Commission education expert says university alliances have much to offer for success of ECF

University alliances have much to offer in terms of skills development, which is crucial for the success of the EU’s Competitiveness Fund (ECF), thanks to their diversity, regional reach and flexibility, according to an official from the European Commission's education department.

Speaking at a conference on 25/03/2026, Stefan Zotti, deputy head of the unit for higher education in the Directorate-General for Education and Culture (DG EAC), said: "If we want to make the ECF a success, we also need to look into skills development...What we are trying to promote is the understanding, evidence-based, that particularly alliances have much to offer on this due to their diversity, ability to cover several regions at once and flexibility."

The event at which Zotti spoke, entitled “A Competitive Future with European Universities”, was organised by ECIU University, an alliance of 12 members funded by the Commission since 2019.

Zotti said: "Alliances have demonstrated over the last couple of years that they can very quickly develop programmes and upskilling activities, which is of high…