EELISA has been selected under the 2023 Erasmus+ European Universities Call with funding of 14.400.000 € and a total budget of over 21.000.000 €.
With an expanded scope, size, diversity, and ambition, in this new phase, EELISA aims to deepen collaboration in line with the six dimensions of the European Education Area: quality, inclusion and gender, green and digital transitions, teachers and trainers, higher education, and the geopolitical dimension. The Alliance also seeks to contribute to the consolidation of the European Research Area and its vision of creating a unified and unrestricted market for research, innovation, and technology across the European Union.
In the next years, EELISA will further advance the long-term vision of the European Universities Initiative to transform institutional cooperation among higher education institutions through long-term structural, strategic, and sustainable collaboration.
According to Alberto Garrido, current EELISA’s coordinator, “This is great news for all members of the alliance. It means a significant endorsement of the work done over the past three years, serving as a recognition of the progress achieved. This includes strengthening the links between education, research, and innovation. EELISA 2.0 will build upon these initial successes, expanding them into new domains and increasing their visibility”
As reflected in the EELISA 2.0 mission statement, in the new period “engineering will remain the core strength of EELISA but will be integrated into a global, interdisciplinary strategy that encourages cross-learning of methods and best practices”. It will act as an interface between science, technology, and society, contributing to ecological and digital transitions in Europe. Some of the key strategic goals for this new phase will be transforming education and training towards challenge-based learning and creating an innovative education ecosystem built around research and innovation.
Sofia d’Aguiar, EELISA’s executive director, highlights, “In a broader context, the support from the European Commission empowers EELISA to realize these goals. From a practical standpoint, this support will facilitate our Alliance’s transition from a project-based structure and organization to an institutionalized one, characterized by streamlined governance and a more agile, decentralized, and digitally supported management approach. This transformation is pivotal for expanding the impact of EELISA at all levels.”
EELISA students also join in celebrating this positive news. Judith Wahl, Chair of the EELISA Student Council, expresses their enthusiasm: “With the EELISA alliance continuing, we, as the student council, can continue working towards connecting the student bodies of our respective universities. We strongly believe that when students come together, knowledge and experiences are shared, and lasting bonds are formed, which will enable us to tackle future environmental and societal challenges. Exploring research fields beyond our own curricula and making friends across borders is an important and enriching aspect of student life. Therefore, we are grateful for the ongoing support of EELISA by the European Commission.”
- Picture of an EELISA team working in the co-creation process of EELISA phase 2 proposal for the 2023 Erasmus + European Universities Call. Read about it here.
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