EU Commission selects HEROES as new European University allianceto boost smart regional resilience

2024-07-08

The HEROES Alliance unites nine universities of applied sciences across the EU under one common objective: to strengthen the resilience of the regions they are located in through digital innovations. 120,000 students and 14,000 staff spread over 22 campuses in mainly non-urban areas will benefit from deep transnational collaboration in education and research, made possible by new funding from the Erasmus+ Programme.

Young, agile and regional

The ‘Higher Education for Resilience-Oriented and Empowered Societies’ project – HEROES for short – is one of 14 new alliances to receive generous support from the European Commission to build a European University alliance[1].

The HEROES Alliance stands out as one made up exclusively of young, agile and regionally embedded universities of applied sciences. Each member operates within and actively shapes local innovation ecosystems, maximising close partnerships with industry and other partners.

Smart regional resilience

While the HEROES partners have a rich history of bilateral and multilateral transnational collaboration, this new funding is a catalyst for HEROES’ ambition to empower students, lifelong learners, researchers, lecturers and staff to strengthen the smart resilience of their regions.

‘Smart regional resilience’ refers to a region’s ability to anticipate, adapt to, and recover from disruptions by strategically leveraging digital innovations.

To achieve smart regional resilience, HEROES focuses on quality professional (lifelong) education, impactful practice-oriented scientific research, robust transnational collaboration and seamless mobility among its partners. These are the pillars of the future green and inclusive HEROES inter-university campus.

New generation of heroes

Sofie Mols, executive director of HEROES: “The effects of climate change, biodiversity loss, technological disruption and eroding social cohesion are strongly felt at grassroots level. HEROES’ universities of applied sciences along with their students and staff play a key role in developing digital solutions that address global challenges in locally relevant and effective ways. We are delighted and thankful to the EU for boosting our capacity to deepen our collaboration and to transform the talents of a new generation of Europeans into superpowers that strengthen our regions, both within the EU and beyond”.

Dr. Nijolė Zinkevičienė, Vice-Rector for Research and Partnerships, Vilniaus kolegija: “Vilniaus kolegija/Higher Education Institution (VIKO), currently the largest professional higher education institution in the Baltic States and the leading HEI in Lithuania, is proud to be part of the HEROES Alliance of European Universities. We are confident that we will make a significant contribution to the Alliance’s goals and become an important part of building regional resilience through our studies, lifelong learning activities, applied research, and social responsibility initiatives”.

[1]New funding for additional European Universities alliances will boost cooperation in higher education, European Commission (28/06/2024)

The members of HEROES are based in Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Finland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden. HEROES also includes associated partners from Albania, France, Greece, Kosovo and Ukraine. HEROES is further supported by experts and organisations in the International Advisory Network, including the Erasmus Student Network, EURASHE, UAS4EUROPE and Lifelong Learning Platform.

Contact at Vilniaus kolegija: Jolanta Preidienė, +370 611 50343, j.preidiene@viko.lt

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