Education: A record budget of €384 million under Erasmus+ to support European Universities alliances

Today, the Commission announces a fourth Erasmus+ call for proposals to support the further rollout of the European Universities initiative. With a record total budget of €384 million, the 2023 Erasmus+ European Universities call will be open until 31 January 2023. The 2023 call, just as the Erasmus+ 2022 call, offers sustainable funding to intensify deep institutional transnational cooperation between higher education institutions, such as those selected under the Erasmus+ 2020 European Universities call, as well as opportunities to set up completely new alliances. In addition, a Seal of Excellence will be awarded as a quality label to proposals, which have been assessed and scored as high quality but could not be funded under this Erasmus+ call, to facilitate the search for alternative funding. Margaritis Schinas, Vice-President for the European way of life, said: “European Universities, with their European transnational campuses, are what makes the EU a reality for the young generations. I am sure that the alliances to be selected through this Erasmus+ call will continue to be a source of creative and enriching inspiration for the higher education sector and keep pushing boundaries for the benefit of their students, staff and communities.” Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, said: “With the European Universities, we want to cultivate a culture of cooperation in higher education throughout the EU, which will contribute to creating a sustainable, resilient and more inclusive future for our younger generation. I see the European Universities as important drivers for sustained growth, entrepreneurship and quality jobs in our regions, and with this Erasmus+ call we can give another strong push towards open and connected European campuses, where mobility and cooperation experiences are an integral part of every higher education programme.” As in 2022, individual higher education institutions also have the opportunity to join existing alliances. Two novelties are foreseen in 2023: the full partnership will open up to higher education institutions from the Western Balkan countries. Following the 2019, 2020, and 2022 Erasmus+ calls, the current 44 European Universities alliances gather 340 higher education institutions across Europe, bringing together a new generation of Europeans who are able to cooperate and work in different languages and across borders, sectors and academic disciplines. The Commission proposed the European Universities initiative , as part of an overall vision for the creation of a European Education Area by 2025. The European strategy for universities sets the ambition to support 60 European Universities involving more than 500 higher education institutions by mid-2024. For this, a record €1.1 billion under Erasmus+ is foreseen under the current programming period 2021-2027 to support European Universities.