Wrocław University of Science and Technology to join “Unite!” – University Network for Innovation, Technology and Engineering. The aim of this elite organisation bringing together universities from seven EU countries is to create a model of education that meets the challenges of the modern world.

„By joining one of the strongest networks of European tertiary institutes, mainly technical universities, aiming at providing modern education to prospective engineers capable of facing present and future challenges of civilisation, our University is implementing the plan of thorough transformation of its educational offering and improvement of the quality of its research by unequivocally opening to European cooperation”.

– The efforts of Wrocław University of Science and Technology to become part of the Unite! network were a natural response to our community’s aspirations towards Europeanism and academic excellence in the broadest sense of the terms. The choice of our university by such a prestigious network is testimony to our potential and the rightness of our strategy– says Wrocław Tech Rector, Prof. Arkadiusz Wójs.

Engineering, science, and technology in a social context

The Unite! network was founded in 2019 as a result of the European Commission's initiative to create the European Education Area by 2025. European Universities are consortia of universities within the Union that enable students to obtain degrees by combining their degree programmes in several EU countries and contribute to the international competitiveness of tertiary institutes in Europe.

Unite! currently comprises seven leading European universities. These are:

• The University of Grenoble (INP UGA), France (101-150*),
• The University of Lisbon, Portugal (201-300*),
• KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden (201-300*),
• Aalto University, Finland (301-400*),
• The Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany (501-600*),
• The Polytechnic University of Turin, Italy (501-600),
• The Polytechnic University of Catalonia (Barcelona Tech), Spain (701-800*).
  
  *the university’s place in the Shanghai Ranking 2021

The members of the network strive to develop a new model for European university education by means including common curricula and flexible study paths. This will make it possible for students to obtain a diploma combining degree programmes in several European Union countries, among other advantages. Importantly, when educating students, network members attempt to combine strict and natural sciences with the humanities so that their graduates can understand the social context of their work.

One of the key objectives for each of the Unite! universities is excellence in teaching. Their academic staff are constantly incorporating an innovative approach to teaching in their methodologies, using new tools, and improving their competencies in this area. The network already includes a metacampus, i.e. a virtual multimedia platform that enhances digital mobility and provides virtual spaces for students and researchers.

Unite! is happy to announce the future enlargement of the alliance, welcoming @tugraz and @PWr_Wroclaw! "With this new configuration of nine full partners in the future, Unite! will be able to deepen and broaden its path to success." Tanja Brühl https://t.co/fTIloCRmnf

— Unite! Alliance (@Unite_tech_univ) December 16, 2021

Education is our strength

Wrocław University of Science and Technology will be the first to represent the eastern part of the Old Continent in Unite! What we are bringing to the network includes a comprehensive offering of education in English for MSc and PhD students as well as access to educational resources, laboratories, and unique research apparatus.

– Joining Unite! is a great achievement for our university. In addition to the prestige, we’re gaining the opportunity to organise guest lectures, carry out joint research, strengthen our researchers’ and students’ mobility, and jointly undertake virtual doctoral dissertations – emphasises Professor Wójs.

Joining the network together with Wrocław University of Science and Technology is the Austrian Graz University of Technology.

Students come first

In total, almost 170,000 students are pursuing their degree programmes at universities that belong to the Unite! network and close to 37,000 graduates receive their diplomas each year. The universities are cooperating closely on more than 80 projects with over 2,000 people already having taken advantage of student mobility opportunities within the network.

Unite! is coordinated by the Technical University of Darmstadt and chaired by Prof. Tanja Brühl, the Rector of the German university.

So far, initiatives including interdisciplinary degree programmes, summer schools, joint student projects, and hackathons have been organised as part of Unite! activity. Also, a joint student forum has been launched, projects have been co-organised under the Erasmsus+ programme, and the so-called Quality Management Handbook, common to all universities, has been developed.