EPICUR has secured funding until the end of 2028

- The grant is recognition of what EPICUR has already achieved. The EU recognises the value of the alliance's results. We now can build on what we have started and link the collaboration even more closely to the degree programmes and research environments at SDU, says Ida Thøstesen, International Relations in the Rector's Office at SDU.

This will be achieved, amongst other things, through more joint modules and courses developed in collaboration with partner universities. At the same time, work will continue on entrepreneurship and on the skills students will need in a changing labour market and society, including through cross-disciplinary activities within citizen science.

In the research area, SDU will strengthen collaboration within the alliance and provide researchers with better opportunities to prepare strong applications for European research and innovation programmes.

The two-year grant bridges the gap between the current project period and the EU's next budget period. The framework for funding European university alliances after 2028 has not yet been finalised. If EPICUR is to receive EU funding after 2028, the alliance will need to reapply for funding.

EPICUR is a strategic priority for SDU

EPICUR and YERUN are the two multilateral collaborations that SDU prioritises across the university. The work on EPICUR involves degree programmes, research environments and several departments within SDU's Central Administration.

- EPICUR is an important part of SDU's focused approach to international collaboration. The alliance provides us with close, long-term relationships with European universities, which we can use to develop joint degree programmes and courses and to strengthen research collaboration. With this grant, we can continue the work in which we have already invested significant resources and give more students and academic communities access to international opportunities, says Rector Jens Ringsmose.

Joint teaching and new research collaborations

A current example is the triple-degree master's degree programme in European Geopolitics, International Security and Law. The programme has been developed by Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, SDU and Sciences Po Strasbourg. Students follow a single integrated programme across all three universities.

Lecturers can use EPICUR to incorporate international elements into existing courses, including through joint teaching, project work and short study periods. More students can engage with international academic communities as part of their studies at SDU. This may be particularly relevant for the new one-year master's degree programmes, where there is less scope for a traditional exchange placement.

For researchers, EPICUR provides access to colleagues and academic communities across the partner universities. The alliance's seed funding programme has funded shorter research projects, which have led, amongst other things, to publications, new grant applications and subsequent funding awards, including from the Independent Research Fund Denmark. In this way, these smaller projects can serve as the starting point for longer-term research collaborations.

Shared digital infrastructure

Through EPICUR, the partner universities have established a shared digital infrastructure that connects their systems.

Here, students can find and enrol on courses across the universities and have their participation documented. Teaching can take place on the universities' own learning platforms, so that lecturers and students can use the systems they are already familiar with.

This infrastructure is a practical prerequisite for the universities to be able to offer joint courses and programmes to students across national borders.

Three new universities join

The new term also brings changes to the group of partner universities. The University of Amsterdam is leaving the alliance, whilst the Pablo de Olavide University in Seville, Roma Tre University in Rome and the University of Basel are joining.

These three universities bring new academic environments and opportunities for collaboration. With this new composition, EPICUR comprises 11 universities in nine countries, with a combined total of around 280,000 students, 29,000 academic staff and 17,000 administrative and technical staff.

The project officially begins on 1 November 2026. On 18 and 19 November, the partner universities will meet in Poznań for the first joint meeting of the new project period.