Twenty years after the Bologna Declaration and the launch of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), seven prestigious universities have been granted €5 million in funding to establish a fully-fledged European university campus. The project is called 1EUROPE and is led by UNA Europa (University Alliance Europe), the network that brings together seven of the most well-known and prestigious universities in Europe: Università di Bologna (Italy), Freie Universität Berlin (Germany), University of Edinburgh (UK), Uniwersytet Jagielloński (Poland), KU Leuven (Belgium), Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain) and Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne(France).
Today, the UNA Europa community is made up of half a million people including students, researchers and academic staff: for them, 1EUROPE will create joint degree programmes at European level and opportunities for international mobility to study and do research in Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, Poland, Germany and the UK. Educational and civic participation initiatives will also take place, addressing a target group of two million people.
The project – which is one of the few projects in Europe funded by the new Erasmus+ “European Universities” call for applications – will officially start in December and will continue for three years. With 1EUROPE, the seven universities of UNA Europa will test innovative educational and international mobility activities for students, researchers and academic staff.
The spotlight will be on four highly topical themes – European Studies, Sustainability, Cultural Heritage and Artificial Intelligence – which will be developed within “international academic incubators”. These will form the basis of a fully-fledged European university campus, with the aim of attracting the most talented people from all over the world.
‘Thanks to UNA Europa, the University of Bologna now has the opportunity to join forces with six other prestigious European universities and thus develop interdisciplinary collaborations and innovations in the field of education and research which, today, are essential to meet future challenges,’ said Rector Francesco Ubertini. ‘The four areas of interest that 1EUROPE will focus on will allow us to promote multidisciplinary activities, combining scientific and humanistic disciplines in a transversal way in all the universities involved. It will be a starting point for involving the entire academic community of the seven partners of UNA Europa, thus creating a fully-fledged European university campus. All the universities involved are also highly engaged in initiatives involving civil society: thanks to 1EUROPE, we will be able to extend this commitment across Europe and worldwide.’
In addition, 1EUROPA will establish a laboratory on the future of universities, designed to create innovative activities in the field of education and research to be developed and shared among the seven partner universities.
As Emily Palmer, Secretary General of the network, explained, ‘UNA Europa aims to create a university of the future, which is not only international and innovative but also open and inclusive. This alliance between seven prestigious universities will empower students and researchers to find answers to the major challenges that our society will face.’
After having presented an initial agreement in Bologna in April 2018, UNA Europa was born this year in February. It comprises seven of the most well-known and prestigious universities in Europe: Università di Bologna (Italy), Freie Universität Berlin (Germany), University of Edinburgh (UK), Uniwersytet Jagielloński (Poland), KU Leuven (Belgium), Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain) and Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (France).
The seven universities in the network are actively engaged in long-term cooperation and integration, based on research and education, with a view to significantly increasing international opportunities for students and staff. In order to transcend traditional geographical and disciplinary boundaries, this collaboration will result in a multicampus university model aimed at preparing graduates and researchers by providing them with the knowledge and competencies they need to meet future challenges.