Andalusian campuses participate in six strategic alliances of European Universities and are at the forefront of five of them, making them the ones that coordinate the most consortiums in Spain. This July, the European Commission published the results of the latest call for new partnerships of this type, allowing the universities of Cordoba and Jaen to join this EU higher education initiative.
The project is promoted and funded by the EU through the Erasmus+ programme and aims to strengthen the links between academic institutions and increase international competitiveness within the European higher education area. Following the resolution of this call, the Andalusian universities participating in these academic networks are the University of Almeria (UAL), specifically in UNIgreen, the European Green University; the University of Cadiz (UCA) in SEA-EU, the European University of the Seas; and the University of Cordoba (UCO) in INVEST, the Competitive University for Sustainable Society. Also the University of Granada (UGR) in ARQUS, the European University Alliance; the University of Jaén (UJA) in NEOLAiA, Transforming Regions for an Inclusive Europe; and the University of Seville (US) in Ulysseus, the European University for the Citizens of the Future. Of the six clusters, Andalusia coordinates UNIgreen, SEA-EU European University of the Seas, ARQUS, NEOLAiA, and Ulysseus and is considered an integral member of INVEST.
Through these consortia, the Andalusian campuses will deepen teaching, research, innovation, and knowledge transfer in very diverse areas of specialisation, including agriculture, the environment, green biotechnology, life sciences, the blue economy, and climate change and sustainable development. They will also collaborate with their partners to advance in areas related to artificial intelligence and digital transformation, the development of innovation ecosystems, European identity, and heritage, as well as mobility, diversity management, multiculturalism, and multilingualism.
