From March 4th to 6th 2020, the University of Strasbourg, lead partner of the EPICUR project, hosted intensive working sessions bringing together the eight partners of the alliance. It is in a collaborative perspective that the eight partners met in Strasbourg to work on concrete proposals regarding the major axes of the promising project.
Thematic working groups were organized during these three days, relying in particular on the participation of all its key players. Thus, presidents and rectors, experts, staff and students involved in each partner university were able to meet in order to exchange, either directly or via videoconferences, and also to establish the next phases of the project.
This first reunion made it possible to feed intensive exchanges, and also to better identify the internal expertise that is important for the next stages of this co-building process.
Combining research and training
During these meetings, the partners were able to reaffirm the alliance’s commitment to developing the training branch on research-centred approaches and thus further consolidate this academic combination which is essential for the new model of European University.
The EPICUR Alliance, winner of the call for pilot projects of European Universities launched by the European Commission in the framework of the Erasmus+ programme, is committed to building a new and innovative higher education and research area, anchored in the values of a Europe of knowledge beyond borders.
Building bridges
The aim of this alliance is to build bridges between the academic communities of its eight partner universities in order to develop a unique European University serving as a European intellectual hub for training, research and innovation.
The EPICUR project aims to establish a stable and sustainable model around several central pillars, such as multilingualism and inclusive governance, the development of interdisciplinary training and innovative learning methods, mobility and the creation of an inter-university virtual campus, the strengthening of inter-regional networks and partnerships with entrepreneurship.
One of the objectives set by the alliance is in particular to encourage the involvement of all key players in the EPICUR university community throughout its development process.