SIGNIFICANT STEP TOWARDS INTERNATIONALIZATION: CUAS JOINS "EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY" ALLIANCE
Carinthia University of Applied Sciences (CUAS) is a member of the prestigious "European University" alliance and has been awarded €2.2 million in funding. This support strengthens the university as an international educational location and opens up new opportunities for research and collaboration.
CUAS has made significant strides towards internationalization: as the only Austrian university admitted in 2024, it is part of the prestigious alliance of European universities and has been designated a "European University." This comes with around €2.2 million in EU funding, part of a broader support package totaling €14.3 million, aimed at fostering development and collaboration among European universities. CUAS now plays a central role in the "Applied, Connected, Entrepreneurial, and Engaged European University" (ACE²A-EU) consortium, which unites universities from eight countries. Collaboration with the eight partner universities from across Europe — ranging from Portugal to Latvia — will foster close cooperation in research and education. In total, the alliance includes about 56,000 students, more than 3,200 staff members, and 29 research centers.
The European Commission’s "European Universities" initiative was launched to transform the European higher education landscape and develop cross-border solutions to societal challenges. This flagship project aims to create new perspectives in education and research through international cooperation and to strengthen the potential of sciences.
By joining the alliance, CUAS consolidates its position as an internationally oriented university. Alongside intense international cooperation, it will take on the largest work package in the fields of innovation, research, and entrepreneurship. The EU funding will be specifically invested in research and cooperation projects that, in the long term, will strengthen both the university and Carinthia as a center of knowledge and economic activity. The Technology Park Villach, a central location for CUAS, will also benefit from increased international visibility and new collaboration opportunities.
The nine universities in the ACE²A-EU alliance are:
- Polytechnic Institute of Santarém (Portugal)
- Constantin Brâncusi University of Târgu Jiu (Romania)
- Goce Delčev University (North Macedonia)
- Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) (Lithuania)
- Francisco de Vitoria University (UFV-Madrid) (Spain)
- Latvian Academy of Culture (Latvia)
- Medical University of Gdańsk (Poland)
- Ingolstadt University of Applied Sciences (Germany)
- Carinthia University of Applied Sciences (Austria)