EPICUR is much more than individual courses and calls

– EPICUR is not something that lies alongside our core tasks. It is a framework that makes international collaboration more accessible in everyday life – for students, lecturers and researchers, says Pro-rector and member of the alliance's management group Helle Waagepetersen.

EPICUR is a European university alliance under the EU's Euopean Universities Initiative to strengthen cooperation in education, research and community engagement. SDU has been part of the alliance since 2021.

Broadly anchored – and close to the core tasks

The work of EPICUR is not located in one place in the organisation. It works through programmes and research environments and through cross-cutting key functions (e.g. IT, library, International Office, RIO, higher education pedagogy and the Council for Education) – in close interaction with international coordinators and academic environments at all faculties, where many meet EPICUR through their own everyday practice.

The alliance binds initiatives together through common formats, infrastructure and funding. In the first few years, SDU has focused on getting the administrative framework in place – now it's about ensuring that more lecturers and students benefit from the opportunities.

A European alliance with concrete infrastructure

A key result of the alliance's development work is a common digital solution where students can find and take courses and programmes across partner universities – both online and physically – and have their participation documented (e.g. ECTS). Teaching can be carried out in the universities' own learning platforms, so lecturers and students can use the systems they are already familiar with.

Funding that turns collaboration into projects

EPICUR's Seed Funding Scheme supports research collaborations across partner universities. In February 2025, a total of EUR 443,570 was awarded to seven projects, with SDU participating in four of them.

In parallel, SDU has allocated its own funds to develop EPICUR learning elements in the programmes. The first round was launched in November 2024, and 11 of 12 applications received DKK 50,000. In addition, a second and final application round with a pool of DKK 250,000 was opened in spring 2025, where three projects received funding.

Status and what's happening right now

EPICUR is both an alliance and a project. EPICUR SHAPE-IT is the current EU-funded project phase of the EPICUR collaboration (2022-2026), where partner universities further develop and disseminate common solutions and forms of collaboration so that the collaboration can be scaled and anchored in existing university processes.

When the current project phase ends in 2026, the EU has opened a separate application round for two years of transitional support for existing alliances. The transitional support will ensure continuity while the EU's next multiannual financial framework for alliances is being finalised. SDU is currently working on the application together with the other EPICUR partners. The deadline is the beginning of March 2026, and we expect a response in July 2026.

Why EPICUR is important

EPICUR is all about exchanges and short stays at another university – but you don't have to travel for a semester to gain international experience. Students can add a clear international dimension to their education by taking courses from partner universities online, as hybrid courses or as short intensive programmes and thus be part of an international study environment.

– The strength of EPICUR is that students can gain international experience through courses and joint programmes across Europe – even without a longer stay abroad. This makes internationalisation more flexible and relevant for more students and more programmes, emphasises Pro-rector Helle Waagepetersen.

This can be particularly relevant for the new one-year 75 ECTS master's degree programmes, where online courses, hybrid courses and short intensive courses can make it possible to gain international experience without putting pressure on the overall programme with a longer exchange stay.

At the same time, the alliance provides tools to strengthen educational quality, expand research collaborations and create international learning communities at a time when European cooperation has gained new importance.

EPICUR in practice at SDU

In short, EPICUR provides several concrete opportunities in everyday life: Students gain access to courses and international learning environments, while lecturers and researchers have new opportunities for collaboration, teaching development and projects – including via seed funding across Europe.

– The ambition now is to anchor EPICUR even more clearly in programmes and academic environments so that the alliance's offers and opportunities are used more widely and more directly in the core tasks, says Helle Waagepetersen.