U!REKA: bringing together education, research and innovation.

As part of U!REKA European University, HOGENT is able to offer their students, lecturers and researchers a lot of international opportunities. Prior to the TeaTime@bib on 7 May, let's look into what exactly U!REKA is and does.

What is a European University?

A European University Alliance is a long-term cooperation between higher education institutions across Europe. It brings together education, research and innovation to strengthen international collaboration, mobility and knowledge sharing. Students and staff can study, teach, and work across partner institutions, both physically and online.

The European Universities Initiative, part of the European Commission’s Strategy for Universities, aims to boost the global competitiveness of European higher education while promoting shared European values. Today, around 650 institutions—about 20% of all higher education institutions in Europe—are part of 73 alliances.

U!REKA European University

HOGENT has been a founding member of U!REKA since 2016. Since becoming a European University Alliance in 2024, U!REKA has strengthened its focus on sustainable and smart cities.

The alliance offers more than 50 open courses for students, staff and lifelong learners, covering sustainability, digitalisation, entrepreneurship and communication. Several new joint courses, 5 double and 2 joint degrees are under development, creating a wide range of international learning possibilities for students who are eager to learn and collaborate across disciplines and borders.

A joint module on Sustainability in the Urban European Context will be integrated into all bachelor programmes at HOGENT from September 2026. 

Several study programs involve students in multidisciplinary and hands-on projects, creating solutions to address urban challenges, ranging from the rise of digitalization to societal inequalities, climate change and environmental degradation.

U!REKA also fosters collaboration in research and innovation, with initiatives such as the Centres of Expertise and the annual U!REKA Research Days, hosted in Ostrava in November 2026.

U!Innovate – Hybrid Interregional Incubator

U!Innovate is an EIT-Climate KIC project that strengthens entrepreneurship within U!REKA by connecting students, researchers and innovation ecosystems across Europe.

In its current second phase, the project focuses on developing a hybrid interregional incubator that combines a digital platform with local support structures. It offers access to training, mentoring, and ecosystem opportunities, while enabling collaboration between partner institutions.

Led by HOGENT (eLab), the incubator aims to become a sustainable European support system for entrepreneurial talent, embedded within the U!REKA Alliance beyond the project’s duration.

Discover more about U!REKA during the Teatime@bib on 7 May in Bib Schoonmeersen. Register here to join.