The CHARM Effect
On December 14, the eight rectors of the CHARM-EU European University gathered in Barcelona to sign the agreement formalizing the integration of three new partners. With CHARM-EIGHT, a new project funded to the tune of 12.8 million euros by the European Union, the alliance—which now brings together seven universities and one school—aims to expand its reach and thereby benefit as many students as possible.
“If I had to sum up our goals for the coming years in two words, I would say: ‘transformative impact,’” says Gilles Subra, Professor UM and project manager for CHARM-EU.“CHARM-EIGHT is the CHARM-EU alliance’s largest project—the most foundational and the most emblematic.”It is also the most heavily funded, as the European Union has allocated a budget of 12.8 million euros to this European university alliance, which now includes eight partners following the addition of Finland’s Abo Akademi University, Germany’s Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg, and the Hochschule Ruhr West, also located in Germany.
A master's program for hands-on experience
On December 14, the rectors of these eight institutions gathered in Barcelona to sign a new agreement, thereby signaling their commitment to fully implementing their initiative following the successful pilot of the joint master’s degree program, “Global Challenges for Sustainable Development.”“This European master’s degree was not the goal of our alliance but the means—the vehicle that allowed us to experiment with collaboration across multiple fields, propose a governance model, and overcome the many barriers that exist when creating an alliance like ours,” explains Gilles Subra.
Sharing tuition fees, awarding joint degrees, student and Professors mobility, tracking teaching hours, managing shared funds… Many issues have indeed been brought to the table. “These past two years have allowed us to learn how to work together, to gain not only practical experience in intercultural collaboration but also trust in each other’s institutions. Now that these foundations are in place, we will ensure that the alliance has a real impact,” the professorcontinues .
Make a real difference
While approximately 70 students have so far been part of the first cohort of the European master’s program, the CHARM-EIGHT project aims to reach at least 50% of the enrolled students at the eight partner universities and schools.“This could involve mobility, participation in a joint EU program or a summer school, access to an internship—in short, all the opportunities that the CHARM-EU alliance can offer,” explains Gilles Subra. New joint courses based on innovative teaching methods, at the bachelor’s and master’s levels, are also expected to be launched. Doctoral training will also benefit from the CHARM effect, with greater international outreach and the development of interdisciplinary doctoral programs. As for the original European master’s program, it will be continued, enriched with new themes, and likely opened up to online learning.
CHARM-EIGHT also aims to reach a wider audience of Professors research Professors . While there have been about twenty of them involved in the master’s program’s teaching team —the so-called “knowledge creative teams”— new “ambassadors” have been recruited from the academic departments, schools, and institutes. “The idea is for them to act as liaisons to activate the alliance whenever possible, thereby increasing opportunities for their students and staff across all departments. This could involve, for example, identifying new recruitment pools for existing programs, internship sites, and promoting mobility, including for university staff. Our goal is to foster and support all types of collaborations within the alliance—not only in terms of teaching, of course, but also in terms of research projects.” Today, about fifteen faculty members from various departments are already actively involved in Charm’s various work packages.
Return to normal operation
To achieve these goals, the CHARM team plans to establish a presence within each department of the University of Montpellier. Specifically, staff will soon be recruited under the CHARM initiative so that most departments will have a representative to work collaboratively on both CHARM and UM projects. “ “We want CHARM to no longer be a separate project but to become a major, structuring initiative aligned with the University’s other projects, strengthening their international dimension, and to become part of our regular operations, ”explains Gilles Subra. “Given the diversity of our objectives, we need staff members in the Communications Department, the DIPA, the DFE, the DRED, the DSIN…”
Virtual administrative offices, shared by the eight alliance partners, are also expected to be set up to provide the various target audiences with one-stop shops where they can submit their requests and ask their questions. This model has already been successfully tested as part of the CHARM master’s program.“This virtual office is managed by staff from each university and serves as a single point of entry for all requests: registrations, mobility requests, student grades, and faculty office hours. It’s something that works very well.”
A strong identity
With this project, the CHARM-EU alliance is more firmly than ever affirming the uniqueness of a strong identity built on the values of inclusion, multiculturalism, interdisciplinarity, and accessibility for all.“We do not want the benefits of this alliance to be reserved for only a select few, a handpicked elite. We are committed to demonstrating that every student, regardless of their background, will be able to benefit from this new international campus.”Courses will also soon be offered in various languages, not just in English.
Partnerships between the alliance and other universities in South America and Africa will be developed as part of CHARM-EIGHT, for example with the University of Pretoria in South Africa. Finally, special attention will also be given to the civic dimension through a work package led by the University of Montpellier and dedicated to relations with local governments, civil society, associations, and others.“We want the CHARM-EU alliance to be a driving force in establishing an international network of strategic partnerships across all fields, connecting our campuses and our regions,” concludes Gilles Subra.