The main objective of the General Assembly meeting, attended by over 80 representatives including rectors from ten partner universities, was the establishment of a European, shared campus enriching education and research conducted by the European network of EUNICE universities. The meeting took place on April 23 and 24, 2024, hosted by the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg (Germany). It was the first such a meeting in the second phase of the EUNICE project (now EUNICE4U) after receiving funding for another 4 years.
The agenda included the exchange of experiences, brainstorming in working groups, and the development of European-scale initiatives related to experiential learning, language courses, mobility, project management, and international outreach beyond the EUNICE consortium.
Furthermore, during parallel sessions, current REUNICE initiatives (complementary to the EUNICE project focused on science) aimed at developing a structure supporting research cooperation within the consortium were evaluated. As an example of initiatives being piloted in REUNICE, a new Open Science platform, which will be launched soon, was mentioned. The REUNICE project is funded by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 program.
New Opportunities
The aim of the European Campus, spanning ten partner countries of EUNICE, is a significant increase in the mobility indicators of universities affiliated within the alliance. Mobility should not be limited solely to popular semester exchanges within the Erasmus+ program. Other forms of mobility pave the way for more personalized international experiences:
Virtual mobility is a new concept related to internationalization initiatives within the country, enabling online study or acquiring skills using cross-cultural educational experiences. In this context, EUNICE will open registration for online courses in the coming weeks, created by the academic staff of the 10 partner universities of EUNICE and available free of charge to students from universities affiliated with the alliance.
New formats, such as Blended Intensive Programmes, which combine online training with short on-site stays, are more accessible to students and easier to fit into their academic calendars.
International internships promoting learning through practice in foreign companies.
Staff weeks for both academic and administrative staff aimed at promoting and exchanging best practices. In EUNICE, these events typically begin with a short online course strengthening aspects such as languages, followed by on-site workshops and job shadowing activities.
The meetings and fruitful collaboration at the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg set new goals and outlined the vision for the future of the European university EUNICE.
