EUROPEAN UNIVERSITIES – E3UDRES2 – Engaged and Entrepreneurial European University as Driver for European Smart and Sustainable Regions
(Universitatea antreprenorială europeană promotor pentru regiunile inteligente și sustenabile)
E³UDRES² promotes the development of small and medium-sized cities and their rural environments, turning them into smart and sustainable regions, building on and contributing to the creation of a prosperous future, with a better quality of life for a European society in full progress.
It brings together the knowledge, skills, skills and resources of the next six higher education institutions:
- St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences (Austria)
- Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal (Portugal)
- Politehnica University Timisoara (Romania)
- Szent Istvan University Gödöllö (Hungary)
- UC Leuven Limburg (Belgium)
- Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences (Latvia)
NEW! Saxion University of Applied Sciences (https://www.saxion.edu/) and Fulda University of Applied Sciences (https://www.hs-fulda.de/en/home) have been accepted in E³UDRES² as associated partner universities, with the perspective of becoming full consortium partners in the near future.
NEW! Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences (JAMK) (https://www.jamk.fi/en) from Finland will become the ninth partner in the E³UDRES² Alliance, extending our network to more than 100.000 students and 10.500 staff over nine European countries. As with Fulda and Saxion, JAMK will also join E³UDRES² as an associated partner and will become a full member from Autumn 2023 on, when the next phase of E³UDRES² (hopefully) starts.
E³UDRES² pursues the following strategic goals:
- Provide Challenge-Based Education, Mission-Oriented Research, Human-Centered Innovation, Open and Engaged Knowledge Exchange
- Build on in-depth scientific expertise and cross-disciplinary applied skills
- Shift to a European multi-university campus
- Empower, support and challenge creative talents for future work
- Act as an inclusive platform for collaborative open innovation
- Think and learn entrepreneurially
- Engage and interact with the local communities and economic environment.
The main activities are grouped in 6 Work Packages (WPs), as below:
1. Management and Coordination
2. Future Universities as Drivers for Smart and Sustainable Regions
3. Learners & Educators
4. Researchers
5. Innovators and Entrepreneurs
6. Sustainability and Dissemination
The E³UDRES² multi-university campus promotes the mobility (both physical and virtual) of students at all levels, as well as, of both academic and non-academic staff. E³UDRES² enables students and staff to gain intercultural competences (including language competences) and broaden the perspective from regional to European.
The main expected results are:
- a co-created exemplary blueprint for a future university for smart and sustainable regions (WP1 & WP2)
- a training towards future universities for academic and non-academic staff (WP2)
- well-established I-Living Labs as role models for challenge-based learning with innovative methods (WP3)
- I-research networks to enable mission-oriented research and human-centered innovation in cross-disciplinary European groups (WP4)
- an I-cubator as part of the E³UDRES² Innovators and Entrepreneurs Programme (WP5)
- a strategy and a work schedule for open and engaged knowledge exchanges (WP6)
- tasks and measures to ensure widespread dissemination of E³UDRES² ideas, concepts and results (WP6)
- a co-created platform-oriented business model to guarantee the long-term sustainability of the alliance (WP6).
The project establishes I-Living-Labs for future universities and smart and sustainable regions. Again, the “I” stands for inspiring, innovative, intercultural, international, interdisciplinary, intersectoral, inclusive and intense. E³UDRES² adopts the concept of Living Labs for the development of “Future Universities”, as well as for smart and sustainable regions. The I-cubator is a specific programme for innovation and entrepreneurship aiming to promote regionally anchored and internationally connected innovation ecosystems for smart and sustainable regions.
The project will involve various stakeholders (students, staff, entrepreneurs, innovators, SMEs, ventures, policy makers, etc.) in co-ideation/co-design workshops to promote innovation ecosystems for smart and sustainable regions against the background of globalization, urbanization, digital transformation and disruptive technologies.
It will involve mobilities between all partners, different other events, scientific conferences or entrepreneurial presentations, visits to local companies, student and/or research activities.
It will encourage and support talents to transform their ideas into businesses that are regionally anchored but internationally connected. It will also increase the attractiveness of small and medium-sized cities and their rural regions for experienced innovators and companies who are willing to interact with regional ecosystems and acknowledge the potentials of smart and sustainable regions within the context of complex global challenges.
For this reason, E³UDRES² – the Engaged European Entrepreneurial University as a Driver for European Smart and Sustainable Regions – supports small and medium-sized cities and their rural surroundings areas and addresses their specific needs and challenges along a complex path towards a prosperous future European society. It follows the idea “From Europe – For Europe” by developing European solutions to regional problems in a globally connected world.
For more details about this initiative click on the logo of the project:
