Plans to link support ‘not enough’ to sustain EU university alliances

Keystone European Universities Initiative collaborations hope for block funding as EU trails better support

The leaders of university alliances, which the EU has made a major part of its push to strengthen European research, have warned that upgraded funding plans are “not enough” to sustain them.

The EU’s European Universities Initiative funds cross-border collaborations on education and research initiatives such as joint campuses and courses. Fifty alliances have so far received EU money since 2019 with a further ten expected. But those involved have increasingly voiced concerns about the current levels of funding and how they will be supported in the long term.