FAQ about EUt+

General questions

EUt+ stands for "European University of Technology" and is a project of the h_da with seven partner universities from all over Europe. The European Commission is supporting the alliance as part of the European Universitites Initiative - an initiative to strengthen the European education area. The universities want to grow closer together piece by piece in the long term. EUt+ makes it easier for students to spend part of their studies at one of the partner universities' campuses. The aim is also to increase employee mobility and the number of joint research projects. The European University of Technology brings together 100,000 students and 12,000 employees. The participating institutions are united by a focus on technology that does not lose sight of the needs of people and the environment. That is why the common guiding principle is "Think Human First".

EUt+ is a joint project of convinced Europeans. Together with its partner universities, the h_da would like to raise European cooperation to a new level - and together become a better and more cosmopolitan university. We are growing together step by step: First, through joint teaching modules, better recognition of academic achievements and research cooperation. Later, joint European degree programs and much more will be added. Among other things, students will only benefit from increased mobility and the acquisition of intercultural skills. Researchers get more opportunities for joint projects and employees get more opportunities for international encounters. At the end of this ambitious project, the universities will largely merge into one European university with eight locations. EUt+ is a unique selling point for the h_da: The EU Commission is funding the h_da as one of only two German universities of applied sciences.

 

The initiative thrives on the European idea and shares the vision of enlarging European educational spaces formulated by French President Emmanuel Macron in his highly acclaimed speech in 2017. This idea was taken up by Chancellor Angela Merkel and finally by the European Commission - the "European Universities" funding program was born. The background, besides the European vision, was that the Bologna reform was supposed to make it easier to have academic credits earned abroad recognized, but unfortunately this is still not a matter of course today. On the contrary, the introduction of the Bachelor/Master system in Germany has, in the opinion of many, hindered rather than improved the mobility of students through the condensation of learning content. In order to take the students' point of view into account, student representatives were involved in the creation of EUt+ from the very beginning.

 

The project is designed for the long term and includes a continuously deepening cooperation across almost all university areas until the year 2035. The official starting signal was given on November 1, 2020 for an initial term of four years. After that, the partners can apply for an extension of the funding. The mobility of all university members is to be greatly increased - for example through traditional semesters abroad, summer schools, joint study and research projects, work stays by employees and much more.

The target is for student mobility to reach 90 percent by 2030, and there are also plans for joint degree programs and regular joint student projects. Research institutes already exist at the EUt+ level, such as the Sustainability Lab, the Data Science Lab, the European University of Technology Institute of Nanomaterials and Nanotechnologies, the European Culture and Technology Lab and the European Laboratory for Pedagogical Action-Research and Student-Centred Learning. 

One of the next steps is the establishment of a Franco-German graduate school; in the medium term, a graduate school with the participation of all universities is planned.

Detailed information can be found on the intranet in the section "partner universities".

 

 

 

An up-to-date overview of ongoing projects is available on the EUt+-Website.

 

EUt+ has a joint editorial team consisting of representatives from all eight universities. Within the Work Package 7.1/2, the editorial team takes care of marketing, corporate design, social media, the EUt+ website and other communication tasks.

E-Mail address of the editorial office (please address in English if possible)

Upload link for files (please let us know after upload!)

 

Questions from students

Students are at the center of EUt+. EUt+ will steadily improve teaching at the university - and with it the future opportunities for graduates. It will be easier to spend part of one's studies abroad, and recognition of achievements there will be facilitated. During their time abroad, students acquire language skills and intercultural competencies that are important for an increasingly international job market. In the medium term, a European degree will also become a unique selling point. Numerous new opportunities also open up for students interested in pursuing a doctorate, as the h_da and its partner universities complement each other very well through their thematic focus.

 

Exchange opportunities already exist with all of the consortium's seven partner universities.

 

Students have already shaped the foundation of the European University of Technology and are still closely involved today. Currently, there are the following opportunities to be involved:

  • Teaching projects: More and more exciting collaborations are emerging that are directly integrated into the course of study. Examples from the past are the lecture series "European Identities" or the intercultural blog "DaCaDu". 
  • Participation as a student representative: Students from all partner universities send representatives to the "Student Board". The board represents the interests of the students towards the steering committees of EUt+, the "Steering Committee" and the "Governing Board". The Student Board also sends students to the Governing Board, where they have the right to vote and participate in groundbreaking decisions. Direct contact to the Student Board: students.rep@univ-tech.eu. The Student Board presents itself on the EUt+ website.

Interested parties can also contact Dr. Jorge Medina.

The h_da International Office is happy to provide information about outgoing opportunities. Contact: Britta Bruder, erasmus@h-da.de. The international representatives of the departments will also be happy to advise you.

Questions from employees

EUt+ offers the opportunity to decisively advance the internationalization of the university and to be perceived as a European university. This increases the attractiveness of the h_da for students and prospective students, who have more opportunities to spend parts of their studies abroad and prepare for an increasingly international job market. Teachers gain new partners for collaborations in teaching and research. In addition, the EU reserves a portion of its funding exclusively for joint projects under the European Universities Initiative.

Universities work together to find synergies and create joint processes, for example in the use of software. Employees also have the opportunity to broaden their horizons, strengthen their intercultural skills and improve their language skills through stays at partner universities. In order to overcome linguistic hurdles during exchanges, the h_da will also expand its range of continuing education courses in foreign languages.

 

If you are an employee and would like to get to know our EUt+ partner universities, you have several options. These include above all:

  • Language courses
  • job shadowing
  • Staff Weeks (meetings with a main topic as well as cultural accompanying program, serve the networking and the intensification of the relations between the partner universities).

These options are open to all employees through Erasmus+. So you don't have to be actively involved in the EUt+ team or in a specific (research) project. 

For more information, please visit the International Office pages.

Those who are involved in the EUt+ context - as part of a Work Package, but also as a conference participant, PhD student, etc.) have further options, for example:

  • EUt+ Weeks
  • EUt+ Workshops
  • Network meetings with EUt+ partner universities

Further information can be found on the intranet under "Short Trips within EUt+" (in German).

 

Questions from teachers and researchers

Contact is Dr. Rainer Becker, Service Center Research and Transfer.

 

 

 

Teachers who would like to develop courses and modules or start research projects at EUt+ level should contact Dr. Jorge Medina, EUt+ Project Coordinator, Tel +49.6151.16-30298, e-mail, E-Mail

 

The funds approved for EUt+ can only be used to finance short stays, usually in the framework of the so-called EUt+ Weeks. If you are interested in a stay abroad extending over several months, please contact the IO. Further information can be found on the pages of the International Office. 

For more information, visit the intranet (in German).

 

 

 

The conception of new study programs together with the partner universities is still in its infancy. Martin Hofmann is the contact person for coordination (Service Study Program Development, E-Mail).

 

Why is it not possible to sign one Erasmus contract for all EUt+ partners at once?

The EU's Erasmus programme has been modernised and digitalised (name: Erasmus without paper, EWP). Funding through the programme now requires that respective exchange agreements between the departments, including concrete exchange numbers or levels/language skills, have been concluded and registered in the EU's digital portal.

These agreements (Interinstitutional Agreements) must now, after a transitional phase, be concluded digitally and sent via the central EU interface. The process of digitising Erasmus university agreements is currently being completed across Europe. Agreements on cooperation by mail will only be accepted as a temporary measure until all higher education institutions participating in Erasmus are connected to the system. The National Agencies, in our case NA-DAAD, checks that the correct contract situation is given behind each mobility funded with Erasmus money. Collective contracts between higher education institutions that cover several departments or several higher education institutions are not possible within the framework of Erasmus+ semester and staff mobility. The contracts are at department/programme level. In the future, the digital tools will even allow us to manage this more efficiently and adapt to changes (numbers, contacts, etc.) more quickly than was previously the case.

Exceptions in this process for European University Initiatives are currently not foreseen. Therefore, we want to encourage the EU to facilitate this through a special Erasmus programme for European universities, but this is a longer process.

For planned student exchanges, it is therefore important, necessary and advantageous to work with partner universities to conclude these Erasmus agreements digitally and to create the appropriate conditions in their universities and International Offices. The International Office at h_da manages and is responsible for the network of Erasmus partner universities in cooperation with the Executive Board (Präsidium) and the departments and will continue to prepare the contracts and integrate them into the system in the future, even at short notice if necessary.