Last week, eight ECIU groups came together at  Łódź University of Technology. At the core of the meetings were the developments in Brussels regarding the proposed next multiannual EU budget and programmes, as well as the opportunities for the ECIU and its ECIU University Alliance.

The Educational Collaboration and the Research and Innovation Group discussed the proposal for the next multiannual EU budget and programmes and the positioning of future ECIU proposals in the funding schemes.

The ECIU Vice-President for Education, Vice-President for Research, and Board reflected on the proposed EU budgets for research, innovation, and education. In the reflections, the need for Europe and its member states to continue investing in European research, innovation, and education collaboration to boost Europe's scientific and industrial leadership is emphasised. The Vice-Presidents and the Board stressed the importance of cooperation both in the national and FOREU4ALL context, to ensure a strong voice for the much-needed investments in European University alliances.  

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Next, in their meeting, the Vice-Presidents' Education discussed the next steps in ECIU regarding the implementation of the European Degree Label in the ECIU University Flexible Learning Pathways. The Vice-Presidents' Research set their priorities for the upcoming year in terms of EU policy, the new European Research Area (ERA) Policy Agenda and upcoming ERA Act, Strategic R&I proposals, joint agreements and the sharing of institutional policies.

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The ECIU Board convened for 1.5 days to address, in addition to the opportunities in the EU budget proposal, the External Stakeholder Strategy, the extension, and ongoing performance in the Erasmus+ ECIU University Alliance. The Board approved not only the expansion of the Educational Offering of ECIU University, but also the ECIU University Student Conduct Guidelines as presented by the ECIU Student Council.  

The ECIU Foundation Governing Body dedicated its meeting to the potential global expansion of the ECIU Foundation and a future partnership model between the ECIU Foundation and ECIU University.

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In parallel, the ECIU Intellectual Property (IP) group met, one of the oldest working groups within the ECIU. The group discussed how to address IP in transnational projects and in educational offerings.

After the Board, the ECIU Student Council gathered in  Łódź to select its Board representatives for the next term.

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