EURECA-PRO celebrates the launch of Phase 2.0

Three years after its launch in 2020, the European University on Responsible Consumption and Production (EURECA-PRO) has secured funding from the European Commission for the second phase of the project, running from 2023 to 2027. The alliance, which comprises seven European universities alongside Mittweida University of Applied Sciences and the Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg, is thus continuing on its path to becoming a European centre of excellence for education and research on responsible consumption and production, whilst working towards the long-term goal of creating a virtual and integrated European campus by 2040.

Today, Monday, the European Commission announced that it would be supporting the further development of the EURECA-PRO higher education alliance. In the next phase of the project, running from 2023 to 2027, the alliance will build on the successes of the first phase and focus on deepening cooperation with external stakeholders from business, politics and society. Through its future initiatives – such as the establishment of several joint degree programmes, a doctoral school, the EURECA-PRO Project Factory and the Academy for Lifelong Learning, EURECA-PRO will further promote innovative teaching, interdisciplinary research, scientific innovation and the transfer of knowledge to society.

Joint degrees facilitate international mobility for students between partner universities – both virtually and in person. The new doctoral school provides young researchers with unique resources, knowledge and infrastructure to work on new solutions for responsible consumption and production.

The EURECA-PRO Project Factory will specifically promote research collaboration within the university alliance and create scope for innovation, particularly in the areas of responsible production and consumption. At the same time, the results of the joint research will be communicated to society and industry. The aim is to raise awareness amongst policy-makers that the responsible use of resources and sustainable production require a legal framework and incentives. The EURECA-PRO Lifelong Learning Academy will train teachers in innovative teaching methods. The aim is to equip people across Europe with knowledge and skills, thereby raising awareness of responsible consumption and production in their private and professional lives.

Prof. Dr Volker Tolkmitt, Rector of Mittweida University of Applied Sciences: “Mittweida University of Applied Sciences is proud to be one of the initiators of EURECA-PRO and, together with the Technical University of Freiberg – the second German university in the alliance – to bring a combined strength from Central Saxony to the project. The strength of Mittweida University of Applied Sciences lies in the fact that we do not view responsible consumption and production as isolated, individual aspects of research and teaching, but rather integrate them in an interdisciplinary and comprehensive manner: our engineers, natural scientists and social scientists are thinking ahead together. This also means that, as an organisation, we lead by example in promoting sustainability for our region and transfer our knowledge to society and the economy in a variety of ways. It is therefore entirely logical that, from the very beginning, we have also contributed another area of expertise to the Alliance: communicating our mission through the media. We are also bringing these strengths to the European stage via EURECA-PRO, and I am delighted to have the continued support of the European Commission.”

The Rector of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Prof. Dr Klaus-Dieter Barbknecht, adds: “Bringing together specialist areas focused on innovation and sustainable economic management, and facilitating interdisciplinary education and research. With the two new partner universities – the universities of Lorraine and Hasselt – as well as the well-established network, the consortium will continue to work over the next five years towards achieving the objectives of the EU Green Deal. Thanks to this renewed funding, the collaboration can now be consolidated across all partners and taken to a new level across the universities.”

EURECA-PRO is a consortium of nine universities in Germany, Austria, Poland, Belgium, France, Greece, Spain and Romania, including technical and holistically research-led universities. They are all linked by a long-standing collaboration and, together, cover a broad spectrum of interdisciplinary topics. The systematic implementation of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 12 (Sustainable Consumption and Production) in society lies at the heart of EURECA-PRO’s mission and vision. Its interdisciplinary focus and international expertise provide an ideal breeding ground for innovations that encompass technological, environmental, political, economic and social aspects and are transferred to society and the economy. One of EURECA-PRO’s objectives is to offer study programmes and content that convey the complexity of systems and promote collaboration across disciplines and borders, in order to develop solution-oriented approaches to reducing CO₂ emissions and achieving the goals of the EU Green Deal. To this end, EURECA-PRO combines teaching, research and innovation with flexible degree programmes at universities, with a focus on sustainability, academic excellence and the promotion of European values.

The pilot project phase, running from 2020 to 2023, laid the foundations for international and interdisciplinary collaboration between researchers, staff and students at the partner universities, with a view to building a strong and strategic university alliance. It introduced new degree programmes on Responsible Consumption and Production, established research groups and six flagship missions, as well as an internationally renowned conference on Responsible Consumption and Production. In early 2023, the EURECA-PRO team submitted its vision for the future of the alliance to the European Commission, and today it is celebrating the news that funding for Phase 2 has been confirmed by Erasmus+. With its new initiatives for the next phase of the project, the alliance of nine universities aims to become, within a shared European campus, a global centre of education and an interdisciplinary leader in research and innovation for responsible consumption and production at all levels.

Visit the EURECA-PRO website for further information!