17 July 2026
YUFE has secured funding under the Erasmus+ European Degree Exploratory Actions, a new European Commission initiative supporting higher education institutions in adapting existing joint programmes and developing new ones that pave the way towards a European Degree Label.
Among the successful projects announced by the European Commission is EDL-STEP (Scalable Transition towards Joint European Degree Programmes), coordinated by Łódź University of Technology (Poland). The project brings together nine universities from the YUFE, EPICUR and ECIU European University Alliances to jointly design, pilot and evaluate innovative Joint Programmes aligned with the European Degree Label framework.
Within YUFE, Maastricht University, the University of Antwerp and the University of Rijeka participate as full beneficiaries, while the YUFE AISBL is an associated partner.
A European collaboration across three alliances
The EDL-STEP consortium consists of:
- Łódź University of Technology (Poland) – Coordinator
- Maastricht University (the Netherlands)
- University of Antwerp (Belgium)
- University of Rijeka (Croatia)
- Kaunas University of Technology (Lithuania)
- Tampere University (Finland)
- University of Strasbourg (France)
- Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece)
- University of Freiburg (Germany)
Together, the partners represent the complementary strengths of the YUFE, EPICUR and ECIU alliances, combining expertise in educational innovation, challenge-based learning, interdisciplinary education and international collaboration.
The consortium will experiment with new approaches to developing flexible and future-oriented curricula and evaluate innovative models for delivering Joint Programmes. The project will generate practical evidence to support the future implementation of the European Degree across diverse higher education systems in Europe.
Investing in students
A distinguishing feature of EDL-STEP is its strong commitment to students. At least 50% of the total project budget will be dedicated to student support, combining direct financial assistance with tailored support services. This investment will help reduce financial and practical barriers to participation, enabling more students to benefit from transnational learning experiences and jointly delivered European programmes.
Building on previous success
EDL-STEP builds directly on the Future-proof Criteria for Innovative European Education (FOCI) policy experimentation project carried out in 2023, in which YUFE also played an active role. Building on the lessons learned through FOCI, the new project will adapt existing Joint Programmes, develop new ones and test practical solutions that contribute to the future rollout of the European Degree Label.
A broad coalition of European stakeholders
Beyond the university consortium, EDL-STEP is supported by an extensive network of associated partners representing quality assurance, accreditation, student organisations, university alliances and higher education policy.
These associated partners include:
- European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR)
- Polish Accreditation Committee (PKA)
- Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO)
- Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW)
- Erasmus Student Network (ESN)
- European Students’ Union (ESU)
- European Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU)
- Young Universities for the Future of Europe (YUFE AISBL)
- Eucor – The European Campus
- Tecnológico de Monterrey (Mexico)
- Union of Rectors of Higher Education Institutions of Ukraine
Together, these organisations ensure that the project combines institutional innovation with expertise in quality assurance, student engagement and higher education policy, while also creating links beyond the European Union.
Shaping the future of European higher education
EDL-STEP reflects the shared ambition of the YUFE, EPICUR and ECIU alliances to build a more integrated European Higher Education Area. The partners already function as “living laboratories” for the European Degree, with established governance structures, shared digital environments, competence frameworks and mechanisms for student participation that anticipate many of the future European Degree requirements.
By combining educational innovation with policy experimentation, the project will accelerate the development of high-quality, inclusive and future-proof Joint Programmes while generating transferable evidence for the broader implementation of the European Degree across Europe.
The project will run for 36 months, starting in autumn 2026.
