EU-CONEXUS Plus among the 16 European University alliances selected to continue development for four more years

Frederick University announces that the EU-CONEXUS Plus alliance, in which our University participates as a full member, was selected by the European Commission to continue receiving financial support. The results of the call for the Erasmus+ European Universities 2022 were announced on July 27th. EU-CONEXUS Plus, an alliance of nine European Universities, will be receiving a budget of €14.4 million for four years.

Frederick University is the only private university in Cyprus which participates as a full member in an European Universities alliance that successfully ensured its continuation for four more years. EU-CONEXUS Plus focuses on Smart Urban Coastal Sustainability, aiming to develop innovative educational methods and interdisciplinary approaches in the fields of Sustainability, Circular Economy and Blue Growth.

The Chair of the Governing Board, Jean-Marc Ogier, commented on the results: “The EU-CONEXUS family, which has grown with the official integration of our new friends from Cyprus, Germany and Ireland, can continue and go further in the transformation of the European higher education system! I would like to thank you warmly for the spirit in which we are all moving forward together for the common good.’’

Frederick University’s Rector and a member of the Governing Board of the alliance, Professor George Demosthenous said: “We’ve been confident since the beginning for the continuation of the EU-CONEXUS Plus alliance. I would like to thank all members of our academic, administrative and research staff that have worked systematically in cooperation with the teams of our partners for this result, so we could become the first private University in Cyprus to achieve this European distinction. I would also like to thank our partners for the cooperation as well as our associated partners: The Limassol Municipality, the Cyprus Ports Authority and the Ayia Napa Municipality. I am certain that our cooperation will lead to the common goal of sustainable development of the coastal areas of our network. We are exceptionally proud because through our participation in this consortium, we provide to our students the opportunity to acquire undergraduate diplomas, postgraduate diplomas and doctorates combining studies in several European universities. Starting from today, we broad our horizon of great potential for our academic community and our society’’.

As a full member of the EU-CONEXUS Plus alliance, Frederick University is leading two important work packages: The Training for Teaching Community (EU-CONEXUS Teaching Academy) package and the Green Campus package. Members of the Frederick University community is involved in the alliance’s actions.

Frederick University is expected to receive an additional national funding for this achievement, according to a decision taken by the Council of Ministers on the 9th of February 2022, which grants a funding up to 100,000 euros for every university that secures participation as a full member in a European Universities alliance.

EU-CONEXUS Plus is part of the initiative ‘European Universities 2022’ one of the most emblematic initiatives of the European Union, aimed at the ambitious vision of higher education institutions from across Europe to cooperate on education, research and innovation for the benefit of students, educators and society.

The nine partner institutions of EU-CONEXUS Plus are: La Rochelle Université (France), Agricultural University of Athens (Greece), Technical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest (Romania), Klaipeda University (Lithuania), La Universidad Catolica de Valencia ‘San Vicente Martir’ (Spain), University of Zadar (Croatia), Waterford Institute of Technology (Ireland), the University of Rostock (Germany) and Frederick University (Cyprus). Eighteen social partners from nine countries also participate in the alliance, including Limassol Municipality, Cyprus Ports Authority and Ayia Napa Municipality from Cyprus.

For more information on the results of the ‘European Universities 2022’ call click here: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_4702