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The meeting of the presidents of the U!REKA partners in Brussels (15-16 April) focused on the European ambition on climate neutrality and the EU's related demand for skilled professionals.
The U!REKA European University Alliance was launched on 1 January and focuses on climate neutrality and smart cities. In doing so, U!REKA responds to the European Union's goal of becoming climate neutral by 2050. Cities play an important role in achieving this goal. Therefore, the EU wants to build 100 climate neutral and smart cities by 2030.
Consequently, there is a great need for skilled workers with the right competences. And so higher education is well placed to help shape this shift towards a climate-neutral society. ‘We are doing this together with students, experts and local actors who influence the ecosystem,’ emphasised Riitta Konkola, president and CEO of Finland's Metropolia University of Applied Sciences and chairperson of U!REKA's Steering Committee.
Co-creation
Much emphasis was placed on the applicability in society of new technical solutions for the green and digital transition. This is also the essence of co-creation within the U!REKA European University Alliance, where local ecosystems are connected into a dynamic (learning) community. While students develop digital and sustainability competences, they also learn to work in international, multidisciplinary environments.
In addition to the directors of the six founding U!REKA partners, representatives of the European Commission, the European Association of Institutions in Higher Education (EURASHE) and the European Regions Research and Innovation Network (ERRIN) also took part in the meeting.
Apart from HOGENT, the U!REKA University Alliance also consists of Metropolia University of Applied Sciences (Finland), Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (the Netherlands), Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences (Germany), Polytechnic University of Lisbon (Portugal), and VSB Technical University of Ostrava (Czech Republic). Associated partners from higher education are Edinburgh Napier University (Scotland, UK), Odessa National Economic University (Ukraine), University of Applied Sciences BFI Vienna (Austria), and the University of Bari Aldo Moro (Italy).