With the UNIVERS Alliance Chemnitz University of Technology Aims to Become Part of a European University
Together with its seven partner universities in the network UNIVERS - European Cross-Border University, Chemnitz University of Technology was holding a joint strategy workshop in Chemnitz for the first time.
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Together with its seven partner universities in the UNIVERS network, Chemnitz University of Technology conducted a joint strategy workshop at the university for the first time. The President of Chemnitz University of Technology, Prof. Dr. Gerd Strohmeier, welcomed the participants. Photo: Jacob Müller -
The seven partner universities of Chemnitz University of Technology in the UNIVERS network come from Bulgaria, France, Latvia, Poland, Romania, and Spain. Graphic: Alexandra Shaburova
With the alliance UNIVERS - European Cross-Border University, Chemnitz University of Technology wants to become a European University together with seven partner universities. An important step on this path was a joint strategy workshop, which took place in hybrid form with the participating partners for the first time at Chemnitz University of Technology on 16 and 17 September 2021. Representatives of Politechnika Białostocka (Poland), Universitatea din Craiova (Romania), Universitat de Girona (Spain), Universitat de Lleida (Spain), Université de Perpignan Via Domitia (France), Rēzeknes Tehnoloģiju Akadēmija (Latvia) and Angel Kanchev University Russe (Bulgaria) participated in the workshop.
"I am firmly convinced that the UNIVERS alliance in its specific composition has a unique architecture with various unique selling points, offers great potential for research, teaching, transfer, and young scientists, and also has a good chance of becoming a European University in the next round of calls for proposals," said President Prof. Dr. Gerd Strohmeier during his welcoming speech.
Prof. Dr. Maximilian Eibl, who as Vice President for Academic and International Affairs at Chemnitz University of Technology has intensively promoted the vision of UNIVERS since the beginning, emphasized: "The joint discussions with our partners within the framework of the European Universities Initiative form the ideal basis for novel international study programs that are European by nature from the very beginning and incorporate the strengths as well as the unique characteristics of all partners."
A key goal of the UNIVERS strategy is to empower people to initiate and shape cross-border projects and initiatives on a social, economic, and scientific level. Thus, reference programs in the fields of higher education, knowledge and technology transfer, and value creation are to be created that take into account the special circumstances and challenges in the border regions. Furthermore, it is one of the declared goals of UNIVERS to strengthen the exchange of students and teachers, for example through joint summer and winter schools. During the workshop, the focus of additional cooperation, the strategic orientation of the transnational alliance, and suitable cooperation and administrative structures will be discussed, especially with regard to the European Universities Initiative of the European Commission. In addition, a joint digitization strategy will be developed and important prerequisites for joint study programs will be discussed with a view to the special features of the participating universities.
Chemnitz University of Technology and the seven other European universities represented in the alliance are funded for three years by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) with funds from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in the program European University Networks - National Initiative as UNIVERS - European Cross-Border University with about 450,000 euros.
Background: UNIVERS - European Cross-Border University
All universities participating in UNIVERS have their location in border regions in common. They are already familiar with the resulting requirements and challenges for higher education: In regions close to the border, there is a significantly increased need for mobility for the common education area and labor market, which, however, is confronted with inequalities in the legal, social, and educational systems as well as cultural and language barriers. At the same time, according to a 2016 study by the European Research Network for Spatial Development and Territorial Cohesion, these so-called cross-border regions of the European Union comprise nearly 40 percent of the EU's land area, population, and gross domestic product. The regional areas of tension are thus becoming key challenges for the European Union.
With the motto "building collaborative leadership for cross-border territories," the goal of UNIVERS is to overcome these borders and form a common European educational space with nearly 85,000 students and 6,700 employees. In doing so, UNIVERS will serve as a model for other cross-border regions in Europe and beyond, which can benefit from the solution strategies developed.
For additional information on UNIVERS, please contact Dr. Benny Liebold, Head of the International Office at Chemnitz University of Technology, Phone: +49 371 531-38543, E-mail: benny.liebold@iuz.tu-chemnitz.de.
(Author: Matthias Fejes / Translation: Chelsea Burris)
Matthias Fejes
17.09.2021
