2024-07-09 16:21:18
BOLZANO. Nine “small” European universities aim to strengthen their role as drivers of innovation in regions outside large urban centres through strategic cooperation: this is the thrust of the new European University Alliance “Sunrise – Smaller (strategic) Universities Network for Regional Innovative and Sustainable Evolution”.
For this mission, the Free University of Bolzano and the other partner universities can count on European funding of 14.4 million euros for the next four years. Sunrise includes Unibz and theMarche Polytechnic University for Italy, and other universities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, France, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Cyprus.
“Universities in rural areas have an important bridging function: they bring the diversity of the regions to the world and, at the same time, bring international developments to the areas outside the large urban agglomerations. In this way, they contribute significantly to the attractiveness, competitiveness and promotion of innovation of these same regions,” he says. Ulrike Tappeinerpresident of Unibz. The nine universities involved in the alliance began a strategic networking effort three years ago, precisely to further develop their potential and implement it in teaching, research and the so-called third mission.
“We are delighted to have been included in this important European instrument for funding education. Also because small universities are still under-represented in the European University Initiative”, says the rector Paul Lugliaccording to whom, the new alliance of which Unibz is a part “represents another important step to counteract the brain drain and economically strengthen South Tyrol”.
2024-07-09 16:21:18