In July of this year, the Carinthian University of Applied Sciences was the only Austrian university to convince the European Commission with its application for a European University, consisting of nine European universities. By participating in this flagship project of the European Commission, which is funded with a total volume of 189.2 million euros, the Carinthia University of Applied Sciences is taking on a key European role in the implementation of digital and green transformation projects and is establishing itself as a pioneer in the European educational landscape.
The alliance, “Applied, Connected, Entrepreneurial & Connected European University”, or ACE²-EU for short, which was co-initiated by the Carinthian University of Applied Sciences and consists of nine European universities, aims to promote sustainable social transformation through multidisciplinary and cross-sector projects. With a focus on applied education, research and innovation, the Carinthia University of Applied Sciences not only strengthens its international visibility, but also Europe’s competitiveness and integration. This important milestone underlines the outstanding position of the Carinthian University of Applied Sciences in the national and international higher education sector and strengthens the Carinthian region as an education and research location in the long term. FH Carinthia Rector Peter Granig is pleased: “As a member of ACE²-EU, the Carinthian University of Applied Sciences is positioning itself as a pioneer in applied teaching and research. This offers completely new opportunities for students and employees of the Carinthia University of Applied Sciences – students can study at 8 other universities, employees benefit from exchange programs, and there are also a variety of opportunities in international research. This will sustainably strengthen Carinthia as an education and research location.”
FH Carinthia Managing Director Siegfried Spanz is motivated and grateful: “Thanks to the entire team. Becoming a European University was a clearly defined goal in our Strategy 23-30. We are very pleased that we have now achieved this so quickly; it shows the quality of our university, but it is also our responsibility to implement it just as quickly with our international partners go.”
“As state governor and university representative, I am very proud. This is a big milestone not only for the Carinthian University of Applied Sciences but for the entire state. This success underlines the high quality of the educational and research institutions in Carinthia and positions the region as an important player in the educational landscape. Through close networking with eight other European universities, Carinthia will once again play an important role in shaping the future of Europe. This also makes a central contribution to strengthening Carinthia’s innovative strength and competitiveness in an international comparison,” says Carinthia’s Governor Peter Kaiser.
ACE²-EU submitted the extensive funding application with the co-lead of the Carinthian University of Applied Sciences in February
submitted and convinced with a shared vision. Like the Carinthia University of Applied Sciences itself, the partner universities also focus on applied education, research and innovation and are closely anchored in their regions. In the future, multidisciplinary and cross-sector projects in the areas of digital and green transformation as well as socio-economic transformation will be implemented together with various core competencies in order to support sustainable social change.
This year’s call for proposals from the European Commission was highly competitive and, for now, the last to receive funding for the establishment of future-oriented university alliances. The total funding volume was 189.2 million euros. A total of 14 new alliances and one existing one are now being financed in order to build deep institutional transnational cooperation.
Project manager Julia Marinaccio is enthusiastic: “The “European Universities” initiative is the European Commission’s flagship project in European higher education policy and aims at a long-term transformation of the European higher education area. It is based on the idea that we can only find solutions to the major challenges in our societies together and united.”
This success fits seamlessly into the Carinthia University of Applied Sciences’ Strategy 23-30, which aims at sustainable development, internationalization and innovative educational formats. Integration into the ACE²-EU alliance enables the Carinthian University of Applied Sciences to achieve its strategic goals by further expanding the quality of teaching and research and increasing the internationality of its educational offerings. The 2030 Strategy places particular emphasis on promoting sustainability and adapting to global challenges, which is supported by transnational cooperation within the Alliance. This development will further increase the competitiveness of the Carinthia University of Applied Sciences and consolidate its position as a leading educational institution in Europe.
Hard Facts:
9 universities – 56,000 students – 56 partners – 29 research centers – 3214 employees
Members ACE²-EU:
Polytechnic of Santarém (Portugal), Carinthia University of Applied Sciences (Austria),
Constantin Brâncusi University Târgu-Jiu (Romania), Universidad Francisco de Vitoria UFV (Spain),
Goce Delcev University (North Macedonia) Medical University of Gdańsk (Poland),
Kaunas Technical College (Lithuania), Latvian Academy of Culture (Latvia),
Ingolstadt University of Technology (Germany)
Funding volume FH Carinthia:
14.4 million in total, including 2.2 million for the Carinthia University of Applied Sciences
First measures:
As a first step, the alliance will build its operational structures. In addition to the composition of the governing bodies and the consolidation of communication channels between the alliance partners and within the individual universities, this primarily affects our three operational core and service units: the Applied Programs and Pedagogy Factory (APP Factory), the Applied Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Support Incubator (ARIES Incubator), the Societal Partnerships And Cultural Engagement Center (Space Centre), which are responsible for implementing the diverse initiatives. In addition, the establishment of a common e-campus will begin immediately, which will network infrastructures, make the activities and expertise of the alliance publicly visible and further promote the participation of external stakeholders in the alliance.