Eucor – The European Campus – growing and fruitful

The state of Baden-Württemberg has presented to the European Campus – the alliance of the Universities of Basel, Freiburg, Haute-Alsace, and Strasbourg, and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) – the prospect of establishing in the coming years as many as four trans-boundary professorships. Each of the positions would be based at two sites. The alliance announced this when presenting the results of the inter-regional (interreg) project "Eucor – The European Campus: Trans-boundary Structures" at the "Université de Haute-Alsace" in Mulhouse. The European Campus was opened at a ceremony held three years ago. Since then, it has implemented many measures that ease trans-boundary study and research in the Upper Rhine region.

In their presentation, Prof. Dr. Hans-Jochen Schiewer, the president of Eucor – The European Campus and rector of the University of Freiburg, and representatives of the member universities presented results from the interreg project's working groups: All five universities have consolidated their cooperation with the approval of a joint strategy plan for the years 2019-2023, which sets out forward-looking measures in the areas of research, innovation, and teaching. Four thematic concentrations guide cooperation on the European Campus: Quantum sciences and technology, personalized health – precision medicine, sustainability, and European identities. The European Union (EU) is already funding a European Campus project in the area of quantum science with its 4.2 million euro grant for the international Quantum Science and Technologies (QUSTEC) doctoral training program.

In addition, instructional offerings, such as two German-French courses of study and trans-boundary activities for Master's and doctoral students, have been introduced. What is more, the alliance has held several intercultural continuing education sessions and dedicated itself to the question of how to simplify student and research mobility in the tri-country area. In 2017, the European Campus launched the "Seed Money Project" – its first, major funding instrument for initiating new, trans-boundary research and teaching projects. Funding volume from January 2018 to December 2020 totals to almost one million euros.

For more information on Eucor – The European Campus

Statements:

Prof. Dr. Hans-Jochen Schiewer, President of Eucor – The European Campus:
"The European Campus is a unique feature in the European higher educational landscape. Researchers and students at the European Campus profit from many cooperative projects in research, teaching, and innovation.  For additional, future-oriented disciplines, such as artificial intelligence (AI), the consolidation of skills within the framework of the European University on the Upper Rhine can make a central contribution to the competitiveness and innovative power of the region and Europe as well."

Jean Rottner, President of the Grand Est Region:
"To improve the scholarly and scientific potential of our region, we must train and employ more academics, researchers, and engineers. We have to wager on collective intelligence in that we create genuine European spaces for higher learning and scientific cooperation. These steps are necessary in order to reach the following aims: advancing and promoting our ambitious strategy, which is based on the "Knowledge Triangle" of research, education, and innovation; fostering excellence in our core areas of scientific cooperation; and guaranteeing our economic competitiveness. We should simply be ourselves, meaning a European area of knowledge, discovery, and science. Today, we need institutions such as Eucor to consolidate the ongoing dynamics in our region, advance together, and be counted among the best in Europe. The Grand Est Region and I have set ourselves the goal of shaping a common future for our region, youth, researchers, and fellow citizens."

Volker Ratzmann, Secretary of State and Authorized Representative of the State of Baden-Württemberg to the government of the Federal Republic of Germany:
"For Baden-Württemberg, Eucor is a model project of trans-boundary cooperation in science and scholarship with global reach. In recent years, all the partners together attained important project milestones within the interreg funding framework. I would like to congratulate everyone involved on this achievement. The conception of the joint professorship appointments marks a key step in the further development of Eucor. The creation of such an innovative model for professorships will further underscore Eucor's uniqueness."

Conradin Cramer, Senior Official, Basel Department of Education:
"The University of Basel can cooperate ideally within the European Campus. Its research profile is an outstanding, ideal fit with Eucor's areas of concentration. We are pleased about the unparalleled contribution being made to the quality of the region as a location which is unfolding in a way that transcends national borders."