (France), University of Vaasa (Finland), Polytechnic Institute Viseu (Portugal), University of Peloponnese (Greece) and Karlstad University (Sweden).