EPICUR alliance to increase internationalisation at SDU

What is EPICUR and why has SDU joined the collaboration?

In 2018, the EU launched the so-called European University Initiative, which financially supports the formation of university alliances across member countries. The aim is to develop a number of strong, transnational knowledge clusters which will collaborate to an unprecedented degree on joint education, research and community engagement.

SDU became a member in 2021, when the University joined the EPICUR alliance with nine universities across seven European countries. The goal is to create a number of innovative, academic activities across the partner universities.

We were delighted to be part of an established and efficient alliance that boasts innovative and academically very strong universities:

Adam Mickiewicz University (Poznań, Poland), University of Amsterdam (Netherlands), Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece), University of Freiburg (Germany), University of Haute-Alsace (France), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Germany), University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (Austria) and University of Strasbourg (France).

In 2022, the EU decided to secure EPICUR’s continued existence by appropriating €14.4 million over the next four years. At the same time, EPICUR was recognised as a European university, which means that the parties can continue the development collaboration for the benefit of students and staff at SDU and the other universities.(https://www.sdu.dk/en/nyheder/epicur-eu-bevilling )

The alliance fits in with SDU’s strategic goal of achieving even higher quality. Research and education excellence in the 21st century must inevitably be internationally oriented, and the University of Southern Denmark needs to engage internationally if we are to continue to increase the quality of the University’s education and research. The EPICUR alliance gives us the opportunity to do this on several levels.

What opportunities does EPICUR offer for universities, students and staff?

The EPICUR partners meet many times throughout the year on several levels. The rectors and pro-rectors meet, the international coordinators meet to share knowledge and experiences with each other and develop strategic partnerships at the education and research level. Finally, many researchers and lecturers meet in various working groups and bilateral collaborations. I very much hope that the collaboration will eventually become increasingly institutionalised, but even now, researchers, lecturers and students can benefit from EPICUR.

Specifically, this means that SDU’s students will have a number of opportunities to give their course of study an international dimension through, for example, semester exchanges, summer courses, language courses or PhD stays.

Several ‘easy’ solutions are being worked on to give the programme an international flavour in the form of e.g. online courses and two-week courses to make it flexible for the individual, and in ways that mean you don’t have to go away for an entire semester if you don’t want to.

We want to strengthen the international elements of our programmes. This also means that students from other universities can come to SDU and have the opportunity to participate in some of our courses, either online or in Denmark for courses such as the Summer Schools that were held in August 2023. (https://www.sdu.dk/en/summerschool)

There is a clear tendency to incorporate research into the alliance. This is important because we know that there is a clear correlation between internationalisation and research quality/strength

In EPICUR, we have a framework with many opportunities for our employees. EPICUR offers a platform where lecturers can develop teaching programmes, courses and research projects together with colleagues from other EPICUR universities.

I hope our students will seize the opportunities – that is, that more of them do short and long stays at the other EPICUR universities. I also hope our researchers and lecturers will explore the possibilities for increased cross-border collaboration that EPICUR allows. There are plenty of good reasons to try it out – and EPICUR is well on its way to becoming our ‘European family’.

Where to go with questions?

If you have questions about EPICUR and how you can use the alliance in your work, you can contact your Vice-Dean for Education or Head of Studies.

You can also contact Ida Thøstesen, who is our Institutional Coordinator for EPICUR at epicur@sdu.dk.

Or read much more about the alliance at: https://epicur.edu.eu/