The INGENIUM Alliance work programme is structured around the idea of building a single University (the INGENIUM Inter-university European Campus - IEC) with ten distributed sites throughout the EU, able to perform all the functions modern Universities are required, education, research and social engagement, and, at the same time, seamlessly integrated with the individual partner organisations. It is a very ambitious objective, so we have made sure that the project's work plan is up to the task. We have designed a coherent working structure that is ambitious yet realistic and safe, with 10 work packages that provide for both the transversal support activities (management and coordination, communication and dissemination, and IT support, which is increasingly relevant to support transnational cooperation, and, in this case, to provide digital services in education) and each of the missions the Alliance is going to fulfil: education, research, innovation and social engagement.
Globally, the work programme takes a step-by-step approach in the development of each of the strategic lines and key actions as established in our Mission Statement. Each strategic line becomes a WP in our work programme, connected to the Alliance vision and aims: in education, setting up a framework for issuing self-accredited INGENIUM Open and Joint Degrees; in teaching and learning innovation, through the Staff Academy and the Education Lab; in research, with a Doctorate School that will attract and develop the talent of our ESRs, and building joint research groups globally connected, and so on. Ultimately, the entire work plan is geared towards the common commitment of all Universities of the Alliance, which is the excellence in education and research in our institutions.
A preparatory work package has been designed in which all regional and national regulatory, organisational, and bureaucratic obstacles to inter-university cooperation will be identified, analysed and, if possible, removed. These actions will be of utmost importance, especially at the beginning of the cooperation, as they will enable the partnership to address the challenges and barriers that may arise and ensure a smooth implementation throughout the duration of the project. Besides, this work package also provides for the implementation of a quality assurance system that will allow for constant monitoring and evaluation of the cooperation and the achievement of results from the very beginning, which will imply that the proposed objectives and standards are met, as well as a continuous improvement of the implementation of the tasks. In addition, WP3 will also play a major role in the early stages of the cooperation, as it aims to create the digital infrastructure needed for the partnership successfully make a full digital transition and will define the platforms that will be used by the Alliance for the project implementation.
Then, each WP is planned to move in parallel, each led by one of the partners, to implement the host of activities proposed to achieve the Alliance ambitions. On one hand, WP4 and WP5 are dedicated not only to create and ensure the mobility of students and staff and the joint study programmes, but also to boost innovative teaching and learning methodologies and improve the educational tools and quality of all partner universities. On the other hand, the proposed thematic work packages are fully aligned with the Alliance objectives for research and innovation (WP6), sustainability (WP7), encouragement of entrepreneurial mindsets (WP8) and inclusivity (WP9).
A transversal WP focused on impact and dissemination of the Alliance, aimed to make a greater reach, will ensure the Alliance is sustainable beyond the pilot project lifetime and build a corporate image that solidifies INGENIUM as a successful example and as a model for other European universities to follow.
All WP begin with the setting up of the appropriate joint structures that can properly handle the complexity of a 10-party cooperation: the Joint Faculty and the Academic Committee for the INGENIUM European Campus, an Innovation Committee to lead our endeavours in teaching and learning innovation; a Board to run the Research School, and so on, as detailed in each WP. These joint structures will be chaired by the partner leading the WP, to ensure that all partners are fully engaged in the project and will be coordinated by the INGENIUM Steering Committee (ISC). Students will be involved in all the INGENIUM joint structures.
We will also ensure coordination at local level through the creation of the INGENIUM Local Committees, composed of the University representatives in each of the Alliance bodies, and chaired by each Partner Coordinator (who will be the member of the ISC). The involvement of staff and students will obviously increase in the local structures, as well as the cooperation with local stakeholders, which are strongly supportive of the Alliance.
The Consortium Agreement (CA), agreed and signed at kick-off, will regulate the main elements of functioning of the Alliance and proceed to set up not only the governing bodies but also the rest of the committees, boards and working groups that will be part of the organisational structure of INGENIUM, which are deemed to become the permanent structure of the INGENIUM Alliance beyond this pilot phase.
Work Package 1: Management and Coordination
Leader: University of Oviedo (Spain)
Objectives
The Management and Coordination activities aim at promoting a smooth operation of the Alliance consortium (clear distribution of tasks, rapid problem-solving, easy communication, coordination and decision making) leading to a smooth and timely implementation of work programme, including:
- To define the relationships between the partners in the implementation of the work programme, and the composition and operation of the coordination structures
- To ensure the coordination of the project activities, communication, internal and external flow of information, timely production of deliverables and risk mitigation strategies.
- To ensure an appropriate management of the budget
- To document project development, prepare and submit all relevant reports, in communication with the EACEA.
Work Package 2: Building a cohesive cooperation framework
Leader: Medical University of Sofia (Bulgaria)
Objectives
This WP aims to prepare the partners and the partnership for the challenges of enhanced interuniversity cooperation and to set up the basic instruments, infrastructures and procedures to facilitate it, beyond the strict management of the project. All partners will be involved in the implementation of the actions under the coordination of MUS. In this WP the Alliance will:
- Identify, assess, and when possible, remove or request the removal of the national and regional regulatory, organisational and bureaucratic obstacles for an enhanced cooperation in all fields (education, research, social engagement and outreach programmes …). We intend to involve regional and national higher education authorities in this process.
- Develop a joint Quality Assurance (QA) system and to introduce a common culture of QA across the Alliance structures and activities.
- Set up joint IT supporting infrastructure and services aiming at achieving a paperless Alliance.
- Improve academic and administrative staff skills to cope with the challenge of cooperation, particularly to avoid that language skills becomes a barrier for cooperation.
Work Package 3: Digital INGENIUM
Leader: University of Crete (Greece)
Objectives
This is a transversal WP that underpins the INGENIUM European University. The WP involves all the Alliance partners in pooling capabilities so as to make the best possible use of potential and ‘level-up’ digital capacities, and to meet the Alliance commitment to strategies to address digital poverty and fair access to INGENIUM educational opportunities and experiences.
The WP proposes several concrete measures utilizing digital tools to address organisational, technological, and pedagogical issues involved in realizing the educational and research training goals of INGENIUM and thereby enhance the Alliance contribution to facing the challenges of the digital transition:
- Create the INGENIUM website as the main common communication and dissemination platform for all INGENIUM partners.
- Provide a joint e-learning platform for supporting education and training across the INGENIUM partners.
- Exploit the developed IT infrastructure to support Open Data and Open Science.
Work Package 4: The INGENIUM European Campus (IEC)
Leader: University of Applied Sciences of Karlsruhe (Germany)
Objectives
This WP aims at creating the relevant framework, structures and procedures and thus paving the way for seamless academic mobility of students and staff across the individual member institutions. Supported by measures to promote and support student and staff mobility, the key action will be to create a single inter-university campus – the INGENIUM European Campus (IEC) – as one major hallmark of the Alliance, featuring:
- A joint teaching body, the IEC Faculty, composed of dedicated academic staff from all the partner universities, cooperating in the development and delivery of joint study programmes.
- An Open Degree structure to allow for the configuration of flexible and multidisciplinary curricula with integrated international physical, virtual, and/or hybrid student mobility.
- A catalogue of designated INGENIUM programmes, with participants acquiring a minimum of 25% of ECTS credit points by way of international physical mobility, with full and automatic recognition of study periods carried out at, or delivered by, any of the partner universities.
- Special courses and activities within the INGENIUM Winter/Summer Schools.
Work Package 5: INGENIUM for innovative teaching and lifelong learning
Leader: South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences (Finland)
Objectives
The INGENIUM for innovative teaching and learning WP is aimed at boosting the development and transfer of innovative teaching and learning methodologies. To achieve it, a number of instruments are proposed:
- The INGENIUM Staff Academy to showcase, share and transfer selected innovative pedagogical methodologies from the partner Universities or, if appropriate, from other higher education institutions beyond the Alliance
- The Education Lab, as a decentralised research and development unit, where staff can explore new methodologies, meet peers and share best practices with strong student involvement.
- Initiatives to promote joint innovation projects, such as competition or supporting actions.
- A joint digital micro-credentials platform and the development of open micro-credentials.
Work Package 6: INGENIUM for research
Leader: “Gabriele d'Annunzio” University Chieti-Pescara (Italy)
Objectives
This WP aims at boosting inter-university cooperation in training and capacitation of researchers within the Alliance, as well as providing them with opportunities for professional development, international collaborations, and joint projects, with a view to:
- Enhance research collaboration across the Alliance.
- Support the development and implementation across the Alliance of best practice in research supervision, mentoring and training facilitating talented early-stage researchers.
- Encourage the internationalisation of research collaborations.
Work package 7: INGENIUM for Sustainable Development
Leader: University of Skövde (Sweden)
Objectives
The INGENIUM Alliance is strongly committed to European and Global Challenges, which are materialised around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the European Green Deal (EGD) growth strategy of the European Commission. This WP proposes concrete measures to enhance the Alliance contribution towards those goals, through:
- Raising the awareness and the policies of our organisations, through the creation of a Sustainability Committee, the launch of an INGENIUM SDG Challenge Lab and the elaboration of an INGENIUM Green Deal Agenda.
- Support the surrounding society and industry in their transition to greener and more sustainable businesses.
- Extension of the cooperation networks with third countries HEIs, through the INGENIUM Global Partnerships.
- Promote student engagement in sustainable development issues, through actions such as the INGENIUM SDG Hackathon.
Work Package 8: Entrepreneurial INGENIUM
Leader: Munster Technological University (Ireland)
Objectives
This WP is aimed at enhancing the entrepreneurial character of our Alliance, building on the tradition and experience of some of the partners to develop all aspects of the Entrepreneurial University, including:
- Introducing entrepreneurship in all INGENIUM courses and activities to encourage researchers, academics, and undergraduate and postgraduate students to develop entrepreneurial mindsets and skills.
- Increasing the number of entrepreneurs produced across the Alliance.
- Supporting external stakeholders within the INGENIUM to set up new enterprises and benefit from wider geographical expertise and market knowledge.
Work Package 9: INGENIUM for Non-discriminatory and Socially Engaged Higher Education
Leader: University of Rouen-Normandy (France)
Objectives
With this WP the Alliance intends to strengthen the social dimension of higher education and to improve access and completion by under-represented and vulnerable groups, its social engagement, and the contribution to more open, intercultural and inclusive societies. The WP deals with different issues related to these objectives, such as:
- Promote the access of disadvantaged groups to higher education.
- Consolidate connections and cooperation with other levels of the educational system.
- Contribute to multilingualism, cultural integration and intercultural awareness.
- Create healthier environments on our Campus.
Work Package 10: Impact and Dissemination
Leader: "Gheorghe Asachi" Technical University of Iași (Romania)
Objectives
The Impact and Dissemination WP will contribute to the success of the INGENIUM Alliance through effective exploitation and dissemination that will generate enhanced engagement of all stakeholders. The activities proposed will help to:
- Make the Alliance, its objectives and results better known and understood.
- Facilitate knowledge sharing around the Alliance activities.
- Raise the awareness of the university community regarding the challenges Universities face, and how cooperation can help to overcome them.
- Sustain the Alliance beyond the pilot project's lifetime.
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