ECIU - the European Consortium of Innovative Universities
Current news and events
Engage in solving real life challenges
ECIU is all about solving real-life, real-time challenges.
As a partner, you can propose a challenge for our students and lifelong learners to solve. This provides you with an opportunity to find solutions to the most pressing current issues within social, economic, and environmental challenges.
As a student or a lifelong learner, you can solve these challenges. This allows you to work in a multidisciplinary international setting and experiment with problem-solving skills, develop innovative competences and find practical solutions.
ECIU for partners
Local Partnership Arena
The ECIU and its members have close ties to local businesses, SME's, NGO’s and the regions. Participation provides you with an opportunity to find solutions to the most pressing current issues within social, economic, and environmental challenges. One way to participate is by joining our Local Partnership Arena.
Local Partnership Arena is a forum where the contemporary challenges for the advancement of a future viable society are sourced, discussed, refined and eventually posted as defined challenge-based learning opportunities for ECIU students. The Local Partnership Arenas are built on quadruple-helix settings, involving private, public, as well as civic partners, and academia.
You can send your inquiries about Local Partnership Arena (Tampere) to Director Pauli Kuosmanen.
Read more about Local Partnership Arenas and get to know other ways to participate
Propose challenges
Propose a challenge that is relevant for your organisation, market, or society-at-large. The interdisciplinary and international teams might provide you with an entirely novel solution.
Develop micro courses
Help to design and create new micro courses (micro modules) in collaboration with our university staff.
Participate in challenges
Join international and interdisciplinary teams that work with challenges and give your effort.
ECIU for students and lifelong learners
Taking part in ECIU is a unique opportunity to gain relevant skills for your future, develop ideas in an international environment and get in contact with business companies and public organisations. ECIU offers a broad range of international opportunities for university students and lifelong learners. If you are eager to create value in an area of interest and want to have an innovative experience, join our challenges. You don't have to study at Tampere University to join the challenges.
Explore ways to participate on ECIU website Information for University students on Student's handbook Keep track of the latest ECIU University news and opportunities by subscribing to regular newsletter
Engage in solving real life challenges
- Work in multidisciplinary and international teams.
- Engage with business companies and societal partners across Europe.
- Tackle local, national and global problems with a help of a novel, challenge-based learning model.
Watch a Youtube video about how challenge based learning means in practise
Join micro-modules
- Fill in the skill and knowledge gap in a particular area, for example, energy and sustainability, circular economy.
- Develop transversal skills, for example, intercultural communication.
- Learn foreign languages.
ECIU for university staff
About ECIU
ECIU University was one of the first alliances to join the flagship European Universities Alliances initiative in 2019. Co-funded by the EU, the initiative now encompasses 73 alliances with almost 650 higher education institutions of all types, from all across Europe. ECIU University promotes educational innovation through open and flexible learning pathways and creates a ground-breaking educational model on a European scale. Since 2019, ECIU University has progressed through three project phases. A brief overview is provided below.
- 1
Pilot project phase (ECIUn, 2019–2022)
In the first years of ECIU University, the alliance piloted the challenge-based learning approach, where multi-disciplinary teams worked on real-life challenges and co-developed ideas and solutions.
Learn more about the results of the first ECIU University phase
- 2
Second project phase (ECIUn+, 2022–2026)
The second phase of ECIU University focused on educational innovation based on personalised, flexible learning pathways, awarded with micro-credentials. Activities in this phase have resulted in five main transformative achievements:
- Innovative education: More than 5,300 students participated in over 580 learning opportunities and collaborated with more than 180 external organisations to address real-life challenges.
- Micro-credential leadership: ECIU University helped advance micro-credentialing in Europe, with more than 3,500 e-sealed micro-credentials issued within a year.
- Digital experience platform: A shared digital ecosystem connects the 12 partner universities and supports education, administration and collaboration across the alliance.
- Vibrant community: A thriving ECIU University community brings together thousands of students from diverse nationalities through events, mobilities, and collaborative learning experiences.
- Sustainable service structure: A robust service framework supports ECIU University’s operations across education, IT, mobility, marketing and communication.
- 3
Third phase (ECIUn+2, 2026–2028)
With EU co-funding secured, the Alliance is set to continue building the digital campus and pursuing innovation in higher education to build the European University of the future.
Partner universities
University of Aveiro (PT), Autonomous University of Barcelona (ES), Dublin City University (IE), Hamburg University of Technology (DE), Kaunas University of Technology (LT), Linköping University (SE), Lodz University of Technology (PL), INSA Group (FR), University of Stavanger (NO), Tampere University (FI), University of Trento (IT), University of Twente (NL).
Further information and contact
- All ECIU University opportunities for students, teachers and staff, as well as the latest updates, can be found on the ECIU University webpage.
- Subscribe to the ECIU University newsletter to receive information about learning opportunities, events and other activities.
- For questions regarding ECIU University at Tampere University, please contact our Local Ambassador, Minna Haka-Risku minna.haka-risku [at] tuni.fi (minna[dot]haka-risku[at]tuni[dot]fi)
- For general information about ECIU University, please contact the ECIU Office.
