Last week I had the privilege of spending a few days in the beautiful city of Brussels together with Ms. Elisabeth Minneman, President of the Executive Board of The Hague University of Applied Sciences (THUAS). We attended the leadership meeting of UNINOVIS, the European University Alliance THUAS is a proud member of. While walking through the European Quarter, I found myself reflecting on a question that many teacher educators may still ask: What exactly is a European University Alliance, and why should we care?

The European University Alliances are one of the European Union’s most ambitious initiatives in higher education. Rather than funding individual projects or temporary partnerships, the initiative aims to create long-term strategic alliances between universities across Europe. Today, over 70 alliances bring together 650 higher education institutions that work collectively on education, research, innovation and societal impact. The ambition is not simply to cooperate internationally, but to build genuinely European universities where students, staff and researchers can learn, teach and collaborate across national borders.

UNINOVIS is one of these alliances. Its 8 partners in Albania, Finland, France, Germany Italy, Lithuania, Spain, and the Netherlands share the vision that data should not merely be collected but should contribute to better lives for people and communities. This vision is captured in the alliance’s motto: Data for L.I.F.E. Data are increasingly shaping every aspect of society, from healthcare and sustainability to mobility, education and democratic participation. Universities therefore have an important responsibility to prepare students to work critically, ethically and responsibly with data, while ensuring that technological innovation always serves human development.

At first sight, this may seem far removed from teacher education. After all, teacher educators are primarily concerned with preparing future teachers for classrooms rather than laboratories. Yet I would argue that teacher education has much to gain from participating in European University Alliances.

First, alliances create opportunities for students to experience genuinely international teacher education. Student exchanges, Blended Intensive Programmes, Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) and joint modules allow future teachers to learn alongside peers from different countries. Such experiences help them develop intercultural competence, adaptability and a broader understanding of education systems across Europe. In increasingly diverse classrooms, these competencies are becoming essential rather than optional.

Second, alliances stimulate collaboration between teacher educators themselves. Instead of developing curricula, research projects or professional development activities in isolation, colleagues can build on one another’s expertise. This not only strengthens educational quality but also encourages innovation. Many of the challenges we face, such as teacher shortages, inclusion, digitalisation, sustainability and citizenship education are shared across Europe. Working together enables us to learn from different perspectives and avoid reinventing solutions that already exist elsewhere.

Third, European University Alliances provide fertile ground for collaborative research. Teacher education has traditionally focused on local contexts, but many educational questions transcend national borders. How do we prepare teachers for increasingly multilingual classrooms? How can artificial intelligence support rather than replace good teaching? How can we foster belonging, participation and wellbeing in education? Alliances create ecosystems in which such questions can be explored through interdisciplinary and international research.

Finally, alliances encourage us to rethink what it means to educate teachers in a European context. Future teachers will educate children who grow up in societies characterised by international mobility, digital interconnectedness and global challenges. Teacher education should therefore help students develop not only national professional identities but also a European perspective on education and citizenship.

Of course, building a European University Alliance is not without challenges. Genuine collaboration requires trust, time and sustained commitment. Different educational systems, languages and institutional cultures do not automatically align. Yet perhaps that is precisely where the value lies. By working across differences, we create new opportunities for learning. For our students, our institutions and ourselves.

One observation struck me during the meetings in Brussels. In many European University Alliances, teacher education has not been part of the alliance from the very beginning. Initial activities often focus on programmes in engineering, business, health or other internationally oriented disciplines. Teacher education is sometimes overlooked, not because it lacks importance, but because policymakers may not immediately recognise the unique contribution it can make to the alliance.

That is why I believe we, as teacher educators, should take the initiative ourselves. Find out whether your university is part of a European University Alliance. Many institutions already are. If so, ask how your teacher education programme can become involved. Demonstrate the added value that teacher education brings. After all, the teachers we educate today will shape the next generation of European citizens. If European University Alliances aim to contribute to Europe’s future, teacher education deserves a place at their heart. It is a contribution every alliance needs.

Perhaps the question is therefore no longer whether teacher education should engage with European University Alliances, but whether we are prepared to take our place within them.

Michel Hogenes, June 2026

The Hague University of Applied Sciences

Categories: Debate