At the core of this project is a strong group of complementary European University Alliances, Una Europa, Unite!, EUCONEXUS, 4EU+, EC2U and CHARM-EU, and their 51 higher education institutions, covering 22 countries across Europe. The consortium partners have a long track record of international collaboration and have been at the forefront of co-developing the European Degree policy initiative since the very beginning. The consortium is united by a common vision of the European Degree label as an enabler for removing obstacles and closer collaboration in higher education.

Together, our universities boast an exceptional portfolio of high-quality joint programmes, spanning all levels of higher education and covering a wide range of academic disciplines and fields. This critical mass of joint programmes will be leveraged to conduct a broad mapping exercise of the criteria associated to the European Degree label, subject to a parallel methodology of large-scale surveys and in-depth interviews. In consultations with experts, the project consortium will propose possible improvements of these criteria and co-develop recommendations on the possible assessment procedure, as well as the design and delivery of a future European Degree label.

Facilitating international collaboration may require action within the member states. Our universities are all deeply embedded in their respective regional and national ecosystems, which is exemplified by their close links to regional and national governments. Together, the consortium has been successful in securing the support of 19 national and regional ministries in charge of higher education as well as 15 national accreditation and quality assurance agencies. It is the exchange of best practice between those actors and the open dialogue with their universities that carries the real potential to move forward the EHEA. There lies the ultimate aim of this project, thus creating impact beyond the one-year duration of this project.