Our Values

Academic freedom

Intellectual and moral autonomy is the hallmark of any university and a precondition for the fulfilment of its responsibilities to society. EDUC is built on this freedom and understands it as a fundamental element in the relationship among the partners, towards our stakeholders, other alliances and within the academic community.

Equality, diversity and inclusiveness

EDUC considers the uniqueness of the individuals participating in our community as fundamentally enriching. The alliance promotes equality and respect for all individuals and rejects any form of discrimination, particularly based on sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnic and cultural background, language, social origin and socialeconomic status, age, health, appearance, disability, religion or belief, family status or political opinion if it does not infringe basic human or democratic rights.

Freedom of expression

Teaching and research aim at free scientific, creative and critical development, while respecting freedom of expression and opinion. The exercise of freedom of expression must be respectful of others and be free from any abuse of defamation and insult.

Sustainability

The alliance values its role in advancing solutions for a sustainable future and recognizes the close relationship between people and the earth, acting in ways to live and work sustainably. EDUC is dedicated to the achievements of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which we understand as a holistic framework for engaging with the grand challenges of society.

Sense of community and multilingualism

EDUC is committed to create an open and transparent scientific community engaging all kinds of stakeholders like students, scholars, staff, the wider public and innovators in the shaping of our European university. The alliance is aware of the civic role and responsibilities it holds. Its partner universities are part of a global community of science, entertaining strong academic ties all over the globe. At the same time, the partners are deeply embedded in their local cultures and ecosystems assuming leading roles in shaping and enriching these regions. EDUC supports multilingualism as a tool to promote the richness of cultural differences within the alliance and as an instrument of inclusion.

Integrity in research and science

The EDUC partners embrace their duty to teach and undertake research ethically and with integrity, producing and sharing reliable, trustworthy and accessible results.

Institutional agility

Modern society is facing major challenges, including climate change, the return of geo-political conflicts, aging societies, a new peak in forced migration, the consequences of technological progress and a changing labour market with new trends of lifelong learning. Beyond their traditional mission, higher education institutions progressively move into the centre of society by taking up new roles. Through its new level of trans-institutional cooperation, EDUC aims at connecting experts to identify creative solutions within and among their universities to tackle those challenges and to support the creation of a unified European Education and Research Area.

Subsidiarity

EDUC is committed to deal with issues on the lowest level capable to implement, decide or report supporting a proactive attitude, a trustful work environment and individual autonomy.

 

Please refer to our EDUC Charter of Common Values and Good Cooperation for a more detailed description.