The European university alliance "UNITA - Universitas Montium" marks this week three years of activity, in a special ceremony, held in France, in Chambery - the seat of the Savoie Mont Blanc University, UNITA's founding university. During the anniversary ceremony, the rector of the West University of Timișoara (UVT), Prof. Dr. Marilen Gabriel Pirtea, took over the presidency of the decision-making forum UNITA - Governance Board, for the first year of the alliance's consolidation phase (a stage that includes the interval 2023-2027), after the annual presidency of the decision-making forum was ensured until this moment by Professor Philippe Galez, President of the University of Savoie Mont Blanc.

The UNITA European alliance consists of six founding partner universities (Universidade de Beira Interior – Portugal, Universidad de Zaragoza – Spain, Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour – France, Université Savoie Mont Blanc – France, Università degli studi di Torino – Italy, Western University of Timișoara, Romania), alongside which six other associated universities (Università degli Studi di Brescia – Italy, Universidad Publica de Navarra – Spain, Transilvania University of Brașov – Romania, Instituto Politécnico da Guarda) – Portugal, HES-SO Haute école spécialisée de Suisse occidentale – Switzerland and Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University – Ukraine).

The rich agenda of UNITA's international university meeting these days includes working sessions in the specialized commissions, devoted to the development of projects in the network, respectively to current topics such as university funding, the opportunities and challenges of the new horizon for strengthening the alliance, the expected synergies and the operational mechanisms involved network collaboration.

UVT rector, Marilen Gabriel Pirtea: "Today, during the UNITA meeting in Chambery, I assumed the annual presidency of the UNITA decision-making forum – Governance Board, for the first year of the alliance's consolidation phase. I thank the five founding partner universities of the European alliance, of which UVT is also a part, for their trust, and I am convinced that this first year of the consolidation period will be one of strategic importance for UNITA's future. We aim to integrate the energies of the twelve university communities that make up the alliance now in the direction of increasing our dynamism and identity as a European university network, in accordance with the principle that formed the basis of the alliance, namely the need to increase European unity, especially between communities universities from medium-sized cities, which are not capitals of countries, through intercomprehension and multicultural exchanges."

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The European university alliance "UNITA - Universitas Montium" was formed by the initiative of the European Commission, grouping six founding universities whose communities total over 165 students, from five European countries speaking Romance languages ​​(Italy, France, Spain, Romania and Portugal), and which operate in similar geographical, cultural and socio-economic ecosystems. After 000, the six founding universities were joined by six other associated universities (four from EU countries, from Italy, Spain, Romania and Portugal, but also two from non-EU areas, Switzerland and Ukraine).

At the European level, through an ambitious approach aimed at increasing the attractiveness and competitiveness of the European higher education space, the European Commission supports 50 such European university alliances.

In Romania, 17 member universities of such alliances are active, which formed the "RO European Universities" network (consisting of the Technical University of Construction Bucharest, the University of Bucharest, the "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" University Iaşi, the "Iuliu Hațieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy ” from Cluj-Napoca, University of Petroşani, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Polytechnic University of Timisoara, Polytechnic University of Bucharest, West University of Timisoara, “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu, “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, National School of Political and Administrative Studies, "Babeş-Bolyai" University from Cluj-Napoca, University of Oradea, National University of Music Bucharest, "Ştefan cel Mare" University from Suceava, Transilvania University from Braşov).

The idea of ​​forming the "RO European Universities" network was launched three years ago by the rector of the Western University in Timişoara, prof. Dr. Marilen Gabriel Pirtea, who proposed the creation of the first association of higher education institutions in Romania that are members of European university alliances.

"RO European Universities" is a visionary and unique associative concept in Europe, so far, well appreciated internationally from the point of view of constitution and working method, several such networks will be created in EU countries, according to the model Romanian.