Double Erasmus+ success
The European Commission will continue funding the European University for Well-Being (EUniWell) within the framework of ERASMUS+. The University of Konstanz’s current project partner in the European Universities Initiative, the European Reform University Alliance (ERUA), also received a funding extension.
After a successful three-year pilot phase, the EUniWell alliance has grown from seven to eleven member universities in eight different countries across Europe – including the University of Konstanz. In its proposal for 2023-2027, the alliance outlined the expansion of its innovative and interdisciplinary approach to include education, research, innovation, transfer and community engagement. On 3 July 2023, the European Commission approved the project with funding of 14.4 million euros for the next four years.
"We are very excited about EUniWell's success in the current round of the European Universities Initiative and look forward to intensifying joint activities with our European partners starting in November 2023. Health and well-being for all, sustainability, teacher education as well as open science are among the central issues of our time, and we are thrilled to be part of an international university alliance focusing on these topics,” says Katharina Holzinger, rector of the University of Konstanz.
The future goals of the EUniWell Alliance
With renewed funding from the European Commission, EUniWell aims to build on its initial successes and take further steps towards a sustainable European university dedicated to the well-being of all. "This is a crucial moment for EUniWell, as we can now fully realize our vision of becoming a trailblazer in the field of well-being in Europe and globally. With this renewed support from the European Commission, we can continue to build on the progress we have made in the first three years and further transform the impact we have within our institutions and society at large," Beatrix Busse, EUniWell Chief Development Officer, expresses her enthusiasm about the renewed funding.
During the next four years, the EUniWell alliance will continue to create a new paradigm for higher education focused on multidimensional well-being, at the personal, societal, and global levels. Its multidisciplinary and intercultural approach aims to provide its students, researchers and staff as well as society in general with the skills and knowledge necessary to address the complex, global challenges we face today.
The University of Konstanz and the European Universities Initiative
The University of Konstanz has been part of the European Universities Initiative since the second funding round of the Erasmus+ programme. In 2020, it was a founding member of the European Reform University Alliance (ERUA), which also received a funding extension from the European Commission. Since its foundation, ERUA has worked on improving student mobility through flexible, cross-national study programmes and on developing innovative teaching and learning formats as well as staff mobility and exchange initiatives.
"Until October 2023, the University of Konstanz will be fully committed to ERUA and continue to work on these joint projects," says Dorothea Debus, Vice Rector for International Affairs, Equal Opportunity and Diversity at the University of Konstanz. She adds: "Even though we will join EUniWell as a full member in November 2023, we will remain connected to ERUA as an associate member and will participate in some of the alliance's projects in the future as far as possible."
About the European Universities Initiative within Erasmus+
The latest Erasmus+ call awarded a record sum of 402.2 million euros to further the rollout of the European Universities Initiative. EUniWell’s selection to receive continued funding from the European Commission reaffirms its position as a leader in the field of well-being and as a valuable contributor to a sustainable and inclusive future.