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European Universities Initiative: new call provides opportunities for new and existing transnational collaborations


30 November 2021

On 30 November, the European Commission published the 2022 call for proposals for alliances under the European Universities Initiative.


The call is part of the Erasmus+ programme action “Partnerships of Excellence” and has an overall budget of €272 million that is split into two lots. The first lot with €225.6 million provides support to already existing institutional transnational cooperation, including, but not limited to, alliances established under the 2019 pilot call. This allows those collaborations to go a step further in their long-term vision. As expected, the call includes the possibility for existing alliances to expand to new partners with the grant amount taking into account the efforts needed to integrate new members.

The second lot with €46.4 million is open for new applicants wishing to establish an alliance. The number of new alliances will depend on the size of the successfully applying alliances as the grant amount for each alliance is established according to the number of partners (see page 22 of the call document).  

Funding under both lots is foreseen for a period of four years.

Under this new call, it is possible for entities in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) that are not associated to the Erasmus+ programme to become associated partners in an alliance (without EU funding). This is good news as it acknowledges that transnational university collaboration in Europe goes beyond political boundaries and widens the possibility for institutions to make their own choices of partners within the EHEA.

The deadline for proposals is 22 March 2022 (17.00 CET). The Commission together with the Executive Agency (EACEA) will organise an online Open Information Session on 14 December 2021, from 10.00 to 12.30 CET. 

The other 2022 calls for proposals for mobility and cooperation actions under the Erasmus+ programme have also been launched recently. Call documents and deadlines can be found on the EACEA website.

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