Universiteit Leiden

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Leiden University to join Una Europa

Leiden University is joining the Una Europa European University. Together with other partner universities Leiden University will draw on their collective strengths to shape the future of Europe through innovative education, research and international exchange.

Established in 2018, the Una Europa alliance goes beyond traditional geographical and disciplinary boundaries to work towards a virtual multi-campus European University. The other members are Freie Universität Berlin, KU Leuven, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, and the universities of Bologna, Edinburgh, Helsinki, and Kraków.

Innovative formats and a European ecosystem

The alliance’s flagship project 1Europe aims to establish a Europe-wide living lab with other 20 innovative formats for education and mobility, including the Una Europa Joint Bachelor in European Studies, a Joint PhD in Cultural Heritage, the Micro Module inSustainability and the Continuous Education Certificate in Data Science and AI.

In the Una.Resin project, the alliance is taking the first steps towards developing an Una Europa ecosystem for research and innovation by building a common research and innovation agenda, developing joint strategies for sharing infrastructures, and strengthening human capital.

Hester Bijl, Rector Magnificus van Leiden University: ‘The goals, thematic focus and partners of Una Europa closely align with our ambitions for international engagement.  Synergy in our international portfolio, our research and our teaching agendas is of great importance to us because this will make it possible to create significant impact and will open up new horizons for our students and staff. We sincerely believe that joining this alliance will help us achieve this goal and that is why we have decided to accept this invitation with great pleasure.  Our focus for Una Europa in the period ahead will lie on realising the ambitions for the full roll-out of the alliance. The common activities within the framework of Una Europa will begin in 2023.’ 

Stronger together

James Smith, Chair of the Una Europa Board of Directors and Vice Principal International at the University of Edinburgh: ‘Leiden University is an absolutely outstanding institution.  It is one of Europe’s leading research universities, a sector leader in educational innovation, and deeply international in its outlook. These qualities and values align perfectly with Una Europa and our existing university partners and will further strengthen Una Europa’s position as one of Europe’s leading university alliances and push us to raise our ambitions and extend our horizons still further.’   

Professor Peter Lievens, Vice Rector for International Policy at KU Leuven and coordinator of 1Europe: ‘There are strong links between the priority research themes of Leiden University – including sustainability, citizenship in times of global transformation, and public health – and the current focus areas of Una Europa.   The research expertise that Leiden University brings to the table strengthens our application for new Erasmus+ calls and creates exciting new opportunities for our students.’

European Universities: EUniWell and Una Europa

Leiden University is now a member of two European Universities: EUniWell and Una Europa.

It has been a member of EUniWell, the European University of Well-Being, since 2020. EUniWell is an alliance of seven universities with a strong focus on improving health and well-being, the lived environment and the climate. Alongside Leiden, the universities of Birmingham, Cologne, Florence, Linnaeus, Nantes and Budapest are members. To read about the highlights of 2021, read the article on the ‘Good Practices on Student Well-Being’ EUniWell Symposium, which was organised by Leiden University. One EUniWell activity this year is a series of open lectures. The first lecture will be held on 27 January, on Well-being, Education and Young Refugees.

New for 2022 is Leiden University joining Una Europa, an alliance of eight universities in Berlin, Bologna, Edinburgh, Helsinki, Kraków, Leuven, Madrid and Paris. Leiden University is joning this alliance that focuses on European studies, sustainability, cultural heritage, data science and artificial intelligence, and ‘one health’.  Our focus for Una Europa in the period ahead will lie on realising the ambitions that will give full shape to the alliance. The common activities within the framework of Una Europa will begin in 2023.

The alliances give students, researchers and lecturers new international opportunities for collaboration and development. Together they show that diversity and working over disciplinary and national borders is the best way to tackle the challenges within the universities, in society and in the world at large.

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