Kiel University: SEA-EU university alliance reaches key milestone

The second phase of the European University of the Seas “SEA-EU” alliance started at the beginning of 2023, funded with a total of 14.4 million Euros by the European Commission. The alliance of nine universities that are located along European coastlines, collaborate in an ambitious endeavour to form a super-campus extending from the Mediterranean Sea to the polar circle; the campus aims to be interdisciplinary, inter-university, multi-ethnic and multilingual. Close cooperation with European partners makes it possible for the universities to push ahead with the international development of technologies, strategies and models.

The latest SEA-EU governing week hosted by alliance partner the University of Malta from the 26 – 29 November, marked half-time for the current funding period. Key topics discussed across the many different boards and councils included the legal status of the Alliance, financial sustainability, financial commitment by the partners to joint-degree programmes, student and staff mobility, and inclusive communication. Another highlight was the confirmation of Marcela Iglesias and of Fernando Pérez, both from the University of Cádiz, as new General Coordinator and new General Director of the alliance respectively. 

“As we have now reached the half-way point of the SEA-EU project, it has been important to spend time together concentrating on discussing strategies and directions for the future of our alliance and network to ensure the enduring sustainability of what we have achieved together. We look forward to continuing these discussions over the months to come and in Kiel next summer,” said Ralph Schneider, Vice President for International Affairs and Early Career Researchers at Kiel University, and Kiel representative in the SEA-EU governing board. “We thank our colleagues in Malta for the smooth organisation of this memorable governing week” he adds. 

The biannual meeting is an opportunity to discuss structural and operational topics, share updates about tasks and milestones, and agree on activities and plans for the months to come. Presidency of the Alliance rotates between partners every six months. During the closing session of the three-day governing week in Malta presidency was passed from Malta to Kiel. The next governing week will take place in Kiel in June 2025.

The SEA-EU network: collaborative and interdisciplinary

The SEA-EU Alliance, coordinated by the University of Cádiz in Spain, was founded in 2019 by six universities: the University of Cádiz, the University of Brest (France), Kiel University (Germany), the University of Gdańsk (Poland), the University of Split (Croatia) and the University of Malta. For the second project phase, which commenced at the beginning of 2023 and funded with a total of 14.4 million Euros, three more partners joined the network: the University of Naples Parthenope (Italy), the University of Algarve (Faro, Portugal) and Nord University (Bodø, Norway). Altogether, the alliance comprises of about 150,000 students and 18,000 employees, all of whom can benefit from the increased collaboration the alliance fosters. The funding from the EU Commission covers 80 percent of the total costs of SEA-EU. The remaining 20 percent is financed by the nine members.

Together the nine partners form an interdisciplinary, inter-university, multi-ethnic and multilingual university campus. Close cooperation with European partners makes it possible for the universities to push ahead with the international development of technologies, strategies and models. In this way, important contributions can be made to finding solutions to major social and global challenges of our time. The UN Sustainable Development Goals, which the alliance regards as being in line with European values, are an important guide in this respect.

SEA-EU is one of 64 European Universities Alliances currently funded by the European Commission.