projects and developments Newsletter of the 4EU+ European University Alliance
9 April 2020
The first issue focuses on activities of the member universities to fight the coronavirus
The 4EU+ European University Alliance – an international association of six strong research-intensive universities in Europe including Heidelberg University – reports on its current projects and developments in a new newsletter. A focus of the first issue, which has just appeared, is fighting the coronavirus. Various activities and initiatives of the 4EU+ universities are presented, particularly in the field of research. In addition, the English-language newsletter reports on the ongoing work of the alliance, supplemented by a service section with funding programmes.
“This first newsletter arrives during exceptional and challenging times for each of the 4EU+ universities. They require concerted, careful and creative action from the leadership, and from stakeholders, ranging from staff and faculty to students,” underlines Dr Volker Balli, general secretary of the alliance. He adds that this situation also radically curtails the mobility of the university members – fostering this is a central mission for 4EU+. “Still, the situation does not prevent us from acting, but rather encourages us to share and circulate ideas and good practices,” the general secretary notes.
The 4EU+ European University Alliance consists of the universities of Prague, Heidelberg, Sorbonne/Paris, Warsaw, Copenhagen and Milan. Since June 2019 the alliance has been one of the 17 university alliances funded in the framework of the Erasmus+ pilot call “European Universities”. The consortia receive financial support to enable the initial stages of a long-term cooperation. With its support for strategic higher education partnerships the European Commission pursues the aim of combining research, teaching and innovation in Europe in new structures and thereby modernising and strengthening the European Education Area.