The aim behind European Universities Initiative is to bring together a new generation of creative Europeans, who are able to cooperate across languages, borders and disciplines to address the big societal challenges and skills shortages that Europe faces. Europe needs universities that dare to revolutionize and continuously innovate education, thus maximizing their societal impact with a significant influence on regional development.
“Innovative frontrunners like the ECIU member universities simply can’t sit back and relax. We are not afraid of taking risks and truly innovate Europe’s educational landscape”, says Victor van der Chijs (University of Twente), President of ECIU.
The initial ideas for developing the new European University were discussed at the ECIU Board meeting in Vilnius in April 2018. Close collaboration with society, public institutions and industry are in the DNA of all ECIU universities. Therefore, the plan for the new European University is co-created with industry, public organisations, society, academics, future and current students.
ECIU appreciates that the DG EAC included the feedback of ECIU to this new initiative and is convinced that the Consortium as a cross-European alliance of like-minded universities, are well-equipped to apply for this call. Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) is the only Lithuanian university, member of ECIU.
ECIU
The European Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU) has been a close-knit network of likeminded and forward- thinking universities for over 20 years. The ECIU network has 12 European members and one associate member in Mexico. All members share the same profile of being key players in the regional innovation system and have a shared commitment to the development of high quality educational practices which promote innovation and the pursuit of excellence in teaching and learning. ECIU shares many experiences and a joint vision for the future of European Universities. This ECIU vision translates into intensive collaboration and mobility through joint curricula for students as well as mobility programmes for researchers and staff. However, true educational innovation goes beyond mobility. ECIU has set a priority on innovating education and maximizing the impact that universities have on the society.
Members of the ECIU are: Aalborg University, Denmark, Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain, Dublin City University, Irelan, Hamburg University of Technology, Germany, Linköping University, Sweden, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom, University of Stavanger, Norway, University of Trento, Italy, Tampere University, Finland, University of Twente, the Netherlands, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico.
