The UNITA EGAI project takes an important step this spring, marking an essential stage in the promotion of collaboration between European universities. The objective of the project is to pilot the model proposed by the UNITA alliance of European universities for inter-university institutional cooperation at the European level, starting from the European Economic Interest Group and reaching the European Academic Interest Group. We note that the UNITA alliance was one of the four alliances selected by the European Commission to pilot such models of inter-institutional collaboration, which honors and makes us responsible at the same time.

The UNITA-EGAI Spring School started online on Friday, March 15, and moved to an in-person working session in Timișoara on March 18 and 19. Attendees are treated to two days that promise engaging discussions, expert-led presentations and engaging networking opportunities. This event is tailored for academics, researchers and professionals willing to explore the dynamics of university collaborations in Europe from the perspective of the institutionalization of these collaborations.

We will analyze UNITA as a model of institutionalized university cooperation, from the European Economic Interest Group to the European Academic Interest Group and we will share the conclusions of over two years of work in our alliance with colleagues from eight other alliances present in Timișoara, in order to creating the legal entity of our alliance and using it as an alliance partner in order to increase its competitiveness.