European University Alliance
The University of Nicosia is a full member of the NEOLAiA European University Alliance, dedicated to creating an innovative European University with campuses across nine countries. This initiative is characterised by a common digital identity and coordinated efforts in areas such as digital transformation, diversity and inclusion, and enhanced mobility. NEOLAiA offers UNIC students the opportunity to spend part of their studies at one or more partner universities.
The NEOLAiA Alliance has been awarded €14.4 million in funding by the European Commission for the next four years, with the project officially commencing on 1 January 2024. The Alliance was selected alongside 6 others from 39 new alliances that applied, achieving a success rate of 18%.
Building A Future-Oriented European University Across 9 Countries
The NEOLAiA Alliance vision to establish itself by 2030 as:
- A strong, highly integrated European University representing a mainstay of European values and high- quality education for all the member university regions.
- An open and inclusive educational and social environment, fostering equity at university and in European society at large, ensuring that the diverse communities within academia and in the regions feel connected and committed to work together to face the global challenges and find solutions to common concerns such as Global Health to improve well-being for all.
- A model international educator motivating widening cohorts of students to engage in innovative research- informed and socially relevant study programmes crossing the borders of disciplines, research areas, countries and cultures, keeping pace with the digitalization of teaching and learning and at the same time cherishing personal contact and a tailor-made approach.
Partners in the Alliance
The NEOLAiA European University Alliance consists of nine leading, young, forward-thinking, and innovative universities, ranked among the best in the world. Partners in the Alliance, alongside the University of Nicosia, are:
- University of Bielefeld, Germany
- Örebro University, Sweden
- University of Salerno, Italy
- University of Jaén, Spain
- University of Tours, France
- University of Ostrava, Czech Republic
- “Stefan Cel Mare” University of Suceava, Romania
- Šiauliai State University of Applied Sciences, Lithuania.
Project Kick-off and Governance
The official kick-off meeting of the NEOLAiA Alliance took place in Brussels on February 2024, attended by representatives from all nine partner universities. The governance structure was established, including the Governing Board, Steering Committee, Executive Committee, and Student Advisory Group.
Following the kick-off meeting, regular meetings (both physical and online) are being held, and mobilities among the partner universities are ongoing. All participants are working towards the implementation of various work packages with enthusiasm and dedication.
UNIC: Responsible For The Digital Transformation Of The Alliance
The University of Nicosia has assumed a substantial role in the implementation of the Alliance’s vision, as the leader of the “Digital Transformation” Work Package, as well as co-leader of the “Adopting and Sustaining Open Science” Work Package.
Work Package 8 (WP8): Adopting and Sustaining Open Science
Work Package 8, led by the University of Salerno (UNISA), focuses on fostering Open Science within the NEOLAiA Alliance by ensuring knowledge sharing and science participation across academia, industry, and society.
This Work Package aligns with European policies like the FAIR (Factor Analysis of Information Risk) framework and the European Commission’s 2030 Digital Compass vision. WP8 aims to increase trust in science, promote stakeholder participation, and encourage early sharing of research outputs. This is achieved by designing policies and infrastructure to support the dissemination of research results, facilitating open and collaborative research.
The work package has three main tasks. Task 8.1, that is led by the University of Nicosia and involves developing the NEOLAiA Open Science Policy, focusing on open access to research results and involving citizens in scientific research. Task 8.2 is dedicated to setting up infrastructure for Open Science, including a public repository and dataset server. Finally, Task 8.3 fosters collaboration among partners and citizens to produce and manage high-quality open data, aided by AI-driven tools. WP8 is linked and collaborates closely with WP5 on research excellence and WP9 on digital platforms, ensuring that open science is deeply integrated across the NEOLAiA universities.
Work Package 9 (WP9): Digital Transformation
WP9, is led by the University of Nicosia and is centered on driving the digital transformation of the NEOLAiA Alliance. This work package is one of NEOLAiA’s three pillars and focuses on enabling digital skills, inclusion, and innovation, particularly for under-represented groups.
WP9 seeks to position NEOLAiA as a leader in the digital transition by leveraging new technologies to enhance education, digital research, and workforce preparation. The primary objectives include empowering universities to adopt digital technologies, creating a unified metaverse across NEOLAiA campuses, and fostering virtual academic mobility through a shared identity mechanism.
Key tasks include developing a NEOLAiA Digital Identity system (Task 9.1), which will facilitate secure, verified interactions among alliance members and the public. Additionally, WP9 focuses on building Living Labs at partner universities to promote the use of virtual and augmented reality for educational purposes (Task 9.2). This work package aligns with the European Commission’s digital rights principles, aiming to make NEOLAiA a model for digital education, collaboration, and mobility.
