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On the road for 25 years

‘We are not nearly finished’

With the celebration of its 25 years, the ECIU partnership is more important than ever, according to the two Institutional Coordinators, Lise Thorup-Pedersen and Niall Power. ‘By working together, we take internationalization to a higher level’, says Thorup-Pedersen.

Text: Peter Koehorst
Photos: Aalborg University and University of Aveiro

They were personally not involved in the establishment right from the beginning, but joined shortly afterwards. Lise and Niall know each other well. They attended many ECIU gatherings together. Now Lise is behind the screen at Aalborg University in Denmark and Niall is calling from his Universidade de Aveiro in Portugal. Both still play an important role as Institutional Coordinator. Lise has to laugh about the question of why she was asked to join the consortium. ‘Because I speak English well.’ 

According to Niall, the words strongly together are very typical for the basis of the consortium. ‘Countries like Portugal and Denmark are not at the centre of power. The European Union seems far away. Especially in these turbulent times, it is important to use the knowledge and skills of universities to make the right decisions. With all our knowledge, we are strong in this.’

‘We use each other’s strengths’

He says the collaboration brings him confidence. ‘That confidence was already there in our own region, but not yet outside it. As a small regional educational institution, we were very focused on ourselves before the founding. Now we use each other’s strengths.’ Lise: ‘In the early years, we were mainly looking for the right form of our collaboration. Call it happy-go-lucky. Nowadays it is a much more professional collaboration.’

Interest

Throughout the years there have been many switches of partners. One came, and the other went. Not just in Europe were applications to become a member, interest was also shown from South Korea, Hong Kong, Australia and Russia. ‘In fact we have had partners in the last-mentioned countries’, says Lise. Right now, the university of the Mexican-located Monterrey is the only non-European member. ‘Because of all the switches, we learned a lot about the right setup, says Niall. ‘What works and what does not and, while better is always possible, we now have a well-grounded base for a healthy future.’ Lise: ‘We inspire each other and exchange ideas. We search for new solutions and look at the future together. I see the ECIU as one big family.’

The answer to the question of what they learn from other member universities, the answer is very clear: a lot. Aalborg University has played a leading role in developing the global leadership programme where universities look at the role they play worldwide and how they can strengthen each other. The programme runs for twenty year and all partners are involved.’

Attention

So they are open to the world. The professors and students actively help to better the world. And everyone may know it. A significant example of that is the bicycle tour with the name ‘mission unstoppable’ by professor Martin Lehmann. He cycled for 3,900 kilometres from Denmark to Portugal and visited the partner universities on the way to ask attention for green forms of mobility. ‘That still has an effect. There is a movement active for sustainable travel within the ECIU’, says Niall.

Knowledge and experiences

It is one of the many examples of the role those universities play in society. And that same society is increasingly more welcome to the academic world. ‘Look at Life-Long Learning, for example, says Lise. ‘People want to keep learning, but they are unable to follow a full study programme. Why don’t we offer them a short programme? Because of all our knowledge and experiences, we can play into this beautifully and collectively. That is so empowering.’

Finally, will ECIU exist in 25 years? ‘For sure. Collaborating becomes increasingly important due to the changing society. We are not nearly finished’, say Lise and Niall. ‘Or, to speak the words of a colleague: The ECIU is like a relationship. You feel strongly connected to each other. In 2019 we were engaged, in 2030 we will marry and we will live together happily ever after.’

Mexican Technológico de Monterrey has been a partner for over 20 years

Where the E in ECIU stands for European, the name does not quite ring true. In Mexico, the Technológico de Monterrey is located. With 31 campuses divided over the country’s major cities, this university has been connected to the ECIU for over twenty years. And to great satisfaction.

Text: Peter Koehorst
Photo: Technológico de Monterrey

Joaquín Guerra Achem is a strong advocate of the ECIU membership. The Vice-Rector of Educational Innovation and Academic Policy is intensely involved in the collaboration ‘Sixty per cent of our graduated students has international experience. The biggest part gathered that experience in Europe. That is quite special for a country whose inhabitants are mostly focused on the United States and Canada. I call our students ‘citizens of the world’, says Joaquín. He thinks it is important that students gain international experience. ‘It brings them so much.’ And that does not just count for our own students. ‘Students from Europe are of course also welcome here with us.’

The new learning

There are no longer boundaries. ‘The corona pandemic has proven that digital learning is very well possible’, says Joaquín. ‘The professor who only wants to give lectures to groups of students is dated. Students in the 21st century want to learn the course material in their own way. Technology is not an end but a means. We learn a lot from our partners at ECIU in the field of innovative education. For instance, project-based learning and challenged-based learning inspire me a lot.’

Future

The link to the colleague ECIU universities is simple according to Joaquín. ‘We are all innovative and progressive universities with a strong focus on sustainability. By working together and learning from each other, we offer the best education.’ The university of Monterrey will undoubtedly continue to focus on Europe in the future. ‘We encourage each other to develop and prepare for the future. On to the next twenty years of membership.’

Co-founder Ben Kokkeler about ECIU:

‘Make sure to continue to rediscover and renew yourself’

Ben Kokkeler was involved with the administrative and legal establishment of the European Consortium of Innovative Universities in 1996. According to him, a number of things came together at that time: the zeitgeist in which the importance of internationalization increased, growing attention for the role of universities in regional innovation and a UT Executive Board that recognized the great importance of an international consortium. ‘Since then, steps have been taken at all levels of the universities within the ECIU towards a European University, which makes me very proud.’

Text: Sandra Pool

Although he is formally no longer involved with the consortium, he still gets a warm feeling when he talks about the ECIU. ‘It’s in the little successes. Think of the journey of former rector Ed Brinksma from UT to Hamburg. Whether that is entirely due to ECIU is questionable, but the warm relationship was already there. An OBP delegation from MESA+ went to work in Barcelona for six months to learn from each other. Fantastic! The same goes for the Leadership Programme that has been running for years. Or the impact we have on the region, bringing Brussels closer. Those are results of investing in each other for all those years. That makes me very proud.’

Movements

Ben Kokkeler is speaking, who is affiliated with the University of Twente since the 80’s, and was general secretary of ECIU from 1996-2001. In that role he was one of the founders of ECIU. ‘We are talking about the nineties. We had an Executive Board that wanted something to happen at the strategic policy level. We took a different view on internationalization. Every student did an internship, preferably abroad. The Erasmus program was set up and our minister of education promoted the binational collaboration with our neighbouring countries Germany and Belgium under the heading internationalizing on the bike. As UT, we jumped right into the middle of that, into all those movements.’ 

Pioneering

Next to the change in zeitgeist, the Centre for Higher Education Policy Studies (CHEPS) of the UT under supervision of Frans van Vught played an important part in the establishment of ECIU. ‘That was an agenda-setting club for many international programmes,’ says Kokkeler. ‘Who helped inspire the agenda in Brussels. CHEPS was in contact with the American scientist Burton Clark. He studied the role of entrepreneurial universities as drivers of the regional economy. He described seven universities in Europe that were eligible for this, including Twente. Success factors included geographic location, often on the edge of a country or Europe. Young universities often had to conquer a place in the established order, and they collaborated much more with the region than traditional universities. Finally, these universities attracted a certain kind of people. They wanted to pioneer and experiment. All this together created the enterprising character of the university.’

More than Erasmus

Because of these developments, international networks were established. ‘The universities of Twente, Dortmund, Hamburg, Aalborg, the British Warwick and Strathclyde (Glasgow) found each other and later invited partners in Scandinavia, France, Portugal (Aveiro) and Spain (Barcelona). We wanted more than an Erasmus exchange. A joint lobby with a joint strategic policy, we wanted to be a driving force in the regions, with campuses and knowledge parks and to collaborate with our regional partners. And that succeeded under the name ECIU. Some universities went and some new ones came, but the foundation is the same. And even now, with the ECIU University, the consortium continues to rediscover and renew itself. Keep on doing that!’