Our mission
EC2U is part of the European Universities Initiative, a flagship programme of the European Commission that aims to strengthen the European Higher Education Area through deep, long-term collaboration between universities across Europe.
Our alliance connects universities deeply embedded in mid-sized European cities, in order to develop new models of cooperation between academia, society, and local territories, with the ambition to develop an innovative space allowing seamless mobility between our 9 universities and associated cities.
Within this framework, EC2U develops innovative structures and opportunities for education, research, and civic engagement, guided by 4 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
The Alliance activities
To achieve its mission, our work is organised into 10 thematic Work Packages (WPs), which form the backbone of the project, where members of the 9 universities collaborate to achieve the objectives defined in the project Work Plan.
Between 2023 and 2027, these WPs guide EC2U’s strategic and operational development, covering areas from governance to health, education, innovation, peace, and societal impact.
Beyond the Work Packages structure, EC2U Virtual Institutes represent the long-term cooperation within the Alliance. They translate EC2U’s vision into lasting, thematic hubs that connect universities, cities, and communities across Europe.
Each Virtual Institute is an “Institute without walls”, bringing together interdisciplinary teams of students, teachers, researchers, and innovators from all 9 EC2U universities through a network of research, training activities and collaboration opportunities. By fostering cross-border collaboration, knowledge transfer, Open and Citizen Science, and mutual learning, they enable EC2U universities to be pioneers in the knowledge square, integrating research and innovation into education.
While most of the Virtual Institutes are closely linked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that guide the Alliance, others emerge around shared strategic topics such as materials, or education sciences. Together, they form an open and evolving structure that reinforce EC2U’s collective capacity to innovate and respond to emerging challenges:
Focus on
The European Universities Initiative
The European Universities alliances are part of a flagship initiative of the European Strategy for Universities, launched in 2018 by the European Commission.
They unite higher education institutions with shared strategic priorities to maximise their impact for the benefit of students, staff, and society.
Since its launch, the initiative has expanded through several waves and now includes:
- 73 European Universities alliances
- Almost 650 higher education institutions from across Europe
By fostering long-term, structural, and sustainable cooperation between higher education institutions, the initiative aims to strengthen the international competitiveness of European higher education and promote European values and a shared European identity.
