The EUTOPIA European University Alliance, of which Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca (UBB) is a member, has recently been selected by the European Commission for a new round of funding under the Erasmus+ programme, aimed at strengthening and developing European university alliances.
EUTOPIA is among the 20 European alliances selected and will secure up to 7.2 million Euro in funding over the next two years. In total, these 20 alliances bring together 190 higher education institutions from across Europe, while the European Commission’s funding aims to expand their activities and further establish the European university model.
UBB has been a member of the EUTOPIA Alliance since 2021, being actively involved in the development of one of Europe’s most ambitious projects dedicated to transforming higher education.
“UBB was invited to join several European university alliances, but in the end, we chose EUTOPIA – a choice that has proven excellent, as we are now in the most advanced phase of this European university model. In 2024, I was elected President of EUTOPIA, but I stepped down after a year because my ministerial commitments did not allow me to dedicate the level of involvement I would have wished; however, I remain on the EUTOPIA Board, where I will continue to be actively engaged in Phase III. As Minister of Education and Research, I supported the development of new European academic degrees and modern quality assurance mechanisms for European academic programmes, including making national degrees more flexible and fully recognised – all of which have a direct impact on European university alliances. I would like to thank my UBB colleagues involved in drafting the proposal for this new phase, as well as the entire EUTOPIA team for their professionalism and collaboration,” states the Rector of UBB, professor Daniel David, PhD.
The European Universities Initiative is one most important strategic projects of the European Commission for the development of the European Education Area.
Starting in 2019, the European Commission funded 17 alliances to establish cross-disciplinary academic structures (Phase 1) which were subsequently supported in 2022 to strengthen these frameworks (Phase 2) and now, in 2026, to become fully functional European alliances (Phase 3). In 2020, the Commission approved a second cohort of alliances, which are currently in their second phase. Additionally, a further series of European alliances received funding in 2024, placing them in their first phase. The EUTOPIA European University Alliance is in its third phase, the most advanced stage of development.
The EUTOPIA Alliance brings together ten prestigious universities:
- Babeș-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca (Romania)
- Vrije Universiteit Brussels (Belgium)
- CY Cergy Paris Université (France)
- Technische Universität Dresden (Germany)
- Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia (Italy)
- Universidade NOVA de Lisboa (Portugal)
- University of Ljubljana (Slovenia)
- Pompeu Fabra University (Spain)
- University of Gothenburg (Sweden)
- University of Warwick (United Kingdom)
The alliance’s international scope is complemented by six global academic partners:
- Arizona State University (United States of America)
- Universidad de los Andes (Columbia)
- Stellenbosch University (South Africa)
- International University of Rabat (Morocco)
- Kyungpook National University (South Korea)
- Monash University (Australia)
EUTOPIA also benefits from the support of a significant number of associated organisations across the fields of education, research, innovation, and regional development, thereby reinforcing its European and international impact.
The alliance focuses its work on five core values: excellence, inclusion, sustainability, cooperation, and academic freedom. These principles underpin the alliance’s mission to build, over time, a student-centred European “meta-university” driven by cutting-edge research and dedicated to addressing the challenges of the contemporary world – thereby serving both Romanian society and Europe in remaining democratic, knowledge-based societies.
More information about the EUTOPIA European University Alliance is available at https://eutopia.ubbcluj.ro and https://eutopia-university.eu.
Tradition and Excellence with Culture-Science-Innovation since 1581
Babeș-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca (UBB) is the university with the most complex academic profile in the country (by its number of programmes and multicultural profile featuring three official academic languages: Romanian, Hungarian, and German), and with the oldest academic tradition in Romania (established 445 years ago – 1581), accounting for the largest academic community in the country (with a staff of more than 55,000 people, from 15 cities and 12 counties). Ever since its establishment, UBB has been one of the most prestigious and influential universities in Romania; for several years now, UBB has consistently ranked among the top 5% of the world’s universities (out of approximately 30,000), with an advanced academic infrastructure (e.g. RDI units integrated into European networks, up-to-date teaching laboratories integrating virtual/augmented/mixed reality through the UBB-EON-XR Centre, etc.). Recently (2021), following the international QS STAR audit, UBB was officially ranked as the first world-class university (QS*****) in Romania, and in 2020 UBB was included in the GUILD, the organisation of the most prestigious European world-class/research-intensive universities, it was awarded the European HR Award for Excellence, and as of 2021/2022 it is a member of the EUTOPIA alliance of European universities.