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European Consortium of Innovative Universities

ECIU

ECIU is the leading international consortium of research intensive universities with collective emphasis on innovation, creativity and societal impact, driving the development of a knowledge-based economy.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Bogdan Andrzej Zdrojewski (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur) and Deutsche Industrie- und Handelskammer and

28 Jan 2026 · Stakeholder dialogue on establishing the Erasmus+ programme for the period 2028-2034

Meeting with Alexandra Hild (Cabinet of Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva), Manuel Aleixo (Cabinet of Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva)

12 Jan 2026 · Exchange on European University Alliances

Meeting with Christian Ehler (Member of the European Parliament) and Netherlands House for Education and Research (Neth-ER)

23 Oct 2025 · Informal exchange

Meeting with Christian Ehler (Member of the European Parliament) and Netherlands House for Education and Research (Neth-ER)

18 Sept 2025 · Informal exchange

Response to European Research Area (ERA) Act

10 Sept 2025

The European Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU) is calling upon the European Union and its Member States to harness the full potential of the upcoming European Research Area Act (ERA Act) to further develop the European Research Area (ERA). In times of geopolitical uncertainty and the need for competitiveness and technological advancement, we cannot afford to continue as before. We must strengthen our European 'research house': reinforce its foundations, make it more attractive to talent and adapt it to evolving needs. Barriers to the free circulation of researchers, scientific knowledge and technology continue to contribute to the fragmentation of the ERA. Addressing these barriers is crucial to building a more integrated and resilient European research ecosystemone that is capable of tackling challenges that extend beyond national borders. The ERA Act must be Europes answer to the fifth freedom as proposed by Enrico Letta (2024). The ECIU supports the overall aims of the ERA Act, particularly its potential to: enhance knowledge valorisation in Europe; support the societal impact of research; invest in the latest technologies; strengthen the link between education, research and innovation (R&I); promote societal engagement. In this context, it is crucial to acknowledge the significance of tackling global challenges such as the energy transition, digitalisation and the increasing use of artificial intelligence, which require collaborative efforts that transcend national borders. The ERA Act should ensure that Europe continues to lead the way in innovation while responding to urgent societal needs. Additionally, ECIU underlines the importance of national commitments in achieving the 3% R&D target, as well as the need for stronger coordination of policies and investments between Member States and the EU. Coordinating research efforts is essential for aligning EU strategic priorities with national funding strategies. It is equally important to ensure that this coordination includes all countries participating in Horizon Europe to foster a truly international and inclusive ERA. The ERA Act is key to strengthen European competitiveness, and strong synergies with the Start-up and Scale-up Strategy and the upcoming EU Innovation Act are crucial. A more integrated ERA in which knowledge can flow freely across borders, sectors and disciplines will drive innovation. In strong synergy with the Innovation Act, the ERA Act is a key opportunity to boost Europes competitiveness by advancing knowledge valorisation. To support knowledge valorisation, the ERA Act must promote an entrepreneurial culture in Europe. For example, by strengthening the collaboration between universities and businesses, and recognise entrepreneurial achievements. The ERA Act is an opportunity to strengthen the links between research and education, and link to the European Education Area to foster more integrated and effective knowledge ecosystems, with universities as central actors. A higher level of awareness on and improved complementarity between research and education is needed to strengthen cooperation between academic, public, and private entities, this will help aligning research and innovation with broader societal goals. The ERA Act is an opportunity to increase the integration of societal impacts into research evaluation frameworks. The ERA Act can help working towards a much-needed European approach to citizen science, as engaging citizens boosts the societal uptake of implementable solutions to societal challenges. ECIU welcomes the European Commissions ambition to strengthen Europes global position in artificial intelligence (AI) in the AI Act. The ERA Act must support this ambition by empowering universities, researchers, innovators, and their communities to advance science and key technologies in an interdisciplinary way.
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Meeting with Christian Ehler (Member of the European Parliament) and Netherlands House for Education and Research (Neth-ER)

15 May 2025 · R&I policy

Response to EU Start-up and Scale-up Strategy

14 Mar 2025

To support a truly innovative startup and scaleup ecosystem, Europe must invest in the knowledge valorisation potential of its universities, and the link between universities and the local innovation ecosystems. In this input, the European Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU) shares concrete suggestions for a thriving European startup and scaleup ecosystem. 1. Building an entrepreneurial culture - Reinforcing an entrepreneurial culture and facilitating the connection between universities and business are essential steps to support European startups and scaleups. Researchers and students must be assessed, recognised and rewarded also for their entrepreneurial achievements. - Industry-Academia Sabbaticals, dual appointments between academia and industry, mentoring programmes between academia and entrepreneurs, and allowing researchers to apply for innovation residencies, are excellent ways to bridge knowledge and innovation opportunities. Strong support, more promotion and more empowerment of researchers and entrepreneurs to use schemes such as MSCA SE and DN Industry Doctorates or Industry fellowships has potential to accelerate the application of knowledge. - Flexible pathways of IP transfer ensuring streamlining of intellectual property across the EU would significantly facilitate the commercialisation of research. Additionally, the costs and time of protecting inventions must be reduced, to stay competitive. Moreover, in some countries some models of IP transition can be seen as state-aid which can hamper the technology transfer this must be clarified (see point 3 below). - Public Procurement Processes can hinder innovation, as current rigid frameworks limit flexibility and slow the adoption of new technologies. Procurement rules should evolve to prioritise innovation, allowing public institutions to act as early adopters of emerging solutions. 2. Financial resources - Risk capital for research commercialisation must be significantly increased. Funding for research results to be commercialised (ERC PoC or EIC instruments) and to prepare the ground for private investors is much needed. It is widely recognised that innovation opportunity is lost through the valley of death-effect. Lack of funding for disruptive innovation threatens Europes competitive position in key areas. There is a high need for more non-dilutive capital for the next disruptive technologies. Opportunities for smaller partnerships with visionary ideas, such as those presented by European Innovation Council Pathfinder Challenges and Pathfinder Open, need to be extended to support more opportunities for early-stage non-dilutive capital for high-risk, high-gain ideas. - To enable commercialisation, a critical mass of entrepreneurs, investors and businesses is needed. Connecting ecosystems and jointly working towards a portfolio of startups, will enable startups to access new markets and customers. Putting promising projects and startups together is also more attractive for Venture Capitalist and private capital. 3. Clarify state-aid rules - To support knowledge and technology transfer from university to society, ECIU sees a need for clarification on how State Aid rules are to be applied for any knowledge and technology emerging from university R&D. The current rules significantly influence industry-university collaborations, particularly concerning the management and transfer of IP by university TTOs, and access to infrastructure. About The European Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU) brings together 13 universities with a collective emphasis on innovation, creativity and societal impact. The ECIU member universities have a long track record in university-industry interaction and collaborating with their regions. All members are committed to changing the traditional university culture and methods of working.
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Meeting with Christian Ehler (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur) and European University Association and

27 Jan 2025 · FP10

Meeting with Christophe Galand (Head of Unit Budget) and European University Association and

23 Jan 2025 · Discussion on research place in the the future Multiannual Financial Framework

Meeting with Christian Ehler (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur)

5 Nov 2024 · FP10

Meeting with Christian Ehler (Member of the European Parliament)

24 Oct 2024 · European Framework Programmes

Response to Communication on the European Research Area Implementation

29 Sept 2024

The European Research Area (ERA) was launched in 2000 with the aim of creating a single market for research and innovation fostering free movement of researchers, scientific knowledge and innovation, and fostering a more competitive European industry. In the past four years sustainable efforts have been made by the European Commission, Member States and stakeholders, to ensure the broadening and deepening of the new European Research Area (ERA) as described in the 2020 Commission Communication entitled A new ERA for Research and Innovation. Synergies with the new ERA and the European Education Area (EEA), the transition to Open Science, reviewing research assessment and investing in citizen engagement, are key for a competitive Europe and for realising the fifth freedom dedicated to the free movement of research, innovation, knowledge and education as described by Draghi and Letta in their recent reports (2024). The Letta and Draghi reports show the momentum in Europe to invest in research and innovation. The time is now to be ambitious. The European Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU) would like to highlight three elements that will determine the capacity of the new ERA to achieve its objectives for European R&I: - Participatory governance. ECIU urges the European Commission and Member States to continue to involve universities and other research and innovation actors in a transparent dialogue to ensure effective progress on the new ERA. - The potential of European University Alliances. Strategic university networks, such as European University Alliances, accelerate the implementation of ERA priority areas and induction of institutional change, e.g. regarding the strengthening of research careers, mainstreaming of open science, reinforcing of academia-business cooperation and knowledge valorisation, engaging citizens, and sharing capacities and infrastructure. - Sustainable funding. Capacity is needed to implement the ambitious ERA priorities. In order to ensure economically and ethically sustainable development, a clear commitment to more grounded and systemic development is needed. The current financial commitments fall short in offering sufficient resources. Substantial national and European investments are needed to realise a successful new ERA and thereby a competitive Europe. ERA actions that are mainly implemented via WIDERA does not always match the ERA objectives. While the voluntary nature of the implementation of ERA Actions by the Member States and institutions is comfortable, the question is if this provides the pace needed to keep EU R&I competitive. A European Knowledge Act might act as an accelerator.
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Meeting with Christian Ehler (Member of the European Parliament)

7 Mar 2024 · Science and research policy

Response to European Quality Assurance and Recognition System

6 Feb 2024

Quality assurance and recognition is key when innovating education. With several initiatives, ECIU is paving the way for new quality assurance and recognition policies in Europe: - In a historic European first and building on ECIU Universitys micro-credential journey, the European University Alliance is rolling out centralized, tamper-proof micro-credentials to its learners. E-sealed by the ECIU (European Consortium of Innovative Universities) and issued using the EDC (European Digital Credentials) platform, micro-credentials offer students new opportunities to broaden their horizons and gain practical skills through real-life challenges. This is done in full alignment with the European approach to micro-credentials - The integration of ECIU University activities into the existing quality assurance context of member universities is key. With the ECIU Recognition Accord, the foundation was laid for the joint acceptance and promotion of ECIU learning opportunities. ECIU also has some recommendations for European QA and Recognition systems: - When developing European QA and Recognition system for European University Alliances, it should build on the work of the EuniQ project and be developed in co-creation with Alliances. - The conceptualisation and assessed quality criteria for a European Degree must create bridges and leverages the micro-credential movement to demonstrate the complementarity between forms of learning opportunities as supported by the European Qualification Framework and other EHEA Tools. - Following the outputs of the MICROBOL project, a dedicated and focused effort is required to promote harmonised national legislation and or guidelines in education and training, to remove system-level barriers for micro-credential implementation.
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Response to Attractive and sustainable careers in higher education

6 Feb 2024

Firstly, it is important to ensure links to the Council Recommendations on research careers (8 December 2023). Secondly, also cover flexible careers that also go cross-sector, to strengthen the link between higher education institutions and the wider world. Lastly, also focus on the challenges of transnational careers, while for example tax and social security are national competences. This brings many risks for both the employer and employee. See also the currently ongoing Legal Status policy pilots such as ESEU where HR is an important dimension.
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Response to Joint European degree

6 Feb 2024

ECIU is part of the FOCI-project, piloting the European Degree, and the initial conclusions are: - The scope of the initiative needs to be expanded to include other models of higher education in addition to full programmes. Limiting itself only to traditional joint degrees is a waste of potential impact of education collaboration. Think about the potential of micro-credentials. Other global regions are seriously looking at innovating within their models of higher education, to have truly flexible learning pathways, which both complement and our real alternatives to traditional modes and there is not a tension between these choices. A broader conceptualisation of what a European Degree is, is now an imperative and not a nice to have! - When focusing on full programmes, it is crucial to go beyond joint degrees, and also take double degrees into account and work from the recognition and validation of the skills and competences achieved in a programme. If we limit ourselves only to joint degrees, it's a waste of potential for the European Degree. For the potential to include informal and non-formal learning in a future European Degree, and novel ways of teaching and learning, the validation of skills and competences should be the starting point. Programmes do not need to be jointly designed and jointly delivered to still be European. A more flexible approach is needed! This approach is supported by the definition of qualifications in the EQF: the formal outcome of an assessment and validation process obtained when a competent body determines that an individual has achieved learning outcomes given a certain standard. - The clear purpose for the European degree needs to be defined, more clarity is needed there. In our view, the label or the degree need to signify fulfilment of a specific European dimension of the study programme, and not serve as a seal of excellence or something similar. - Criteria and the model of evaluating the programmes against the criteria need to be revised and/or constructed in a way which respects academic freedom and autonomy, and adds as little complexity to the HE landscape as possible. Existing bodies and processes (such as European approach for quality assurance of joint programmes) should be used whenever possible.
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Meeting with Mariya Gabriel (Commissioner)

12 Mar 2021 · Digital Education

Meeting with Mariya Gabriel (Commissioner)

5 Jun 2020 · The European Universities Initiative