The objective is to establish a European University, a new form of higher education to better address the major societal challenges facing Europe in the future. In addition to Umeå University, universities from France, Finland, the Czech Republic, Italy, Northern Macedonia, Spain, and Switzerland are part of the collaboration.
"Umeå University has a lot to learn from the collaboration with the European universities that are part of the alliance, but we also have a lot to contribute," says Hans Adolfsson, Vice-Chancellor of Umeå University. "Equally significant, we are at the forefront of the pedagogical development of digital teaching. We also have outstanding collaboration with our student unions, which will strengthen the alliance's ambition to work with student-driven projects and issues."
The AcrossEU alliance will continue its intensive efforts to strengthen collaboration on education and research during the spring and summer with a series of meetings at different levels and a survey of students at the nine universities. Some of the highlights include a meeting of university management representatives in Brussels on 9 March, a student meeting in Rovaniemi in April, and a conference for IT developers and educators in Umeå in May.
Heidi Hansson, professor of English literature and special advisor to the vice-chancellor on AcrossEU matters.
Photo: Mattias Pettersson
"The work is continuing, pending a (hopefully) positive response from the EU. This spring, plans include a meeting of vice-chancellors and rectors of all Alliance universities, a joint student forum, activities for various staff groups, and a meeting of researchers. At home in Umeå, we will meet with faculty, staff, and students from all faculties to plan the next steps together," says Heidi Hansson, special advisor to the vice-chancellor on AcrossEU matters.
AcrossEU granted Seal of Excellence in 2022
The European Universities initiative evolved from the European Commission to create strong and innovative European university alliances. 44 alliances involving around 340 universities in 31 countries have already received funding. The last call for proposals was in 2022, when four new alliances were selected for funding. Umeå University and AcrossEU submitted an application, but closely missed funding approval. In the fierce competition, the AcrossEU alliance was one of the top performers on the unofficial reserve list. This meant that AcrossEU was awarded a Seal of Excellence, a recognition given to proposals that have been deemed to comply with the quality requirements but could not be funded under the Erasmus+ programme due to budgetary constraints.
Members of the AcrossEU alliance include: Université de Caen Normandie (France); the Lapland University consortium with two members – University of Lapland and Lapland University of Applied Sciences (Finland); University of Pardubice (the Czech Republic); Università degli Studi di Siena (Italy); Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje (North Macedonia); Umeå University (Sweden); Universidad de Valladolid (Spain); and Université de Fribourg (Switzerland, affiliated member).
Results of the 2023 Erasmus+ call to be announced in June
A decision on which new alliances will receive funding from the EU programmes Erasmus+, Horizon Europe and other EU bodies is expected in late June 2023.
The main objectives of AcrossEU are to:
- Promote the European and universal values of peace, human rights, inclusion and diversity.
- Structure new and inclusive European Universities.
- Open up to society by stimulating the creation of new knowledge, facilitating lifelong education and developing active cooperation between scientific research and civil society.
- Support regional growth by stimulating joint research and innovation projects, developing transdisciplinary curriculum and fostering student entrepreneurs.
- Facilitate student mobility within the network.
Read more about the European Universities initiative