On October 30, employees of the Marketing Department planted tulip bulbs on the main campus of the Cracow University of Technology – a gift from Hanze University Groningen in the Netherlands. In the spring, the tulips will bloom with the colours of STARS EU, an alliance of European universities in which the Cracow University of Technology participates. The alliance, consisting of nine European universities, is coordinated by the University of Groningen.
STARS EU partner universities are Hanze University of Applied Sciences (Hanze University Groningen, the Netherlands), Cracow University of Technology (Poland), University of La Laguna (Spain), Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (Portugal), Bremen University of Applied Sciences (Germany), Silesian University in Opava (Czech Republic), University West (Sweden), University of Franche-Comté (France) and Alexandër Moisiu University of Durrës (Albania). The alliance's members are universities with strong ties to their regions and committed to working with local partners. The history of STARS EU dates back to 2019 when Hanze University Groningen took the initiative to launch the European alliance. Since then, it has been possible to build lasting cooperation between the partners and develop various forms of collaboration involving students, faculty and researchers, such as Thematic Interest Groups or Blended Intensive Programmes. STARS EU was awarded a grant in the Erasmus+ Call 2023 European Universities competition. The allocated amount is EUR 12.4 million for the next four years.
– We are opening a new chapter in international cooperation. The allocated funds will allow us to face the scientific and social challenges of the 21st century even more effectively. By cooperating with partners and learning from each other's good practices, we will strengthen the quality of education and research at PK, not only on a regional or national scale, but also on a European scale – said Prof. Dariusz Bogdał, the University's Vice-Rector for Science, and chief coordinator of STARS EU at Cracow University of Technology.
STARS EU contributes to the implementation of the EU's European Universities initiative – one of the activities through which the EU aims to create a European Higher Education Area. The EU encourages international alliances between different European universities to promote European values and identities, and strengthen the quality and competitiveness of European higher education.
The Netherlands' Hanze University Groningen sent a small gift to the rectors and presidents of universities participating in STARS EU – tulip bulbs with instructions for planting them. – In the spring, when the flowers bloom, they will symbolise the growth and flourishing of our cooperation – we can read in the letter from Groningen. The tulips were planted on the campus of the Cracow University of Technology at 24 Warszawska Street.
(author: B.K., transl.: M.M.)
In the photo, the employees of the CUT's Marketing Department plant tulip bulbs; in the spring, the flowers will form the STARS EU logo/ photo by Jan Zych