LERU analysesthe opportunities and complexities these alliances must navigate to ensure long-term success and achieve their goals, and explains that “key outputs of European Universities alliances already include major steps forward to novel structures and interoperability, facilitating easy transfer of information between student and staff administration, as well as validation of degrees, credits and micro-credentials.” One of the highlighted alliances is CHARM-EU, which includes the University of Barcelona, Trinity College Dublin, and Utrecht University, all members of the LERU.
The CHARM-EU alliance is recognized for its role in facilitating collaboration and knowledge-sharing through the CHARM-EU toolbox. This digital platform supports the sharing of best practices, helping institutions to streamline strategic cooperation and enabling exchanges of information across borders. The governance of such alliances is another focus point, with the CHARM-EU model for governance and its policies for hybrid classrooms serving as important benchmarks for other European Universities alliances.
Beyond governance, the paper underscores CHARM-EU’s contribution to strengthening European higher education through innovative educational initiatives. Notably, CHARM-EU pioneering Master’s program in Global Challenges for Sustainability represents a significant step toward addressing some of the most pressing global issues through interdisciplinary education. The paper also points to the ED-AFFICHE project, where CHARM-EU was a member alongside Una Europa, 4EU+, EC2U, EU-CONEXUS and Unite!. This initiative explored the potential for a European Degree or a European Degree label, analyzing the national legal barriers and proposing solutions to facilitate the recognition across Europe.
However, one of the central challenges identified by LERU is funding. “To ensure their long-term success, sustained, competitive and excellence-based funding from European, national, and regional sources is essential” points out LERU in their paper. The need for sustained funding is essential for developing competitive educational offerings that can attract students and faculty, ultimately increasing the international appeal of European higher education. As alliances like CHARM-EU continue to lead the way in innovation, LERU’s paper serves as a reminder of the potential these partnerships hold for shaping the future of European higher education.
For more information, the full LERU paper is available for download on their website.
