Analysis of the European Universities Initiative as a Model for a Transnational European University and Collaborative Academic Spaces

Abstract: This paper aims to present the essence of the European Commission’s initiative in the field of higher education, the European Universities Initiative (EUI), which has been implemented over the past decade. The analysis involves chronologically tracing the moments related to the emergence of the idea, the global and European trends in higher education and the current political priorities of Europe. Summaries are made of the results of the past 5 years of implementation in the form of pilot project forms of strategic cooperation. The analysis has been carried out through desk research and content analysis of European documents, publicly available data on the functioning university networks and their achievements, a review of the available literature, official reports and stakeholders’ opinions. The task is to provide answers to the question of what makes this partnership model successful and to point out some problematic aspects of its implementation. The characteristics and objectives of these educational alliances are described; achievements are highlighted; and difficulties and challenges are identified. Keywords: European Union, European universities, European universities initiative, university networks, strategic partnership.