Funding UNIC launches a new level of cooperation

With ten alliance partners, numerous new plans and the ongoing support of the European Commission (EC), UNIC will usher in the second phase of cooperation as the “European University of Cities in Post-Industrial Transition” in October 2023. Diversity and mobility in a global, learning society will remain the focus of the collaboration for the next four years. For this purpose, the joint project will receive further funding within the framework of the “Erasmus+ European Universities” programme.

“The fact that we’ve been awarded further funding means that our successful international teamwork has been recognised on a whole new scale,” says Professor Kornelia Freitag, Vice Rector for Academic and International Affairs. “I’d like to thank everyone at Ruhr University Bochum who has contributed to the realisation of our UNIC vision; our academics who have been involved in a wide variety of teaching and cooperation systems and styles, the member of our technical and administrative staff who have made the sheer impossible possible, and our students who have helped to anchor UNIC at Ruhr University Bochum through their wealth of ideas and tireless commitment.”

The consortium, which has grown in number from eight to ten universities, will further strengthen its commitment to transformation through inter-institutional learning, teaching and research under its new updated name. The aim is to redesign university research and teaching in superdiverse settings.

Expanding cooperation

At the centre of the activities in research and teaching is the expansion of the UNIC Hybrid Campus. It constitutes the basis for virtual and physical mobility between the ten UNIC locations. Dual degree programmes, joint degree programmes, hybrid blended intensive programmes and a wide range of virtual opportunities are designed to promote cooperation between students, researchers and citizens across national borders.

In addition, the newly founded “UNIC Centre for City Futures” will serve as a central contact point for direct cooperation between the UNIC universities and their cities, communities and interest groups. This is how social action in different transformation fields of post-industrial cities will be advanced in the next phase.

Key areas of post-industrial transformation

Going forward, work will be carried out jointly in various key areas of post-industrial change, the so-called thematic lines. This includes Sustainability and Green Cities, Urban Resilience and Smart Cities, Justice, Security and Institutions, Entrepreneurial Learning for Innovation, Health and Well Being, Arts, Culture and Creativity and Superdiversity. In these areas, the consortium will continue to expand cross-university cooperation structures. Joint activities in research, teaching and transfer are intended to anchor UNIC more firmly at Ruhr University Bochum.

Knowledge exchange opportunities

Since its foundation in 2020, UNIC has established a wide variety of activities and opportunities for students, researchers, staff and citizens across Europe. Virtual, hybrid and dual degree programmes promote mobility, two brand new joint degree programmes focus on post-industrial urban development and superdiversity, innovative CityLabs provide a collaborative platform for knowledge exchange between universities and their cities, and an Engaged Research Seed Fund supports collaborative research projects.