The European Commission confirms support for the continuation of the EURECA-PRO European university project.
Three years after the launch of the European University for Responsible Consumption and Production (EURECA-PRO) in 2020, the university alliance has now secured funding from the European Commission (EC) for the second phase of the project, from 2023-2027. The Alliance will continue to make progress towards becoming Europe’s centre of excellence for education and research in responsible consumption and production, and move towards the long-term goal of creating a virtual and integrated European campus by 2040.
EURECA-PRO is an alliance of nine universities from Austria, Germany, Greece, Poland, Belgium, France, Spain and Romania. All have a long history of cooperation and together cover a wide range of interdisciplinary topics.
The systematic implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goal 12 (Responsible consumption and production) in society is at the heart of EURECA-PRO’s mission and vision. Its interdisciplinary composition and international expertise are an ideal ground for innovation, covering technological, environmental, political, economic and societal issues and their transfer to society and industry.
EURECA-PRO’s ambition is to provide education that teaches the complexity of systems and encourages cooperation across areas of expertise and borders that can generate solution-based approaches to CO2 reduction and the EU’s Green Pact objectives. To achieve this, EURECA-PRO combines teaching, research and innovation with flexible study programmes in universities, focusing on sustainability, academic excellence and strengthening European values.
The 2020-2023 pilot project phase laid the foundations for international and interdisciplinary cooperation between researchers, staff and students from partner universities to build a strong university alliance. It has introduced new curricula on responsible consumption and production and set up research groups and 6 Lighthouse missions, as well as a renowned international conference on CPR. At the beginning of 2023, the EURECA-PRO team submitted to the European Commission its proposed vision for the future of the alliance, and today we celebrate the news of the confirmation of funding for Phase 2.0 through Erasmus+.
In the next phase of the project, from 2023-2027, the alliance will build on past achievements and focus on deepening collaboration with external stakeholders from industry and politics as well as society. With its future initiatives, such as the establishment of several joint study programmes, the Doctoral School, the Project Factory and the Lifelong Learning Academy, EURECA-PRO will continue to promote innovative teaching, interdisciplinary research, scientific development and knowledge transfer to society.
Joint study programmes will allow students to move freely from one partner university to another – virtually and physically. The newly created Doctoral School aims to provide young researchers with unique resources, knowledge and infrastructure to develop new solutions for responsible consumption and production.
Project Factory’, the new EURECA-PRO initiative, will specifically promote research collaboration within the alliance, creating space for innovation, in particular in relation to SDG12. At the same time, the results of our research will be effectively communicated to society and industry, with the ultimate aim of influencing policy makers to introduce more responsible production initiatives into legislation. EURECA-PRO ,,Lifelong Learning Academy” will train educators in innovative teaching methods and introduce cross-cutting skills and responsible consumption and production issues to the general public. This initiative aims to educate Europeans in developing a strong awareness of the importance of responsible production and consumption and applying these skills to every aspect of their professional and private lives.
With all these new initiatives, EURECA-PRO aims to become the global educational centre and leader in interdisciplinary research and innovation in responsible consumption and production, an integrated European campus of nine prominent universities.
Visit www.eurecapro.eu for more information.
