European Universities Initiative

The European Universities Initiative was launched by the European Commission in 2019 with the aim of encouraging greater strategic collaboration and mobility between European institutions. With 100s of participating institutions, the initiative is now an integral part of the Erasmus+ 2021-2027 programme and is a key element of the push towards establishing a European Education Area by 2025.

Each alliance receives up to €5 million funding from Erasmus+ funding, along with up €2 million from Horizon 2020 to facilitate the development of their “European University”. Most national governments also provide supplementary funding for successful applicants from their nation and  Ireland have received €10,35 million to date from DFHERIS and HEA. To learn more about the European University Initiative check out the factsheet here.

Thanks to their strong international and collaborative profile, Irish institutions are strongly represented in this activity. With 13 Irish participating HEIs, the proportion of Irish public HEIs participating in EUAs, pro rata to the number of such HEIs in the country, is significantly higher than any other EU member state.

EUI alliances offer Irish universities the chance to cooperate closely with other leading European institutions on the biggest issues of the day, transcending traditional geographical and disciplinary boundaries in order to develop exciting new joint programmes, enhanced student and staff mobility, joint research programmes, and a new EU-wide model of education, research and innovation. To help institutions fully capitalise on these benefits, the IUA facilitates its members in their EUI activities and encourages the Irish government to provide institutions with the support they need to ensure that their EUI alliances’ activities are both successful and sustainable.