The EC2U Alliance is proud to announce the integration of a 9th university: Umeå University in Sweden. They will soon fully take part in the actions of the Alliance, by participating in the governance and running already-existing activities.

 

A growing community through extended cooperation

Up until 2023, the EC2U Alliance was composed of 7 universities from all regions of Europe: the University of Coimbra, the University of Iași, the University of Jena, the University of Pavia, the University of Poitiers (Coordinator), the University of Salamanca, and the University of Turku.

With renewed funding from the European Commission under the 2023 European Universities call, the EC2U Alliance had the opportunity to expand its community by adding two new universities [1]. The Johannes Kepler University of Linz (Austria) joined the Alliance in 2023; Umeå University (Sweden) is set to become a member in 2025.

 

Discover Umeå University

Umeå University is a comprehensive university and one of Sweden’s largest higher education institutions with around 38,000 students and 4,600 staff. It offers over 40 undergraduate and Master’s degree programmes in a wide range of academic fields, including science and technology, the social sciences, business, health and medicine, and the arts and humanities. In total, the university provides 150 study programmes and 1,800 courses and over 450 courses are taught solely in English.

Innovative and ground-breaking research, with more than 2,000 researchers belonging to top national and international research teams, has enabled Umeå University to become an international leader in several academic disciplines. In 2020, Emmanuelle Charpentier was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her discovery of the gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9. The discovery was made during her time as a researcher at Umeå University.

The University has an international atmosphere and centres its work around core academic values. Its tightly knit campus makes it easy to meet, collaborate and share knowledge, something that encourages a dynamic and open culture. Umeå University prides itself in offering a world-class educational and research environment and expanding knowledge of global significance, where the sustainable development goals of Agenda 2030 inspire and motivate. Promoting academic freedom and European values such as human rights, gender equality, inclusiveness, diversity and equity are strategic commitments at the core of the vision and basic values at Umeå University.

Umeå university is fully aligned with the values and vision of the EC2U Alliance. Research driven. Student-centred. Engaged. These strengths are mirrored in all EC2U Partner Universities and the integration of Umeå University will further enhance EC2U’s capacity to empower its growing community. 2025 will mark the year when Umeå joins EC2U. We look forward to sharing this adventure with you.

[1] this new step was also the opportunity to strengthen our ties with the Ivan Franko University of Lviv, who became an Associated Partner in 2023