The new campus unifies spaces, services and advantages for the entire university community 

The rectors and presidents of the nine universities that make up the European alliance STARS EU have signed today (Tuesday, November 25) at the University of La Laguna, the STARS EU Campus Charter, a common commitment to build an integrated European campus that facilitates studying, teaching, research and working together for students, faculty and staff throughout the alliance.

The alliance is working to co-create a long-term European campus that links education, research, and innovation, and contributes to the development of its regions by promoting mobility, joint training programs, collaborative research projects, and cooperation with local stakeholders. Other objectives of this initiative include fostering innovation, lifelong learning, inclusion, and sustainability.

This was stated today by the rectors present at the signing of the agreement: Francisco J. García Rodríguez, rector of the University of La Laguna; Dick Pouwels, rector of the Hanze University of Applied Sciences (Netherlands); Konrad Josef Wolf, rector of Hochschule Bremen City University of Applied Sciences (Germany); Orlando Rodrigues, rector of the Polytechnic University of Braganza (Portugal); Tomáš Gongol, rector of the Silesian University in Opava (Czech Republic); Mats Jägstam, rector of the University West (Sweden) and Shkëlqim Fortuz, rector of the Aleksandër Moisiu University in Durrës (Albania).

Along with them, and representing the vice-rectorates of the alliance, were also present Samir Jemei, Vice-President of International Extension, Art, Culture and Scientific Communication of the Marie and Louis Pasteur University (France) and Katarzyna Bizon, Vice-Rector of Education and International Cooperation of the Technological University of Krakow (Poland).

The signing ceremony took place within the framework of the STARS EU working meeting hosted by the ULL from November 25 to 26, 2025. The international working meeting brought together 170 people (academic staff, students and administrative and service staff) from the nine European higher education centers to advance the development of the strategic lines and objectives of the alliance.

Unique European campus

The signed Campus Charter envisions a single campus with multiple locations, comprised of physical spaces at each university, such as learning and meeting areas, laboratories, and innovation hubs. The expanding digital campus will offer shared services, virtual and blended learning opportunities, and shared tools for research and innovation.

The goal is for any student or staff member to be able to move, study, teach, and work easily across any of the nine institutions, as if they were part of a single European university. To make this possible, STARS EU will develop a common signage system that will make spaces recognizable throughout the network; a single digital access point with single sign-on; and shared open science and mobility platforms. These tools aim to strengthen a common European identity and a sense of belonging among the entire university community.

The signing of the Campus Charter thus confirms the will of the nine universities in the STARS EU alliance — integrated into the European Universities Initiative (EUI) to build a cohesive European ecosystem, capable of connecting talent, knowledge and innovation on a transnational and regional scale.

Nearly 200 people from nine universities affiliated with the STARS EU alliance have met from today, Tuesday, November 25, until tomorrow, the 26th, at the University of La Laguna to participate in the working meeting to advance the objectives of this ambitious project that encompasses education , research , mobility and local development.

Picture gallery

During the ceremony, representatives from the various partner universities gave brief presentations on the milestones achieved in different areas of work during the first two years of activity. They also outlined the objectives for this working meeting held at the University of La Laguna. The event was introduced by José Sigut, the alliance coordinator at the ULL, and the first speaker was Marieke Steenbergen from Marie & Louis Pasteur University. Speaking on behalf of the alliance’s steering committee, she provided an overview of the alliance, which comprises nine universities located in non-capital regions facing similar local challenges. Together, they represent a community of 150,000 students, 15,000 professors, researchers, and staff, across 75 faculties.

She explained the organizational structure of the alliances and some of the objectives achieved in this two-year period, such as the mobility of more than 4,300 people to date; the creation of common undergraduate degrees, of which 14 are currently under discussion; the launch of 40 BIP courses, half of which have already been delivered; the design of 36 micro-credentials; the launch of the Technology Transfer Office to share the scientific infrastructures of the nine universities; the launch of seed grants to prepare proposals for competitive European calls; and the launch of three Living Labs to encourage impact on local regions.

Work packages and TIG

Next, representatives from the STARS EU work packages briefly introduced their progress to date: package 2, (Regional Transition Acceleration); package 3 (Curriculum Lab) which is responsible for academic innovation and the teaching offer; package 4, (Challenge Lab), which is responsible for research in the alliance; package 5, related to physical and virtual campuses, which during the meeting in Tenerife will present examples of the visual elements available to identify the spaces of the alliance in each institution; package 6, in charge of mobility; package 7, which addresses the sustainability model of the alliance not only referring to environmental aspects, inclusion and equality, but also financing and governance; and the 8th, on communication, dissemination and open science.

There was also a summary presentation of the nine thematic groups of interest ( TIG ) on the different subjects that structure the research and training proposals of the alliance: energy transition, arts and creative industries, entrepreneurship and innovation, sustainable industry, circular economy, digital transformation, healthy ageing, lving spaces, and inclusion and social justice.

Local authorities

Local goverments representatives were also present at the event, who highlighted the great opportunity that having one of its universities in a European alliance like STARS EU represents for the Canary Islads, a type of inter-university collaboration structure promoted by the European Commission to increase the competitiveness of the community academic system.

The rector of the host institution , Francisco García , emphasized that, above scientific and academic considerations, the alliance is a space that underscores the importance of the European values of “ unity, diversity, knowledge, and solidarity”. In his address, he highlighted the role that institutions in the outermost regions can play within the European context. He also emphasized that the alliance’s work focuses on aspects such as inclusion , sustainability, and the digital transition, all essential for providing the necessary skills for the new generation of the 21st century to thrive in an increasingly changing and competitive society , promoting mobility and collaborative work.

During his speech, the President of the Government of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, also emphasized the status of the outermost regions within the European Union at a time when these regions are being questioned within EU institutions: “The outermost regions are not a burden. We are a strategic opportunity for Europe, and this is the best example. We are territories that contribute to cohesion, that expand Europe’s borders, that connect continents, and that offer innovation , talent, and proven scientific capacity. Projects like the one that brings us together here today are the best example. That is our commitment: that the Canary Islands be known for what it knows, for what it researches, and for what it contributes to the world.”

For her part, the president of the Tenerife Island Council, Rosa Dávila , expressed the council’s commitment to research , for which a budget of 200 million euros has been allocated, and also addressed the issue of the outermost regions. “ We are facing profound transformations influenced by the energy transition , digitalization , job automation , artificial intelligence, demographic challenges , and the need to diversify our economic models . In this context, universities play an irreplaceable role. You are engines of knowledge, spaces for critical thinking , laboratories of innovation , and meeting points between academia , the public sector , and the productive sector . ”

Regarding the First Deputy Mayor of San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Badel Albelo, he highlighted the role of the local university in adapting to a changing socio-economic context that demands agility. “ From the City Council, we highly value this internationalization strategy because it will allow the University of La Laguna (ULL) to continue attracting talent and to remain committed to scientific innovation . The challenges we face in healthcare and the economic diversification that our islands need for balanced development require a strong public university to drive it forward, and this alliance will allow us to work in that direction.”

The University of La Laguna (Tenerife) is hosting the working meeting to advance the different work packages of the European project that our alliance is developing until 2027. Some 180 people from the eight continental academic centers have confirmed their attendance , and around twenty local participants will join them in the sessions.

The opening ceremony will take place on Tuesday, November 25th at 8:45 a.m. in the main auditorium (Paraninfo), with the participation of the Rector of the University of La Laguna, Francisco J. García ; the President of the Government of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo; the President of the Island Council of Tenerife, Rosa Dávila ; and the Mayor of San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Luis Yeray Gutiérrez, as well as representatives from the various working groups of this European project. Following this ceremony, the working sessions will be held over two days at the Higher School of Engineering and Technology .

This meeting will also be the first time that seven of the nine rectors of the alliance have met, so the occasion has been used to sign the Campus Charter, a document that reflects their joint commitment to the development of a cohesive, accessible and innovative campus that transcends borders, is inclusive, ecological and digital.

Furthermore , the university rectors will also meet with the Minister of Universities, Science, Innovation and Culture of the Canary Islands Government, Migdalia Machín , to personally present the opportunities for local development that participation in STARS EU entails. This meeting , as well as the presence of regional authorities at the opening ceremony , represents a significant boost to engagement with local stakeholders in Tenerife.

During the meeting there will also be an exhibition with physical examples of the work developed by work package 5.2 on corporate image on physical campuses, so that the alliance members can see in situ the examples shown by the approved project to consider application in their respective centers.

This is the alliance’s third face-to-face working meeting, following the one held in Trollhättan ( Sweden ) in 2023, which served as the project’s launch, and in Bremen (Germany) in 2024. These meetings are in addition to the alliance’s annual conferences held in spring, which the University of La Laguna hosted in 2023 after the one held in Groningen ( Netherlands ) the previous year , and which have subsequently been held in Besançon ( France) and Durrës ( Albania).

Bragança Polytechnic University hosted two BIPs addressing current challenges through an innovative approach

STARS EU is promoting digital creativity and sustainability through two Blended Intensive Programmes (BIPs) that brought together more than 60 European students and lecturers from different disciplines and nationalities in Portugal. Organised by Bragança Polytechnic University (IPB), both programmes – which included virtual sessions prior to the in-person mobility – highlight the potential of transnational collaboration to address contemporary challenges from a creative, sustainable, and interdisciplinary perspective.

The first programme, “Heritage in Videogames”, held at EsACT-IPB from 3 to 7 November 2025, focused on the use of videogames as a tool to reinterpret and preserve European cultural heritage. Participants from IPB, University West (Sweden), Marie and Louis Pasteur University (France), and Universidad Europea Miguel de Cervantes (Spain) combined research, digital storytelling, and interactive design to create prototypes inspired by local traditions, symbols, and places. Visits to key sites such as the Olive Oil and Olive Museum, the Ecoteca and the Arts Station provided creative material for their projects, which incorporated both tangible and intangible heritage elements.

Sustainable architecture

The second programme, “Climate-Responsive and Sustainable Building Design”, took place at ESTiG-IPB during the same dates and centred on climate-responsible architectural design. Students from Hochschule Bremen (Germany), Cracow University of Technology (Poland), Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek (Croatia) and IPB worked on a real case study – Berlin’s LIDO urban development project – to develop sustainable proposals that respond to today’s environmental needs.

The final models, built using recycled and recyclable materials, are on display at the ESTiG Library as a demonstration of the programme’s practical and applied approach. This edition was supported by the GICoS – Sustainable Construction Research Group.

Beyond their academic dimension, both BIPs offered an opportunity to strengthen intercultural exchange, enhance students’ digital, creative and transversal skills, and foster international networks among learners and teaching staff.

In addition to the participation of students from the STARS EU partner universities, both BIPs also received students from Croatia and Spain.