EUA calls for substantial leap forward in supporting transnational university cooperation

Transnational cooperation is a unique feature of the European university landscape, contributing to Europe’s international attractiveness and competitiveness and enhancing its resilience and future sustainability.

In recent years, alliances created under the European Universities Initiative (EUI) have become an important part of the wider spectrum of cooperation, notably creating new opportunities for institutions, staff and students. However, alongside the positive impacts of the EUI, challenges remain for universities, notably in terms of regulatory barriers, funding and the high number of different policy objectives linked to the initiative.

Today, the European University Association (EUA) has published ‘The next leap forward for transnational cooperation’, identifying nine key ways in which policy makers and universities can work together from now until 2030 to unleash the full potential of Europe’s universities, make best use of capacities and resources and maximise opportunities for students and researchers:

1. Fully implement existing tools for facilitating transnational cooperation and other necessary system-level reforms.
2. Facilitate a strategic discussion to ensure that transnational cooperation benefits the entire higher education sector.
3. Centre the academic purpose of cooperation and support diverse forms of collaboration.
4. Enable universities to consolidate existing cooperation and establish sustainable and effective governance systems for alliances.
5. Make sure that funding for transnational cooperation, including for alliances, is sustainable and efficient.
6. Build an interoperable European system that enhances learning and teaching.
7. Enable synergies between education, research and innovation and streamline application processes.
8. Support multilingualism as part of efforts to foster equity, diversity and inclusion in transnational cooperation.
9. Strengthen the leadership and governance capacity of alliances.

Welcoming the publication, Josep M. Garrell, President of EUA, noted that: “The goal for the next years, until 2030, must be to create a strategic, transparent and smooth system of transnational university cooperation that benefits the entire university sector. It should build on best practices from within and beyond alliances under the European Universities Initiative.”