The European Universities Inititive

The European Universities initiative is an ambitious EU initiative aimed at establishing alliances between higher institutions from all across Europe for the benefit of their students, staff and society, improving the international competitiveness of higher education institutions and strengthening the feeling of European membership. 

Cooperating partners are coming from different parts of Europe, representing diverse geographical, regional, cultural, lingual, economic and historical perspectives. Alliances are creating European inter-university campuses that will:

• promote mobility, transdisciplinarity and transnational collaboration;
• provide flexible curricula and practical / work-based learning experiences for their students;
• reflect the social, economic and cultural diversity of the population.

Following the 5th Erasmus+ call for proposals in 2024, there are 64 alliances involving more than 560 higher education institutions of all types, from all across Europe.

The background of CHARM-EU

The CHARM European University Alliance was born in January 2019 between the University of Barcelona (coordinator), Trinity College Dublin, Utrecht University, the University of Montpellier and Eötvös Loránd University Budapest and its application for funding was accepted by the European Union in June 2019. Developed together with Member States, higher education institutions and student organisations, the concept of the European Universities attracted applications from 54 alliances during the first Erasmus+ call.

Out of these 54 proposals submitted, 17 were accepted, including CHARM-EU. In its first educational project (2019-2022), CHARM-EU was creating learning experiences that – having mobility and inclusivity at their core – are based on the implementation of a transformative approach to program and curricula design, combining the best of the different European traditions. The project has resulted in the first joint Master's Degree Programme (Global Challenges for Sustainability) under the criteria of the European Universities initiative.

In 2021, the CHARM-EU secured a grant for its research and innovation strategy project: the TORCH project was developing a common Research and Innovation (R&I) agenda for the Alliance’s founding universities. 

In June 2022, CHARM-EU has won a new grant in the 2022 Erasmus+ European Universities Call. Alongside three new partners joining the Alliance, Åbo Akademi University from Finland, University of Würzburg and Hochschule Ruhr West from Germany, CHARM-EU continues to deepen and expand the existing cooperation to advance the higher education transformation process towards full “European Universities”. CHARM-EU will continue to engage in creating a transformative and sustainable European educational and research experience and to contribute positively to shaping the role of Europe in the world as it undergoes a deep transformation to reconcile humanity with the planet. In 2023, the CHARM-EU Alliance was further expanded with the University of Bergen. 

Core values of CHARM-EU

Mission and vision

CHARM-EU's vision is to have an innovative university model that embraces the change needed to meet society’s challenges, breaking down borders and linking local and global solutions.

CHARM-EU aims for a challenge-driven university, creating flexible, student-led educational programmes focused on identifying and solving specific challenges in close collaboration with the broader community.

CHARM-EU aims to promote the common European values emphasizing the richness and diversity of the European tradition and focusing strategically on trying to rethink the role of the European universities in the world as it faces one of the main global challenges in the 21st century.

The diversity of educational systems and the differing geographical, regional, cultural, lingual, economic and historical perspectives of the CHARM-EU members contribute to consolidating the university of the future revealing our common goals on the path towards a more sustainable and inclusive future.