PIONEER Alliance presentation

Iscte is a member of the PIONEER Alliance, a consortium of ten candidates for the European Universities Initiative. The PIONEER Alliance includes the following universities: University Gustave Eiffel (FR) (coordinator) Avans University of Applied Sciences (NL) Laurea University of Applied Sciences (FI) TH Köln - University of Applied Sciences (DE) University of Huelva (SP) IUAV University of Venice (IT) University Tomas Bata in Zlìn (CZ) The University of Zilina in Slovakia Bern University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland (as an associate partner). The universities aim to co-create a transnational European campus and promote joint education, research, and innovation activities. They aim to inform public policies on the future of cities in line with EU priorities, to meet European citizens’ needs. These priorities include the Green Deal, 100 carbon-neutral cities, regional smart specialisation strategies, digital transformation, and open science. The PIONEER Alliance's activities cover seven of the programme and structuring themes of the European agenda, including urban transition, vulnerability, inclusion, and health in cities; sustainable and resilient cities; digital transition; and mobility, energy transition, and nature in cities. These thematic programmes are designed to promote inter- and transdisciplinary academic work, using different methodological traditions as effective teaching and research agendas. The PIONEER European campus is founded on the principle of openness: the PIONEER Alliance is designed to be inclusive of everyone, including students, teaching and non-teaching staff so that all can benefit from the opportunity to study or work abroad, discover new cultures, and participate in common projects and structures. The European open campus will allow students to develop three competences: linguistic, intercultural, and international. Linguistic competence refers to studying and working in a foreign language. Intercultural competence refers to the ability to collaborate with students and teachers from diverse backgrounds. International competence refers to broadening knowledge through comparative approaches across Europe. The PIONEER open campus will also provide an environment for students to deliberate and practice European values such as democracy, human rights, and sustainability. This education aims to promote European citizenship and improve the employability of students, teaching, and non-teaching staff across Europe.