U!REKA selected to become a European University Alliance

The Urban Research and Education Knowledge Alliance (U!REKA), the European network of higher education institutions, has been selected by the European Commission for funding in the European Universities Initiative (EUI) call 2023. This means that U!REKA will become an official Erasmus+ co-funded European University Alliance, with an expanded partner network and a common vision of climate neutrality and beyond. The Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS) is one of the key partners in this network.

In January 2023, U!REKA submitted a bid for the EUI 2023 call, which aims to support ambitious collaboration between networks of institutions and external partners across their local ecosystems. The AUAS and U!REKA are delighted to announce that on 3 July we were informed by the European Commission that our bid was successful.

‘European Universities are transnational alliances that will lead the way towards the universities of the future, promoting European values and identity, and revolutionising the quality and competitiveness of European higher education’, according to the EC’s website.

The bid, titled U!REKA SHIFT (Sustainable, Human, Inclusive, Future-proof Transition) aims to establish a long-term strategic and structural collaboration to integrate our education and research into a European University with a specific focus to contribute to a sustainable, human, inclusive and future proof transition to Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities. You can find more information on the contents of the bid and the U!REKA SHIFT strategy and mission here.

The AUAS and U!REKA are very happy with the feedback we received on our proposal from the European Commission: 'The alliance being a consortium of universities of applied sciences, thus more practice-oriented, exhibits a strong interconnection between teaching, practice and research. The goals are fully in line with the European Strategy for Universities. Goals of the European Green Deal, and the EU mission on 100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities are also embedded in the proposal.' Out of 65 applications received, 20 alliances were selected involving more than 250 higher education institutions. The application of U!REKA received 88/100 points.

“I feel honoured and thankful for the great U!REKA collaboration to develop the bid and the excellent review comments we received. This gives us a strong foundation to deepen the U!REKA network into a fully-fledged European University Alliance,” says Dr. Mona Roman, Innovation Director at U!REKA's Helsinki-based partner, Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, who coordinated the U!REKA SHIFT proposal.

Geleyn Meijer, U!REKA Steering Committee Chair and Rector at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences: “I am very excited that our light is also shining in Brussels now and I thank our bid coordinator Mona Roman and her team for their fantastic work”.

U!REKA’s Steering Committee, including Geleyn Meijer, would like to thank all the staff and students from U!REKA and AUAS partners: Edinburgh Napier University; Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences; HOGENT; Metropolia University of Applied Sciences; Politecnico de Lisboa; and VSB Technical University of Ostrava; as well as the network's 24 associated partners, for their contributions to the bid writing process, and for making this successful leap together towards a bright future for the U!REKA network.

Information will follow on the next steps for the U!REKA SHIFT European University Alliance after the summer break.

This article was first published on 3 July by AUAS.