The Project
History
Following the ideas of the Sorbonne and Bologna Declaration, the German Chancellor Helmut Kohl asked a group of German experts in university education (chairs: Dr. Konrad Schily and Prof. Meinulf Dierkes) to design a concept for a "European dimension" in Higher Education. The German government planned to put this concept on its agenda when it would be Germany’s turn to take over the presidency of the European Council of the Heads of Government. When Helmut Kohl’s party was not re-elected in the federal elections in 1998, Gerhard Schröder became Chancellor and adopted the idea. However, because of the war in Kosovo there was no chance to present the concept to the Heads of Government during this period.
So the "Initiative Campus Europae (European University Foundation)" Witten, Germany, asked - with the support of Kohl and Schröder - Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker and Science Minister Erna Hennicqot-Schoeppges, Luxembourg, to take over the patronage for this project. They agreed and an opening conference was held in June 2001. This conference was attended both by representatives from governments as well as universities. At the conference, the universities willing to undertake further cooperation agreed on the following closing communiqué:
"The university representatives agree to examine the establishment of a consortium consisting of universities committed to excellence in research and learning. Therefore, the university representatives agree to consider and to examine the establishment of the European University Foundation as an organisational platform for the cooperating universities. The European University Foundation is the coordinating framework; it serves to create conditions that are necessary for the successful cooperation between the universities; this framework contributes to greater self-governance and a strategic vision. The main purpose of the consortium is to create a field of experimentation generating exemplary experiences, which would then feed into the process of establishing a network of higher education in Europe. The consortium mainly aims at allowing students to gather multifarious experiences in at least two participating universities in two different countries as well as to efficiently pursue their studies. This should ultimately lead to the creation of a Campus Europae (CE) label. Close cooperation and effective coordination between universities is thus required. Degrees awarded by participating universities will identify graduates as being well prepared for professional requirement in European domains of business, science, culture and politics."
This launching conference resulted in a significant change of perspective, which is of crucial importance to the whole project. The original idea was to base the project on the joint planning of the association by governments and individual universities, in order to ensure that individual institutions would also possess the autonomy required for such cooperation. Yet, the conference discussion showed that this route was blocked by a multitude of formal and ideological obstacles.
The participating universities therefore decided to form an association of member universities, to exploit fully their own decision-making possibilities and to only include governments in isolated cases.
Upon several years of conceptual development 2004 has set the start of the first joint study programmes, as well as the definitive installation of the European University Foundation in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg – a most adequate venue due to the country’s multicultural and multilinguistic long established tradition.