European Universities: More than half of the Swiss universities are now involved!

The "European Universities" initiative supports transformative approaches to cooperation between universities in the European Higher Education Area. With the 2024 call, the European Union has selected a further 14 projects for funding via Erasmus+. This brings the total number of Erasmus+ "European Universities" to 64 alliances with 560 universities and exceeds the European Commission's target of 60 alliances.
 
This year's Swiss participations once again emphasise the relevance that Swiss universities attach to the initiative. Three applications with Swiss participation were successful at EU level; unfortunately, two others were not. A total of 12 Swiss higher education institutions are now participating in Erasmus+-funded alliances. This corresponds to half of all universities and universities of applied sciences in Switzerland. This also means that a Swiss institution is involved in around one in five of the 64 Erasmus+ "European universities". With the ZHdK and the University of St.Gallen, two further institutions are endeavouring to become partially involved in Erasmus+-funded alliances .  

A list of the 2024 projects with Swiss participation can be found at the end of the text.

Background to the initiative
The "European Universities" initiative was launched in 2017. Since 2022, a total of 64 projects have been selected for funding of up to EUR 14 million each for four years in three Erasmus+ project calls. The alliances serve as key agents of change and shape the future of higher education across Europe. The initiative is part of the European Union's (EU) wider strategy to improve the quality, integration and competitiveness of European higher education and to tackle the global challenges of our time. 

The initiative is the most ambitious project in the field of higher education in Europe since the creation of the Bologna Process in 1999. The alliances differ from other higher education partnerships in that they operate as a "network of networks" of several unique alliances within a strategic top-down approach - defined by the EU and Erasmus+ member states, i.e. without strategic involvement of Switzerland - with common overarching objectives. 

The 2024 call for proposals was again very competitive. At EU level, 56 applications were submitted, 14 of which were funded. With a total of 64 Erasmus+ "European Universities", the target of at least 60 projects being active by mid-2024 has been achieved.

Switzerland and the "European Universities"
Since 2022, universities from Switzerland have been able to participate subject to restrictions. The State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) will continue to provide financial support for such participation in 2024 via Movetia. It is not yet clear how high the 2024 budget will be. Movetia and the SERI are working towards this. 

The results of the subsidised projects are becoming increasingly visible.

• Within the Una Europa alliance, for example, the University of Zurich (UZH) was able to join the Joint Bachelor in European Studies, which was established during the pilot phase, and set up the Joint Bachelor in Sustainability with six other partner institutions. This will enable UZH to offer prospective students access to an international, interdisciplinary degree programme from autumn semester 2024 - in addition to other low-threshold mobility opportunities for a broader target group, of course.
• Within the CIVIS alliance, the University of Lausanne (UNIL) is intensively involved in so-called "Blended Intensive Programmes". These programmes of 3-6 ECTS comprise an online collaboration between students and lecturers from different partner institutions as well as a physical meeting of the participants lasting approximately one week. The expertise and resources of lecturers and students are utilised transnationally in a complementary manner (see the experience report of a UNIL lecturer here).

Community of Practice of European Universities
With the 2024 call for projects, one project (out of four applications) was also selected to build a "community of practice" of all European Universities and to strengthen cooperation as a network of networks. The project "FORum of European Universities for All (FOR-EU4ALL)" will contribute to the exchange of best practices and experiences within the European Universities alliances and beyond, for the benefit of the entire European higher education sector.

Six Swiss universities (UNIGE, ETHZ, UNIBE, UNIBAS, UZH, HES-SO) are directly represented in the project through their alliances. The alliances of the other Swiss universities, including those selected for funding in 2024, are also involved in the project as associated partners.

    
What next for the "European universities"?
At European level, there will be no further "European Universities" call for projects in 2025. For 2026-2027, there will be an interim solution for funding. The major goal is to establish sustainable funding for the alliances from 2028 onwards ("investment pathway"). Discussions on this long-term "what’s next" are in full swing. The proposal for 7-year funding is intended to ensure the further development of the 64 active alliances and also involve even more universities in the initiative.

For Switzerland, an association to Erasmus+ would enable full participation in the initiative and thus engagement on an equal footing. Negotiations are currently underway as part of the overarching negotiations between the EU and Switzerland. If association does not materialise, the future for Swiss institutions is unclear. It is likely that restricted access with limitations would remain as before and financial support would have to be covered by the Dispatch on the Promotion of Education, Research and Innovation (ERI Dispatch) 2025-28. In any case, support for the 12 Swiss institutions is secured for four years, as it is for their partner institutions.

Erasmus+ "European Universities" with Swiss partner (call for projects 2024)
"European Universities" are active with various focal points. The projects with Swiss participation reflect the range at European level. Swiss universities of applied sciences have caught up. The following alliances with Swiss partner institutions or their projects were selected for Erasmus+ funding (in alphabetical order):

ChallengeEU - with the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW)
The Challenge.EU alliance consists of 9 medium-sized universities in Europe. In their project (2025-2028), they are committed to the joint further development of practice-oriented, innovative teaching and research (challenge-and-impact driven education, research and innovation) that is geared towards future social issues. The focus of the alliance is on the topics of 1) Sustainable Futures, 2) Health and Well-Being and 3) Smart Digitalisation, which are dealt with on an interdisciplinary basis. More than 90 associated regional partner institutions from business, administration, education and society are involved in the alliance.

Find out more: ChallengeEU Project and ChallengeEU Alliance

EUonAIR - with the Scuola universitaria professionale della Svizzera italiana (SUPSI)
The European University Alliance EUonAIR (European University on AI in Curricula, Smart UniverCity
and (Return)Mobility) consists of 10 main and more than 20 associated partner institutions. With its project, which is scheduled to start in early 2025 and will run for 4 years, it aims to improve education through artificial intelligence (AI) across Europe by promoting education, research and personal mobility in this field and establishing a cross-university governance structure. It also aims to make education more accessible, inclusive and sustainable by integrating AI into learning and management and collaborating with non-academic stakeholders.

Find out more: EUonAIR project, EUonAIR Alliance and press release SUPSI

PIONEER - with the Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH)
As a "European University", PIONEER (The European University of Future Cities) is primarily dedicated to Sustainable Development Goal 11 "Sustainable Cities and Communities" with the aim of making cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. The alliance brings together 10 universities, 32 cities and 16 regions in Europe in its project (2025-2028). As a complementary academic ecosystem, the alliance is dedicated to inter-institutional cooperation for smoothly functioning learning mobility and innovation in teaching as well as internationalisation in its own institutions and countries within the Alliance network.

Find out more: PIONEER project, PIONEER Alliance and BFH media release

The projects, which will run for four years, will start at the beginning of 2025.