The OpenEU alliance, coordinated by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), was launched. This is the first step in creating a pan-European open university.
The OpenEU wants to create a pan-European open university that can guarantee learning opportunities for all from anywhere, regardless of time constraints, place or residence, or personal circumstances. OpenEU represents over 350,000 university students, 700,000 graduates, and 24,000 staff. It was created to find ways to deal with current challenges faced by educational institutions, including the digital transformation of university institutions, the promotion of more inclusive, more equitable higher education, and the need to provide opportunities for lifelong learning for everyone.
The alliance includes 14 universities from all over Europe as well as 13 associate partner bodies and organisations. The core members are the eight leading online, open and distance universities, alongside two on-campus universities: Bifröst University (Iceland), Daugavpils University (Latvia), FernUniversität in Hagen (Germany), Hellenic Open University (Greece), Open Universiteit (The Netherlands), Open University of Cyprus; Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (Spain), Universidade Aberta (Portugal), Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Spain), and St Cyril and St Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo (Bulgaria). In addition, the Open University (UK), the Fan S. Noli University (Albania), the Ukrainian Engineering Pedagogics Academy (Ucrânia), and MIT University (North Macedonia) are also participating in the project.
OpenEU brings together the shared visions of 10 universities. Together, they have a joint mission and 10 targets to meet over the next 4 years:
- Build the foundations for a solid and sustainable open university in Europe
- Promote innovation in course delivery and assessment, including credentials that can be stacked and lead to official qualifications
- Expand lifelong learning for employability across Europe by providing students with tailored and flexible learning paths and the skills demanded by the labour market
- Widen participation of underrepresented and disadvantaged groups in higher education, such as refugees and migrants, women in STEM, disabled people, or those living in underpopulated areas
- Guarantee the quality of digital learning and innovative educational solutions through multidisciplinary research and innovation
- Drive the digital transformation of higher education in Europe, sharing OpenEU’s experience, knowledge, and resources with other universities
- Broaden internationalization and create innovative and flexible mobility options, allowing students to find opportunities for international learning experiences
- Enhance challenge-based knowledge generation, transfer, and exchange, focusing on three key issues for Europe: the digital transformation, the climate emergency, and the threats to European values and democracy
- Increase universities’ societal impact in education, research, and innovation by engaging with the community and the labour market to establish collaborations with non-academic partners
- Foster European values by establishing a shared culture based on the principles of quality, diversity, equity, inclusion, open knowledge, and environmental sustainability to contribute to more resilient economies and societies
The European Commission’s European Universities initiative aims to deepen and encourage cooperation between higher education institutions, making it structural and sustainable. There are currently 64 European alliances, fulfilling the European Commission’s target to set up at least 60 involving over 500 higher education institutions by 2024. OpenEU is the first alliance especially dedicated to open and distance higher education, and it aims to play a leading role in increasing access, coverage, and participation in higher education in Europe.