EURECA-PRO: The European University on Responsible Consumption and Production

Introduction EURECA-PRO

The European Universities Initiative (EUI) is one of the flagship initiatives of the European Union (EU). It aims to build a European education area with the goal of strengthening strategic partnerships between higher education institutions across the EU and developing "European universities". With the funds from the Erasmus+ program, the European Commission aims to strengthen the quality, attractiveness and international competitiveness of European higher education and to contribute to a united and strong Europe.

The idea for the "European Universities" initiative was provided by French President Emmanuel Macron in 2017:

“I believe we should create European Universities – a network of universities across Europe with programs that have all their students study abroad and take classes in at least two languages. These European Universities will also be drivers of educational innovation and the quest for excellence. We should set for ourselves the goal of creating at least 20 of them by 2024. However, we must begin setting up the first of these universities as early as the next academic year, with real European semesters and real European diplomas.” (*Sorbonne Speech of President Emmanuel Macron on new initiative for Europe on 26th September 2017).

[Translate to English:] Schaubild der Europäische Hochschulallianz EURECA-PRO

Since November 2020, Mittweida University of Applied Sciences is part of a European university network. Together with the TU Bergakademie Freiberg (Germany), the Montanuniversität Leoben (Austria), the Silesian University of Technology (Poland), the Technical University of Crete (Greece) and the universities in León (Spain) and Petroșani (Romania), it forms the European University Alliance EURECA-PRO. The aim of the seven EURECA-PRO partners is to promote research and education in the field of "Responsible Production and Consumption". This is in line with the United Nations' Goal 12 on sustainable development of society by 2030. The alliance is funded by the European Commission for an initial period of three years.

The core goals by 2023 include:

  1. The development of a joint European study program for "Responsible Consumption and Production", which includes all 3 study cycles from the Bachelor, through the Master to the PhD program and is characterized by curricular mobilities of students and PhD students as well as innovative pedagogical approaches (esp. also in the area of digital teaching)
  2. The establishment of lighthouse research contracts with cross-institutional interdisciplinary research groups
  3. The creation of a digital master platform to enable easier collaboration between partners and students, as well as joint management and outreach to society and industry
  4. The development of effective structures for the cross-disciplinary implementation of a "Transversal Skills" portfolio. This includes competencies in the areas of languages, cultures, mobility, sustainability, resource efficiency, digitization and virtual campus.
  5. The establishment of an innovation academy and a technology and innovation transfer center.

In addition to contributing to the core objectives, Mittweida University of Applied Sciences is responsible for the Third Mission & External Image work package as part of the project. Third mission is the term used to describe the services provided by universities in addition to teaching and research. This includes, among other things, the transfer of knowledge to the economy and society, which EURECA-PRO will promote in particular through scientific communication on best practice examples regarding responsible and sustainable production and consumption. It is also dedicated to the topic of social entrepreneurship.

 

EURECA-PRO and digital European campus

The long-term creation of a digital European campus is an essential task of the European higher education alliance EURECA-PRO. In addition to the provision and design of a corresponding digital platform, the development of innovative digital teaching/learning scenarios and information offerings is a key component.

The Institute for Knowledge Transfer and Digital Transformation (IWD) at Mittweida University of Applied Sciences combines the topics related to digital teaching and learning (e-campus) and offers corresponding consulting and support. The EURECA-PRO project works closely with the IWD and is united in its goals and efforts, with the IWD adding a European dimension to the national dimension of the e-campus.

With (digital) innovations in the field of teaching, the university aims to attract new target groups, support existing target groups in their social transformation, improve the quality of studies and increase the academic marketability and competitiveness of the institution.

The official European website of the EURECA-PRO higher education alliance can be found  here.

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