The European Commission on Thursday announced the name of European universities which will be part of the ‘European Universities’ initiative and seven Romanian higher education institutions are on the list.
The Commission unveiled the additional 24 European Universities that will join the first 17 alliances of higher education institutions selected already in 2019.
The 24 ‘universities’ are transnational alliances of higher education institutions from across the EU that come together for the benefit of students, teachers and society. Each alliance is composed on average of seven higher education institutions.
Each alliance will receive 5 million euros in the coming three years to start implementing their plans and pave the way for other higher education institutions across the EU to follow.
The initiative is designed to significantly strengthen mobility of students and staff, and foster the quality, inclusiveness and competitiveness of European higher education.
Education Minister Monica Anisie said the seven Romanian higher education institutions are: the Polytechnic University of Timisoara, the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, the Polytechnic University of Bucharest, the University of Petrosani, the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, the Iuliu Hateganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Cluj-Napoca, and West University of Timisoara.
„I want these universities to be an example of good practise for all the academic environment in Romania,” Anisie said. “We will continue to fund the universities to fulfil their objectives within the framework of European universities.”
The National School of Political and Administrative Studies, the University of Bucharest and the he Technical University of Civil Engineering of Bucharest were selected for the initiative in 2019.
Margaritis Schinas, vice president for Promoting the European Way of Life on Thursday said: “The Commission is today strongly responding to the call of students for more freedom to study across Europe, from teachers and researchers to better pool knowledge, and from higher education institutions to pool resources.”
“With 41 European Universities, involving 280 institutions and backed up by 287 million euros from the EU budget, the European Education Area becomes a tangible reality for many.”
Selected from 62 applications, the 24 newly selected ‘European Universities’ involve 165 higher education institutions from 26 EU member states and other countries participating in the Erasmus+ program, such as Norway, Serbia and the UK.
European Universities, transnational alliances of higher education institutions from across the EU, share a long-term strategy and aim to promote European values and identity.
