The European Commission approved seven alliances under the 2023 Erasmus+ European Universities Call, which add to the ones previously funded in earlier calls. So, after this call, there are a total of fifty European Universities. The grant received by STARS EU will support the Alliance to expand and implement its long-term vision to create structural societal impact on a local, inter-regional and international scale, helping to accelerate regional transformation toward a more sustainable future.

"I am really pleased that the STARS EU alliance has succeeded to obtain the status of a European University. This platform gives us a great prospect of developing strong international partnerships with the eight partner universities and, more importantly, help us grow and drive the regional change in alliance with our vision", responded the Rector of the Silesian University, Tomáš Gongol.

STARS EU is an existing alliance of nine universities from all parts of Europe who share the same European values and who want to contribute to a sustainable future for Europe and the World. By sharing our knowledge and ideas, STARS EU empowers people to learn, grow and broaden their world.

“All the universities that are members of the STARS EU alliance are excited and willing to learn from each other to improve the quality of their education and research, and to help strengthen Europe together. Moreover, the funding will bring us further in our ambitions to make an impact in the world we are living in and tackle societal challenges together. It is a great day for the Alliance, but more importantly for our students, partners, and Europe as a whole,” states the STARS EU coordinator Dick Pouwels from Hanze UAS.

Transforming regions. Empowering people

The grant received by the STARS EU Alliance will enable it to expand and implement its long-term vision of supporting regional transformation towards a sustainable future at local, inter-regional and international levels. It will also contribute to making STARS EU a leading actor in world-class education and research, offering both an inclusive, student-centred learning experience to citizens from the entire world while also supporting a truly collaborative multi-disciplinary, challenge-based research environment.

The STARS EU partner universities are: Hanze University of Applied Sciences (The Netherlands), University of La Laguna (Spain), Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (Portugal), Bremen University of Appiled Sciences (Germany), Silesian University in Opava (Czechia), University West (Sweeden), Cracow University of Technology (Poland), University of Franche-Comté (France) and Aleksandër Moisiu University of Durrës (Albania).