Sub group Universities for ERA

02INTRODUCTION

Action 13 of the ERA Policy Agenda 2022-20243 aims to “Empower Higher Education Institutions to develop in line with the ERA, and in synergy with the European Education Area”. The Council’s expected outcome of Action 13 points to support for (i) the digital transition of universities and (ii) for strengthened research careers that are interoperable between sectors, as well as to (iii) a policy approach for the further development of higher education institutions in research & innovation, “including through consolidation of the European Universities initiative and establishment of a European Excellence Initiative”.

In particular, Action 13 intends to pursue these outcomes:

- supporting inclusive and deeper cooperation between higher education institutions across Europe to accelerate institutional reform in ERA priorities, in particular strengthening research careers (linked to Actions 3 and 4), improving knowledge valorisation, and supporting the digital transition;

- better aligning Member States’ efforts to strengthen global visibility and competitiveness of their higher education sector, including via strong partnerships with other R&I actors and societal partners, addressing the long-term trend of Europe’s decreasing share of research-intensive universities at global scale.

Due to the complexity of the tasks and the high number of participants involved, the ERA Forum set up a dedicated sub-group for Action 13 in January 2023, with a mandate for a period of 12 months. The sub-group reports back to the ERA Forum and has the following tasks:

Expected deliverables of this sub-group may include analytical reports on national excellence initiatives and on the perimeter of excellence at the level of institutions and cooperation in the new ERA, as well as recommendations to the Commission for support to the digital transition of universities and to strengthening of research careers, and for coordinated support to cooperation between universities and with other R&I actors.