European Universities as Drivers of Innovation for the Universities of the Future
- News
Titled “Impulses for the University Strategy 2040: European Universities as Drivers of Innovation for the Universities of the Future!?”, Montanuniversität Leoben and the USTP – University of Applied Sciences St. Pölten, together with their European University alliances EURECA-PRO and E³UDRES², hosted a high-level panel discussion and event at Vienna’s MuseumsQuartier.
More than six years after the launch of the first European Universities, the event offered an opportunity to reflect on developments from an Austrian perspective. Representatives of the European Universities in Austria presented a position paper on the Austrian University Strategy 2040. Federal Minister Eva-Maria Holzleitner also attended the event.
The European Universities Initiative of the European Union is one of the most significant higher education policy developments of recent years and is increasingly shaping the strategic development of universities across Europe. In the context of Austria’s emerging University Strategy 2040, the initiative provides key impulses for the future of teaching and research, knowledge transfer and innovation in cooperation with industry partners, societal engagement, and institutional collaboration.
More than six years after its launch, European Universities are clearly acting as drivers of innovation and structural change in the higher education sector. Today, 73 alliances across Europe are developing new forms of cooperation – from joint study programmes and micro-credentials to innovative teaching and learning formats, collaborative research and innovation structures, and new approaches to staff development.
Austria plays an active role in this development. With EURECA-PRO (Montanuniversität Leoben) and E³UDRES² (USTP – University of Applied Sciences St. Pölten), two alliances are coordinated by Austrian institutions, and a further 16 higher education institutions are involved. Austria is therefore strongly represented in the initiative at European level.
Federal Minister for Women, Science and Research – Eva-Maria Holzleitner commented:
“European Universities demonstrate Europe’s ability to think big, overcome borders, and create something new together. This initiative is one of the most ambitious and important projects of the European Union in higher education in recent years. Austria is not only part of the European Higher Education Area – we actively shape it and contribute our strengths in a targeted way.”
Towards truly European universities
The political importance of European Universities is also reflected at national level: the government programme foresees further expanding the participation of Austrian universities and exploring pathways towards their development into truly European universities. The aim is to sustainably strengthen the international competitiveness of Austria as a higher education location.
“European Universities drive innovation in teaching, accelerate the transformation of universities towards the future, increase the global competitiveness of the European Higher Education Area, strengthen diversity and resilience as well as research and innovation capacity, help close skills gaps, and improve graduates’ employability,” says Hannes Raffaseder, Managing Director of USTP and President of E³UDRES². “In this context, they make a crucial and indispensable contribution to the innovative strength of the universities of the future in Europe.”
“The European Universities Initiative is a strategic engine for the universities of the future. Together with partners such as EURECA-PRO and E³UDRES², we are putting joint study programmes, micro-credentials, and collaborative innovation structures into practice. For the University Strategy 2040, we need reliable framework conditions: recognition of joint degrees, flexible quality assurance, stable funding, and talent-oriented staff development. Austria is well positioned – now it is time to take the step towards truly European universities,” emphasised Peter Moser, Rector of Montanuniversität Leoben.
Position paper for the University Strategy 2040
Against this background, representatives of Austrian European Universities have developed a joint position paper for the University Strategy 2040.
The aim is to systematically feed the experience gained within the alliances into national strategy development, while also outlining perspectives for the further development of the initiative. Numerous good practices not only provide inspiration for future developments at European and global level, but also offer concrete solutions to national challenges identified in the recently published FORWIT analysis of the Austrian higher education system.
Read the position paper (PDF).
Broad dialogue with European and national stakeholders
The themes were further discussed in a high-level panel at Vienna’s MuseumsQuartier. Participants included representatives of the European Commission, the Federal Ministry for Women, Science and Research, as well as universities and student organisations from across Austria.
Among the speakers were Susanne Conze (European Commission, DG EAC), Elmar Pichl (BMFWF), Franziska Knolger (European Students’ Union), Oliver Vettori (WU Vienna / ENGAGE.EU), Susanne Feiel (Montanuniversität Leoben / EURECA-PRO), Gabriele Permoser (USTP / E³UDRES²), Thomas Baumgartner (University of Innsbruck / AURORA), Julia Marinaccio (Carinthia University of Applied Sciences / ACE2-EU), and Elisa Kreuzeder (TU Wien / EULiST).
Opening remarks were delivered by Federal Minister Eva-Maria Holzleitner. The event was moderated by Michael Köttritsch (Die Presse).
Under the motto “United Campuses of Europe!”, the event also offered space for informal exchange with the following European University alliances with Austrian member institutions: ACE²-EU, ARQUS, AURORA, Circle U., CIVICA, CIVIS, EC2U, ENGAGE.EU, EPICUR, EU4Dual, EULiST, IN.TUNE, Neurotech.EU, RUN-EU, ULYSSEUS, and Unite!
