Universities from The Guild and EUTOPIA advocate for cofinancing alliances through national budgets
Universities from The Guild and EUTOPIA advocate for cofinancing alliances through national budgets
The declaration emphasizes that alliance funding should not rely solely on European investment, but it is crucial for national governments to also allocate efforts to make the initiative sustainable.
The Guild alliance, including Pompeu Fabra University and three other universities from the EUTOPIA alliance, issued a joint statement this week regarding European university alliances and their funding. They highlight the need to bolster the financial support for alliances within the European Universities Initiative.
The statement warns that alliance funding should not exclusively depend on European investment, emphasizing the necessity for national governments to contribute efforts to "make the initiative sustainable." In this regard, they call for less prescriptive calls and more budgetary flexibility "to support different types of activities," beyond a specific budget for the initiative.
📢 The Guild just published its recommendations for the Investment Pathway of the #EuropeanUniversities alliances, contributing to the current discussion on the future funding of the #alliances
— The Guild (@guildeu) February 12, 2024
Read the statement ➡️https://t.co/JJgSZDexo4 pic.twitter.com/oDaAFVdBXd
Furthermore, The Guild proposes three principles for alliance funding. Firstly, principles of quality and excellence, distinctive character, and institutional autonomy, among others. Secondly, prioritizing investments in projects that advance the European Research Area (ERA) and integrate education, research, and innovation. Lastly, ensuring investments are complementary across various European funding programs, offering flexible and bottom-up financing routes.
The acting Secretary-General of the alliance, Ole Petter Ottersen, sees European university alliances as a promising mechanism to enhance the perspective of university mobility: "There is no single way forward, but many, and all must be explored in the experiment that university alliances represent."