Proposals for Joint Programmes (BA, MA, PhD)
- Build a new degree together. This section is for consortia ready to design a joint, double or multiple degree programme under the European Approach, aligned with the European Degree Label criteria from the first day of design rather than retrofitted later.
IN ONE MINUTE
- For new joint, double or multiple degree programmes at bachelor, master or doctoral level.
- General call only. Expression of interest by 13 November, full application by 18 December 2026. There is no fast track here: designing and accrediting a programme takes longer than a semester.
- The strategic priority is ambition — broad multilateral consortia with genuinely integrated delivery, rather than arrangements between two partners only.
- Designed under the European Approach for Quality Assurance of Joint Programmes, and aligned with the European Degree Label criteria from inception.
- Dual degrees that do not require new accreditation belong under Pathways, not here.
AT A GLANCE
| Who can apply | Academic staff at any INGENIUM partner university, normally with the support of the faculty or school that would host the programme. |
| Minimum | At least two INGENIUM partner universities. Proposals bringing in more partners with integrated delivery are the strategic priority. |
| Route and dates | General call. Expression of interest 14 September – 13 November 2026; final application 18 December 2026. |
| When it starts | Design work begins in 2027, with accreditation and launch following the timetable each programme requires. |
| Funding | Up to EUR 10,000 for the development work. Accreditation and quality assurance agency costs are handled through the alliance’s joint education budget rather than from your own request. |
| Assessment | Relevance 3 + Quality 4 + Impact 3 = 10. Six points to pass. |
| Who decides | Technical review by the mixed transition group with the Secretariat, then endorsement by an INGENIUM committee. |
What Makes a Good Joint Programme Proposal
A proposal here creates a programme that does not exist yet: a joint degree awarded together, a double degree awarded by each partner, or a multiple degree across three or more. What all three have in common is that they need accreditation, a cooperation agreement and a shared quality assurance framework. That is the work this section funds and supports.
The alliance is deliberately not looking for a large number of small arrangements. A programme designed by four or five partners, with a genuinely shared curriculum and mobility built into its structure, does more for the European Campus than several bilateral agreements, and it is far closer to what the European Degree Label asks for.
If your idea is something else
Routing is a guide rather than a gate. A proposal that arrives in the wrong section is reclassified rather than rejected, and you are told.
| If your idea is… | It belongs in… | Because |
|---|---|---|
| An internationally enriched study route inside an existing degree | Pathways and doctoral collaborations | No new accreditation is required |
| A dual degree that can be built within existing frameworks | Pathways and doctoral collaborations | It sits in the flexible configuration of the Pathway concept |
| A doctoral collaboration around an individual candidate | Pathways and doctoral collaborations | Co-tutelles and co-supervision are proposed there |
| A short certified qualification | Micro-credentials and micro-modules | The accreditation route and the digital credential differ |
| Teaching together inside courses that already exist | Collaborative teaching and learning | Nothing new needs to be approved |
A Joint PhD is a new doctoral programme designed and delivered jointly by several INGENIUM universities, with shared academic structures and an accreditation process.
A Doctoral Collaboration works around an individual doctoral candidate or research line, through co-supervision or co-tutelle, combined with mobility, joint training and stakeholder engagement. It does not require creating a new doctoral programme.
From idea to programme
- 14 September – 13 November 2026
Submit an expression of interest
Short by design. Describe the programme you have in mind, the partners you have or are looking for, and the level. It commits you to nothing.
- Mid-October – early December 2026
Take part in the networking phase
Meetings across the alliance and keyword-based matching help consortia form and grow. This is where a two-partner idea usually becomes a four-partner one.
- By 18 December 2026
Submit the full application
One application for the whole consortium, submitted by the lead applicant on behalf of all participating teams.
- January 2027
Technical review and selection
Review by the mixed transition group with the Secretariat, then endorsement by an INGENIUM committee. Results and feedback by the end of January.
- From spring 2027
Design, agreement and accreditation
Selected consortia work with the joint programme team on the cooperation agreement, the joint quality assurance framework and the accreditation route, with the European Degree Label criteria built in.
How your proposal is assessed
Relevance, Quality and Impact, scored out of ten in total. Six points are needed to pass. Assessment in this edition is light and enhancement-oriented: where a proposal falls short on one dimension but is otherwise strong, the feedback says what would fix it.
3
Relevance
Does it advance what the alliance has committed to?
- Contribution to the European Campus and to genuine jointness in design and delivery
- Breadth and balance of the consortium
- Readiness to embed the European Degree Label criteria in the cooperation agreement
- Societal and labour-market relevance, drawing on the stakeholder dialogue
4
Quality
Is it well designed, and can it actually be delivered?
- Feasibility and regulatory realism across every national framework involved
- An honest account of the accreditation route and its timing
- Student-centred design connected to programme learning outcomes
- Integrated mobility, joint assessment and shared quality assurance
- Inclusion, multilingualism and sustainability built into the design
3
Impact
What will change, and will it last?
- Number of students the programme would reach, and what they gain
- Faculties and institutions new to INGENIUM collaboration
- Contribution to the alliance’s objectives for joint education
- Prospects for the programme to run beyond the funded period
The three dimensions are common to the whole call; the points listed under each are the version that applies to this section. A small number of categories may carry a different weighting, which will be published here before the call opens.
Funding & Support
Up to EUR 10,000 may be requested for a single initiative. There is no minimum, and proposals that request nothing are not disadvantaged. The application asks what the money is for and roughly how much goes to each element, not for a formal budget.
| What is being funded | Usual source | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Short staff mobility for teaching | Erasmus+ KA131 or INGENIUM project funds | Either is possible; the INGENIUM team will work with you on the administrative aspects. You can focus on how to embed it in the programme. |
| Student mobility attached to a challenge or a thesis | INGENIUM project funds | Never Erasmus+ KA131. Approximately EUR 500-1,000 for a week, depending on destination |
| Platforms, tools and materials | INGENIUM project funds or institutional resources | Subject to the purchasing rules of the partner concerned |
| Bringing a stakeholder into the teaching | INGENIUM project funds | State the organisation where it is known |
| Staff time and compensation | Institutional rules apply | Whether staff time can be bought differs by partner. Check the institutional rules published at your own university |
| Preparatory expenses (meetings, coordination costs, staff mobility etc) | Institutional rules apply | Check the institutional rules published at your own university |
| Training and administrative support for the accreditation | Institutional rules apply | Check the institutional rules published at your own university |
Fast-track application
For initiatives ready to run between February and June 2027. There is no expression of interest: complete the application form, then upload it here with any supporting material. Applications are reviewed as they arrive and approvals are communicated in early November 2026. The fast track matters particularly for collaborative theses and challenge-based mobility, which need a first cohort in the second semester.
Submit an expression of interest
Deliberately short. You do not need a complete consortium, a budget or an accreditation plan at this stage — only a programme idea, a level and a reason why it should exist. Submitting does not commit you to a full application.
Frequently Asked Questions
Because a programme cannot be designed, agreed and accredited in a semester. The fast track exists for initiatives that can be delivered between February and June 2027. A joint programme proposed now realistically launches in 2028 or later, and the call is honest about that rather than creating a deadline nobody can meet.
Two is the minimum. The strategic priority is broader: consortia with several partners and genuinely integrated delivery score better under relevance, and are closer to what the European Degree Label expects.
Only if it requires new accreditation. Double degrees that can be built inside existing frameworks belong under Pathways, in the flexible configuration, where the process is considerably lighter.
No. Adaptation of the existing portfolio is funded through INGENIUM-ED. This section is for new programmes, and the two streams stay separate.
Accreditation fees and quality assurance agency costs are planned centrally as part of the alliance’s joint education budget. Your own request covers the development work — meetings, design time, expert input — according to the needs of the programme.
Yes, for a joint or multiple doctoral programme that requires an accreditation process. For any other type of doctoral collaboration, you can check the doctoral collaborations section.
Useful Documents
Documents for this section are in preparation and will be published here before the call opens on 14 September 2026.
Talk to us
| UNIVERSITY | COORDINATOR | |
|---|---|---|
| UNIOVI | Jesús Daniel Santos | ingenium@uniovi.es |
| TUIASI | Irina Lungu | irina.lungu@academic.tuiasi.ro |
| UdA | Marcello Costantini | marcello.costantini@unich.it |
| Xamk | Eeva Kuoppala | eeva.kuoppala@xamk.fi |
| Skövde | Mikael Ejdebäck | mikael.ejdeback@his.se |
| HKA | Melissa Gruber | melissa.gruber@h-ka.de |
| MTU | Michael Hall | michael.hall@mtu.ie |
| Rouen | Ligia Livanu | ligia.livanu@univ-rouen.fr |
| UoC | Georgios Kossioris | kosioris@uoc.gr |
| MUS | Magdalena Kasnakova | m.kasnakova@mu-sofia.bg |
