‘The European University will be a joint university involving all ECIU partners,’ explains Katrin Dircksen, ECIU Secretary General based at the UT. ‘It will be a new umbrella organization that will offer a different type of education. If students choose to follow it, they will move from one university to another for different courses.’
The motivation to launch such a university lies in the need ‘to produce citizens of the future,’ according to Dircksen. ‘The new university will be a co-creation with industry, public organisations, society, academics and students. We want to involve them in education to ensure that the education has an impact, that it produces knowledge and skills society needs. A big focus will also be given to life-long learning, so that people from industry can join university courses, for example.’
The initiative is currently in the bidding phase. To start the educational institute, ECIU is applying for funding under the call of the DG Education, Sports and Cultures (DG EAC) for European Universities. ‘However, we would like to launch the European University even without the funding,’ says Dircksen. ‘We really believe in the idea.'
