The INGENIUM – ED selected for funding by the EuropeanCommission: INGENIUM takes a major step towards the European Degree Label

The INGENIUM European University Alliance has been awarded funding under the Erasmus+ European Degree exploratory action for INGENIUM-ED, a project that will contribute to the implementation of the future European Degree Label and support a new generation of joint European programmes.

Bringing together ten universities from ten countries, the project will strengthen cooperation across the Alliance while helping address the legal, administrative and academic barriers that continue to challenge the development of joint degrees in Europe.

Over the next three years, INGENIUM-ED will pursue three main objectives: adapting existing joint programmes to meet the European Degree Label criteria; developing new joint programmes that are designed according to these criteria from the outset; and piloting the Alliance’s European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) as a common structure to support the development and coordination of joint education across partner universities.

The project builds on educational initiatives that have already been developed within the Alliance and by its partner universities. Five existing joint programmes will be further developed and aligned with the European Degree Label criteria:

• STEPS – Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s in Sustainable Transportation and Electric Power Systems;
• EU4M – Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s in Mechatronics Engineering;
• EMPHID – Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s in Public Health in Disasters;
• ACES-STAR – Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s in Aquaculture, Environment and Society;
• INGENIUM Joint PhD in Innovative Strategies for Wellbeing.

These programmes will review their curricula, governance, quality assurance procedures and mobility pathways to align with the future European Degree framework while building on their established academic excellence and international cooperation.

At the same time, INGENIUM-ED will support the development of four new joint programmes that reflect the complementary expertise of the Alliance’s partner universities:

• Master in Chemical and Biochemical Process Technologies (CBPT), coordinated by the “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iași;
• Master in Sustainable Management and Coastal Conservation (SMAC²), coordinated by Université Rouen Normandie;
• Master in Mathematical Modelling, Data Science and Machine Learning for Science and Technology (MIDAS), coordinated by the University of Oviedo;
• Bachelor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, coordinated by Munster Technological University.

Together, these initiatives will create new opportunities for students to study through integrated European curricula, experience mobility across several countries and benefit from joint teaching, supervision and learning within the Alliance.

Beyond the development of individual programmes, INGENIUM-ED aims to create approaches that can be adopted by higher education institutions across Europe. The project will develop common methodologies for adapting existing joint degrees, designing new ones, strengthening quality assurance and addressing regulatory barriers through cooperation with national authorities and quality assurance agencies. It will also publish practical guidance and share its experience with other European University Alliances and higher education institutions, contributing to the wider implementation of the European Degree Label.

Students are at the heart of the project. INGENIUM-ED will support at least 200 students through scholarships and other financial and practical measures, with a particular focus on widening participation and ensuring that joint programmes remain accessible to learners from diverse backgrounds.

By the end of the project, INGENIUM aims not only to have strengthened its own joint educational offer, but also to provide practical solutions and evidence that can support the wider implementation of the European Degree Label and contribute to the long-term development of the European Education Area.