The COLOURS Alliance

By decision of the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) in Brussels, the international consortium COLOURS, which Ventspils University of Applied Sciences is part of, received the status of a European University. Obtaining the honourable title is the result of VUAS joining the consortium and participating in the implementation of a powerful, interinstitutional project. Only 7 consortia out of 65 applications received funding from the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). It is a great opportunity for VUAS to develop and build international cooperation with lecturers, scientists and innovators for the exchange of experience. COLOURS, or COLlaborative innOvative sUstainable Regional univerSities is an alliance of nine universities from EU countries, whose common feature is a strong commitment to the development of regions. Apart from Ventspils University of Applied Sciences, it comprises: Paderborn University (Germany) - leader, University of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain), University of Ferrara (Italy), Le Mans University (France), Kristianstad University (Sweden), Josip Juraj Strossmayer University in Osijek (Croatia), University St Kliment Ohridski Bitola (Macedonia), Jan Dlugosz University in Czestochowa (Poland). Project funding is approx. EUR 15 million for a joint project for 48 months. COLOURS will promote joint educational programmes in international and interdisciplinary teams in the field of research and innovation, in cooperation with local external stakeholders. This profile of the proposed joint ventures will also optimise the mobility of students, young researchers, academics and administrative staff of the partner universities. At the same time, innovative interdisciplinary pilot projects will foster the strengthening of research cooperation in the international space and the transfer of knowledge and technologies supporting entrepreneurship in the local, international and general social context.