New Erasmus+ call for deeper transnational cooperation between universities in Europe

Today, the Commission launched a new Erasmus+ call for proposals to pilot a joint European degree label and to test institutionalised EU cooperation instruments, such as a possible European legal status for alliances, as announced in the European Strategy for Universities. These flagship initiatives of the strategy aim to facilitate deeper transnational cooperation between higher education institutions in Europe.  This open and competitive call for proposals has a total budget of € 2 million. Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mariya Gabriel, said: “With this Erasmus+ pilot, we seek to progress on the flagship initiatives of the European strategy for universities and take transnational cooperation to the next level. We seek to develop a genuinely European dimension in the higher education sector, built on shared values for the benefit of students, staff and the higher institutions alike. We encourage the wider higher education sector to get involved”. The joint European degree label would be issued as a complementary certificate to the qualifications obtained by students graduating from joint programmes delivered in the context of transnational cooperation between several higher education institutions. The testing of institutionalised EU cooperation instruments, such as a possible European legal status for alliances, will support the piloting of existing European instruments to facilitate deeper, long-term and flexible transnational cooperation among higher education institutions. The aim is to give alliances, on a voluntary basis, the latitude to act together, make common strategic decisions, experiment joint recruitment, design joint curricula or pool resources and human, technical, data, education, research and innovation capacities. The deadline for applications’ submission is 6 October. An online information session for applicants is planned on 28 June (10.30 – 12.30 CET).