YUFE: The Creation of a European University
Together for one goal: In the coming years, students, employees, and the management of the University of Bremen, together with seven partners, will establish one of the first European universities
The YUFE network – Young Universities for the Future of Europe – incorporates the eight universities Maastricht, Antwerp, Carlos III Madrid, Eastern Finland, Essex, Roma Tor Vergara, Cyprus and Bremen.
“It’s great to help shape this process,” says Kimberly David enthusiastically. The prospective teacher worked on the application for the European project as a student assistant in the International Office of the University of Bremen. When the decision was made in Brussels in summer 2019, she was very happy with the outcome, as were numerous others. The YUFE network will receive EU funding of five million euros for three years. The application was also amongst those with the best score: 97 of the 100 points. A total of more than 50 networks applied and 17 will now receive funding.
Students Are Important Experts for YUFE
“We worked really hard on it,” says the 27-year-old. Kimberly David was not the only student involved as each partner university has students working on the YUFE project. “They are full members and important experts for all questions related to studying,” she says. Students will therefore be included in all committees and work groups of the YUFE network with a voting right and also on a managerial level. Additionally, there will be a student parliament with three students from each partner university.
Strong Regional Connections
Kimberly David has personally benefitted immensely from this partnership. “You learn a great deal about how universities work.” The international atmosphere at the meetings is also really rewarding. As the YUFE universities will be strongly connected with their respective regions, the prospective teacher also wants to use the contacts for this at her school in Bremen. “With YUFE, we are really showing our strong commitment to Europe,” says Professor Bernd Scholz-Reiter, President of the University of Bremen. “We welcome everyone who is contributing to the process to create a varied international study offer as well as exchange opportunities for employees in science and administration!” With regular meetings, the eight partner universities are currently still laying the foundation for the further project work.
