Record-breaking demand for Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnerships in higher education
In the spring 2024 call for Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnerships, the Finnish National Agency for Education granted funding for six Cooperation Partnerships in higher education, all of which had a budget of EUR 400,000 and a duration of three years. The total amount of funding granted was EUR 2.4 million.
[TO(1] [HA(2] The interest in Cooperation Partnerships in higher education was higher than ever. Of the 45 applications submitted, five were EUR 250,000 projects and forty were EUR 400,000 projects. The number of applications received increased sharply compared to the 28 applications submitted in the 2023 call, and the total amount of funding applied for in 2024 was EUR 17.25 million.
The application acceptance rate was low at only 13%. At the same time, the lowest score required to receive funding was high at 90 points, indicating that the quality of applications and especially the projects that were granted funding was high overall.
Universities of applied sciences active
Universities of applied sciences were once again more active in the call than universities: of the 45 applications received, 31 were coordinated by universities of applied sciences and 14 were coordinated by universities. Applications were submitted by a total of 19 different higher education institutions.
The six projects that were granted funding are coordinated by five different higher education institutions, with five projects being coordinated by universities of applied sciences and one being coordinated by a university. The projects also have other organisations participating in them, such as associations, companies and foundations, as well as large numbers of various associated partners. The funded projects will start in September–December 2024.
In addition to these projects, Finnish higher education institutions are participants in Cooperation Partnerships funded by other countries and sectors.
AI emerged as a prominent theme in projects
AI was a prominent theme in many applications in the 2024 call. The six projects that were granted funding also cover all of the priorities of the Erasmus+ Programme, meaning inclusion; environmental themes; digitalisation; and common values, civic engagement and participation.
The funded projects cover a wide range of subjects and fields of education, with AI included in the themes of several projects, integrated into different fields. The funded projects also involve developing the green transition in the arts and the link between social services and crisis management and promoting the possibilities of quantum technology in different fields of business and industry.
Cooperation Partnerships are aimed at supporting the internationalisation and quality of higher education. They also contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the European education area.
Funded projects
- HAAGA-HELIA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES, AI literacy programme for managing disinformation in European societies, METACOG
- HAAGA HELIA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES, ALFA Labs - trAnsformation pLan For Ai Living Labs, ALFA Labs
- LAUREA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES, New Solutions in International Social Work - Promoting Inclusive Crisis Management, CRISING
- METROPOLIA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES, Development of learning MOVEment analysis utilizing ONline technologies and artificial intelligence in higher education, MOVE ON
- TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES, Ecological Sustainability in Fine Arts Education, EcoSenda
- UNIVERSITY OF VAASA, Quantum Technologies Principles for Business, QUANTUM+
Next call
The next call for Cooperation Partnerships is expected to launch at the end of 2024 and end in spring 2025. We will be providing information on the call and related applicant guidance events on our Cooperation Partnerships for Higher Education page.