European-wide university alliances Unite! and FORTHEM will receive funding for two more years
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The Rhine-Main Universities (RMU) continue to enjoy excellent connections across Europe: The European Commission has confirmed funding for both university alliances in which RMU partners are involved for another two years, starting in November 2026. Together with their European partner universities, the Rhine-Main Universities thus actively continue to shape European collaboration in higher education.
The Technical University of Darmstadt is a partner university of the Unite! Alliance for innovation, technology, and engineering that connects European regions with economic potential, entrepreneurial spirit, and innovation. It is a strategic, agile, and dynamic alliance of nine universities based on shared values, a common vision, and mutual trust.
The renewed funding decision recognizes the alliance’s progress and reaffirms its long-term commitment to building an integrated and innovative European university.
As it embarks on the next chapter of Unite!, the alliance reaffirms its mission to drive transformative education, research, and innovation, as well as its vision of a European Higher Education and Research Area characterized by openness, collaboration, and shared goals. This new phase will enable partners to deepen joint initiatives, expand opportunities for students and staff, and accelerate progress toward a more interconnected, resilient, and sustainable academic ecosystem.
The European FORTHEM Alliance, including Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, has been awarded new Erasmus+ funding for its project "FORTHEM NEXUS – Nurturing Excellence and Talent through Exchange with Universities and Society". Established in 2019 with seven partners and meanwhile comprising nine European universities, FORTHEM aims to further strengthen its mission to develop a sustainable Transnational Joint Campus and deepen cooperation across Europe, leading to the consolidation of the transnational joint campus, and the further integration of alliance activities into the everyday academic life of the partner universities.
Building on more than seven years of successful cooperation, FORTHEM now enters a new phase focused on consolidation, scaling up, and long-term sustainability. At the core of this new phase is the development of a Transnational Joint Campus, aligned with the alliance's strategy to 2030.
European University Alliances
The European University Alliances are cross-border university networks that jointly develop innovative teaching and learning formats as well as new forms of collaboration in education, research, the third mission, and technology transfer. The European Commission has now selected 20 European university alliances under the Erasmus+ program to fund their activities for the next two years. With this latest selection, it is now supporting 65 alliances across Europe.
About Unite!
Unite! is a European university alliance for innovation, technology, and engineering that connects European regions with economic potential, entrepreneurial spirit, and innovation. It is a strategic, agile, and dynamic alliance of nine universities based on shared values, a common vision, and mutual trust. Unite! is committed to being a strong driving force for technology and innovation—a multilingual, trans-European campus that will train the experts and leaders who will drive the digital and green transitions.
The Unite! partner universities are KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden, Aalto University in Finland, Politechnika Wrocławska in Poland, TU Darmstadt in Germany, Grenoble INP-UGA in France (Rhône-Alpes), TU Graz in Austria, Universidade de Lisboa in Portugal, UPC Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya in Spain, and Politecnico di Torino in Italy.
About FORTHEM
Founded in 2019, the FORTHEM Alliance – short for "Fostering Outreach within European Regions, Transnational Higher Education and Mobility" – is one of the European Universities alliances supported by the European Commission. It is dedicated to shaping the next generation of creative, responsible, and engaged citizens through collaboration in education, research, and innovation.
The FORTHEM Alliance brings together nine universities across Europe, supported by over 60 associated partners including regional authorities, businesses, NGOs, and research organizations. The collaboration involves approximately
- 230,000 students
- 2,500 doctoral candidates
- 19,000 researchers and faculty members, and
- 17,000 administrative staff.
Together, these actors form a vibrant ecosystem connecting education, research, innovation, and society at local, regional, and European levels.
Text: Unite!/bjb/JGU
