The beginnings of the ENHANCE Alliance
The ENHANCE Alliance was established in 2019 on the initiative of 7 European technical universities: TU Berlin (Germany), Warsaw University of Technology, RWTH Aachen University (Germany), Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain), Politecnico di Milano (Italy), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Norway), and Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden).
The establishment of the Alliance was made possible through funding from the flagship initiative of the European Union, the European Universities, financed by the Erasmus+ and Horizon 2020 programs. Its ambitious goal is to create so-called universities of the future and strengthen the competitiveness of European universities on the international stage.
Thanks to funding from the EU, consortia of higher education institutions have the opportunity to implement multi-year projects in various areas, including the creation of joint study programs and the conduct of scientific research in international teams. More information about what European Universities are and which Polish universities are members of the initiative can be found on the website of the European Commission.
As part of the project carried out between 2019-2023 by the seven founding universities of the ENHANCE Alliance, efforts were made to create a common educational offer (European educational pathways, micro-credentials, educational platform), training was provided for staff (staff weeks, language tandems), support was provided for student startups (mentoring program), numerous activities were carried out in the area of diversity, gender, and inclusivity (training, guides, reports), and much more.
In the course of the ENHANCE Alliance project, cooperation was established with several associated partners, including higher education institutions in Ukraine, companies, municipal authorities, non-governmental organizations, research networks, and many others.
New members and a new project
In November 2022, three more universities joined the ENHANCE Alliance - alongside the Gdańsk Tech, also TU Delft (Netherlands) and ETH Zurich (Switzerland). A little over six months later, the Alliance, in its expanded composition, received EUR 14.4 million from the European Commission for the implementation of another project called ENHANCE+ in the years 2024-2027.
The project is partially a continuation of previous activities and partially the realization of new ones (with a significant contribution from the Gdańsk Tech, which initiated a task related to the development of career paths for employees and building their emotional well-being in the workplace in the ENHANCE+ project).
The International Relations Office is responsible for the implementation of the ENHANCE+ project. More information about the tasks planned in the project and the Gdańsk Tech team involved in its implementation can be found on this website.
Mission
Member universities
Gdańsk University of Technology - since 2022
Warsaw University of Technology (Poland)
Technische Universität Berlin (Germany)
RWTH Aachen University (Germany)
Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain)
Politecnico di Milano (Italy)
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Norway)
Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden)
Delft University of Technology (Netherlands)
ETH Zurich (Switzerland) - associated partner (non Erasmus+)
Governance structure
The governance structure of ENHANCE Alliance consists: Board of Directors, Steering Committee, General Assembly and Student Forum complemented by the Core Officers of each university and the Work Package Leads in the new ENHANCE+ project.
Board of Directors
Chair: Prof. Geraldine Rauch, President of TU Berlin
Co-Chair: Prof. Krzysztof Wilde, Rector of Gdańsk Tech
Steering Commitee
Chair: Prof. Stefano Ronchi, Rector's Delegate for International Affairs, Politecnico di Milano
Co-Chair: Prof. Ute Habel, Vice-Rector for International Affairs, RWTH Aachen University
General Assembly
Chair: Prof. Karl Palmas, Professor of Technology Management and Economics, Chalmers University of Technology
Student Forum:
Chair: Mateusz Kaska, Warsaw University of Technology
Co-Chair: Albaraa Khalil, Delft University of Technology
Core Officers
ENHANCE local coordinators:
Gdańsk University of Technology
Anna Modrzejewska
Warsaw University of Technology
Grzegorz Robak
Technische Universität Berlin
Paul Forberger
RWTH Aachen University
Lisa Beitzel
Universitat Politècnica de València
Nuria Llobregat
Politecnico di Milano
Francesca Andrich
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Oddrun Walstad
Chalmers University of Technology
Susanne Ingmansson
Delft University of Technology
Marieke Wolthuis
ETH Zurich
Philipp Bieri
Work Package Leads
Coordinators of Work Packages carried out as part of the ENHANCE+ project:
Work Package 1: Project Management and Governance
Grietje Zimmermann, TU Berlin
Work Package 2: Human Dimension
Katarzyna Bruder, Gdańsk Tech
Work Package 3: Future Learning
Julien Maheut, Universitat Politècnica de València
Work Package 4: Future Skills for Engineers and Scientists
Grant Penny, Delft University of Technology
Work Package 5: Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Kristina Hejdenberg Sedström, Chalmers University of Technology
Work Package 6: Transdisciplinary Lab for Societal Transformation
Elisa Junqueira de Andrade, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Work Package 7: European Education Pathway
Barbara del Sole, Politecnico di Milano
Work Package 8: New Formats and Frameworks
Andrzej Kraśniewski, Warsaw University of Technology
Work Package 9: IT Infrastructure and Services
Sabine Derichs, RWTH Aachen
Florian Hilfinger, RWTH Aachen
Philipp Bieri, ETH Zürich
Work Package 10: Diversity, Impact and Dissemination
Melih Oezkardes, RWTH Aachen
Hannah Worringer, RWTH Aachen