Lodz University of Technology is the only university from Poland which joined the elite network of European universities - ECIU – the European Consortium of Innovative Universities at the end of 2021, thus forming a unique partnership with one of the first European Universities selected by the European Commission in 2019.
ECIU is a network with a well-established reputation and international position which brings together universities renowned for their scientific and educational excellence. The ECIU European University is identified as the network that comes closest to the model of a future, thriving European university with the potential to compete with the best universities in the world. The mission of the ECIU European University is "to create an agile, open agora at the European level for solving multi-disciplinary societal challenges, doing research and learning for life".
In February, Prof. Krzysztof Jóźwik, the Rector of Lodz University of Technology, participated in a meeting of the ECIU University Board members, during which President Màrius Martinez presented our university as the newest member of this network.
- We are currently involved in updating the application for expanding ECIU to include our university in it. We are contributing our proposals to it. International management is among the strategic tasks, which would, e.g, lead to an increase in the recognition of all the universities being the ECIU members, says Rector Prof. Krzysztof Jóźwik.
The participation of Lodz University in the ECIU University network will be connected with undertaking a number of innovative and ambitious challenges.
- For effective cooperation in European higher education, it is necessary to develop principles for the recognition of learning outcomes, with a particular focus on microcredentials gained in formal and non-formal learning. This measure is a starting point for discussions on the European degree. Mariya Gabriel, the European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, participating in a meeting with the ECIU Board, said that we should forget about a degree that exists today and that we know today. It will be something entirely new, yet it will confer the same titles and professional degrees.
Among the priority ECIU initiatives in the field of education is the development and implementation of a model of individualised lifelong learning pathways using active challenge-based learning methods in close cooperation with the business environment as well as the authorities of the region in which the university operates
- The ambition of ECIU is to intensively develop lifelong learning, also through microcredentials. The so- called Lifelong Learners – i.e. people for whom the university should be a natural platform for improving their competences in accordance with the changing economic and social environment and its needs - are becoming a significant target group. This is a new dimension, not only for the ECIU universities, but also, and perhaps above all, for the most innovative universities of the 21st century. An important element is also active involvement of the university in the process of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in the area of teaching and research projects, highlighted the Rector.
The tool to achieve these goals is digital transformation which will enable the ECIU University to function as a hybrid digital space for learning, innovation and knowledge.
- At the meeting, I proposed the creation of a platform for cooperation between the regions where the ECIU universities are located as regards the development of science and research . Before my trip to Brussels, I discussed it with the Marshal of the Łódź Voivodeship and received his support. The idea was also accepted by the ECIU members.
Another important initiative is the ECIU University Research Institute for Smart European Regions (SMART-ER). Its aim is to develop and implement a new model of research and innovation, based on creative cooperation between universities, industry, government and social partners. These relationships are reflected in the Quadruple Helix Model. The above issues are currently one of the main points of discussion in the European arena.
Rector prof. Jóźwik emphasises:
- The participation in the ECIU network creates new opportunities for Lodz University of Technology. Therefore, we are already taking certain actions. We are changing the study regulations, we want to approach the structure of study plans in a different way, which, among others, will facilitate short-term mobility within the Erasmus+ programme. We will be awarding microcredentials certificates obtained in formal education from the next academic year. We have also created an organisational structure within TUL that enables smooth interaction with the partners within the dynamic ECIU network.
ECIU Members
University of Twente (Netherlands), Aalborg University (Denmark), Hamburg University of Technology (Germany), Linköping University (Sweden), Tampere University (Finland), University of Stavanger (Norway), University of Aveiro (Portugal), Dublin City University (Irland), Institut National des Sciences Appliquees (France), Kaunas University of Technology (Lithuania), Lodz University of Technology (Poland), University of Trento (Italy), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Spain), associate member of the Tecnologico de Monterrey (Mexico).
Written by Dorota Piotrowska, ECIU coordinator at TUL