This spring, the UNITA EGAI project marked an important milestone in promoting collaboration between European Universities. It aimed to pilot the model proposed by the European university alliance UNITA for inter-university institutional cooperation at the European level. The initiative started from the European Economic Interest Group and progressed towards the European Academic Interest Group. The UNITA Alliance was one of four alliances selected by the European Commission to pilot such models of inter-institutional collaboration, which both honoured and empowered us.
The UNITA-EGAI Spring School started online on the 15th of March and was followed by an in-person session in Timisoara on the 18th and 19th of March. The event offered participants three days of interesting discussions, expert-led presentations and exciting networking opportunities, tailored specifically for academics, researchers and professionals eager to explore the dynamics of European University collaborations from the perspective of their institutionalization.
Throughout the event, the main topic of discussion was UNITA as a model of institutionalized university cooperation, highlighting the path from the European Economic Interest Group to the European Academic Interest Group. We also shared the findings of over two years of work in our alliance with colleagues from eight other European Alliances.