The University of Bologna will contribute to a European pilot initiative aimed at introducing the Joint European Degree Label, a new quality label designed to certify joint study programmes delivered by universities from different European Union countries. Created to make transnational programmes more integrated, accessible and recognisable, the initiative marks an important step towards the future introduction of a European degree that would be recognised across the EU.
Four of the University of Bologna’s joint programmes have been selected to participate: the Bachelor of Arts in European Studies (BAES), the Joint Doctoral Programme in Cultural Heritage (Una-Her-Doc), the Joint Master’s programme Applied Data Science and Managing European Cultural Heritage in a Mobile World.
The four programmes will participate in UnaFIED (Una Europa Framework for the Implementation of the European Degree), a three-year project promoted by the Una Europa Alliance and funded by the European Commission under the European Degree Pathway Projects call, with funding of 1 Million Euros The project will support six joint programmes across the Alliance – four already established and two newly developed – on their path towards obtaining the Joint European Degree Label.,
The Joint European Degree Label aims to strengthen the European dimension of higher education by recognising the quality of joint transnational study programmes that meet standards shared across the European Union. It aims to foster closer cooperation between universities and greater integration among national higher education systems. For students, this could mean access to more visible and widely recognised transnational programmes, easier mobility opportunities and a European learning experience.
UnaFIED will address some of the main challenges associated with transnational education through two key strands of work: supporting participating programmes in meeting the standards required for the Joint European Degree Label and broadening access to these programmes by making them more sustainable, effective and inclusive. The project will enhance academic and administrative support, introduce financial support measures such as scholarships and tuition-fee waivers, and develop services designed to facilitate student mobility and participation.
The Una Europa Alliance, which brings together eleven of Europe's leading universities, contributes to the project with seven years of experience in developing joint programmes. This expertise will help shape the Joint European Degree Label as a new European benchmark for excellence in higher education.
Among the programmes currently offered by the University of Bologna, BAES leads to a joint Bachelor's degree awarded by four universities: the University of Bologna, KU Leuven, Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Jagiellonian University in Kraków.
Una-Her-Doc is an international doctoral programme established through the collaboration of nine universities. In addition to the doctoral degree awarded by the student's home institution, the programme grants a Certificate on Cultural Heritage jointly issued by the nine participating universities: the University of Bologna, Freie Universität Berlin, The University of Edinburgh, University of Helsinki, Jagiellonian University in Kraków, KU Leuven, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and University of Zurich.
