Trinity has been chosen as one of two Irish universities to be part of a major new EU initiative involving 114 higher education institutes from across Europe, forming a partnership with universities in Utrecht, Barcelona, Montpellier and Budapest.
Trinity and Dublin City University (DCU) are the two Irish universities to have been chosen for the European Universities initiative, which aims to establish “inter-university” campuses across countries and boost co-operation between higher education institutes.
Trinity will engage in partnership with the University of Barcelona, the University of Montpellier, Utrecht University and Eotvos Lorand University, collectively forming one of the 17 new collaborations established under the initiative.
The 17 “European Universities” were chosen from 54 applications made up of university alliances from around the EU. Twenty-four EU countries are represented among the partnerships chosen to take part.
Trinity originally signed the agreement with its new partners in January. Today, the European Commission announced that it would make up one of the new partnerships.
In January, at the signing of the agreement, Provost Patrick Prendergast said that “Trinity is delighted to be part of this new network of European universities, cooperating together without frontiers”.
“We need education programmes and research at the frontiers of knowledge to reduce poverty and the overall human pressure on our planet”, he said.
In a press statement today, Minister for Higher Education Mary Mitchell O’Connor called universities engaged in the partnerships “trailblazers”.
“Integrated teaching, learning and research across borders is now a reality”, she said.
“Students and learners of the future will truly be able to leverage the advantages of European partnerships across the member states.”
In a press statement, Tibor Navracsics, the European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, said: “I am pleased to see the ambition of the first 17 European Universities, which will act as role models for others across the EU. They will enable the next generations of students to experience Europe by studying in different countries.”
The EU has allocated €85 million to the first 17 collaborative universities, with each alliance receiving €5 million in the coming three years.
