Highlights 

Latest news
and developments

ECIU University is entering a new phase. It is leaving experimentation with challenges and micro-modules on a small scale behind and taking further steps towards establishing a European University. In these highlights, we touch on the latest developments and news.

Highlight #1

'European university is a real possibility'

ECIU University received new funding of € 14.4 million from the EU Erasmus+ programme, therefore entering a new phase in its development. ‘We want to grow from 500 learners to 5000 learners,’ says Sander Lotze, director of ECIU University.

ECIU University completed the pilot stage, which was launched in November 2019 and lasted three years. More than 400 students and 100 teachers and staff members have been involved in the project so far. Sander Lotze: ‘The pilot was about testing out everything – challenge-based learning, flexible learning pathways, micro-credentials and so on. We have learnt a lot and we have shown that in order to make serious progress, we need serious support from the European Union – which we have now received. We have proven that a new European university is not a dream, but a real possibility.’

Source: U-Today

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Welcome Lodz University of Technology 

The European Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU) welcomes Lodz University of Technology (TUL), Poland as its 14th member. ECIU has been actively looking for a partner university in Eastern Europe that fits the profile.

Ehab is a learner of the ECIU University, exploring the learning opportunities ECIU University offers to become an ECIU Superman.

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Legal status for European Universities

The ECIU community has applied to the EC-call for a Legal Status for European Universities. ECIU University welcomes the European ambition to work towards a legal status for alliances of higher education institutions, to give them the latitude to act together, make common strategic decisions, experiment joint recruitment, or pool resources and human, technical, data, education, research and innovation capacities.

A legal status for European Universities is needed to fulfil the high ambitions for European co-operation in education and beyond. It is not possible to fully realise European Universities, a European Degree and a European Education Area without such a legal status. The outcome will follow around mid-January.

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New users platform DXP

The Digital eXperience Platform (DXP) is an eco-system built on different modules/products carefully chosen to function well together. The platform will cater the current and future needs of ECIU learners, teamchers, researchers, external stakeholders and administrative staff. Phase 1, which cover the first basic functionality of ECIU University as a Minimal Viable Product (MVP) will be launched mid-December. Learners can sign up for challenges and micromodules.

The platform is being built in different steps until 2030. Features will be added incrementally based on the needs of the users of the platform, as examples more support and guidance for the learners by recommendations of suitable learning opportunities and gamification, building communities easy accessible for different type of users to have discussions and collaboration.

The new platform is built on techniques and products that integrate well with each other and will be easier to develop further in the future. It is aiming towards bringing an excellent user experience across all users of the ECIU University. It will have a new overall look and fee and most importantly be a door towards the ECIU University and its ecosystem.

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Keyelements

Heli Harrikari, ECIU University Strategic Lead, about the key elements of Vision 2030: ‘The core idea is that we are not mimicking a traditional university. We are aiming to create a new European ecosystem for solving multi-disciplinary societal challenges, doing research and learning for life. As the Vision states, the main building blocks of the ECIU University are: open community, cutting-edge technologies, innovative co-creation model and European education and research.’