European university alliances are benefiting from the enormous possibilities offered by artificial intelligence. The EUonAIR alliance, which includes HTW Berlin and Heilbronn University, is working on an AI-supported virtual campus and strengthening digital exchange with university cities. The INGENIUM network, whose members include Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, has developed its own AI networking platform for researchers. 

The power of artificial intelligence to bring about transformation has long since reached the higher education sector. "We are already in the thick of it," says Sarah Marx, project manager of the European university alliance EUonAIR at the University of Applied Sciences (HTW) Berlin. She points to the widespread use of modern AI chatbots to speed up everyday correspondence and research work. But AI has much more in store for universities – and those who can bring together a wide range of experience and knowledge will have an advantage. "Within EUonAIR, we benefit from the fact that ten universities from eight countries are pooling their expertise," says Marx. 

The European University on AI in Curricula, Smart UniverCity and (Return) Mobility, as EUonAIR is fully named, includes HTW Berlin and Heilbronn University in Germany. Its project manager, Isabell Steidel, highlights one of the alliance's goals: "An ethically responsible approach to AI is particularly important from our European perspective." An advisory board of experts supports the alliance in dealing with ethical issues, professors conduct research on relevant topics, and guidelines are developed to provide guidance to university members. 

"Transparency is an important issue," says Steidel. "For example, it must be clear what the students' own contributions are and where AI has been used inappropriately." Since all members of the alliance are business schools or technical universities with strong links to the business world, it is crucial to consider the advantages and risks of AI for professional life. "We are continuing to develop our teaching and formats, thereby strengthening the competent use of AI as well as the ability to think critically." 

Studying with avatars and chatbots 

This commitment to new approaches in research and education is being put into practice at the ten alliance universities from Spain to Lithuania – and is reflected in a new virtual campus: MyAI University. The networking opportunities there are being used with avatars and chatbots to advance collaborative AI research and apply modern, AI-supported teaching concepts and curricula. "MyAI University will also include a 'Return Mobility Assessment Unit' that students who have returned from a stay abroad can easily contact," says Sarah Marx. The unit aims to support students in actively incorporating the skills they have acquired abroad into their career planning in a targeted manner. 
HTW Berlin and Heilbronn University make it clear that they are also striving to achieve concrete effects for the respective urban communities. "One of our professors, for example, is a smart city expert who has been promoting innovative urban development concepts for a long time," says Marx. "This contributes to the central EUonAIR goal of positioning universities and cities sustainably and in harmony with the environment, even in the age of AI." 

Isabell Steidel reports on extensive networking between the city and Heilbronn University: "We have linked the alliance's work with the local authority from the outset; for example, the mayor of Heilbronn is a member of our EUonAIR General Assembly." In Smart City Labs, university staff work together with external stakeholders on issues such as how to limit the ecological costs of AI use. Regarding dialogue and networking, Isabell Steidel and Sarah Marx highlight the advantages of the DAAD's national support programme for European university alliances. It strengthens the exchange between all German alliance universities through various formats and targeted public relations work. 

New AI platform for European networking

Working with AI opens new horizons for the European University Alliances. Precisely because they strengthen networking, the possibilities of artificial intelligence are of interest to them. The Italian University G. d'Annunzio has developed its own tool: with the Connect platform, researchers from the INGENIUM alliance, of which Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences is a member, can quickly and easily explore opportunities for cooperation. With the launch of INGENIUM in 2023, it became clear how universities from different parts of Europe can particularly benefit from the potential of AI. "We first had to get to know each other across European borders and worked specifically on the development of Connect for this purpose," says Professor Marcello Costantini from the University of G. d'Annunzio, who oversees the project. 

Using their own algorithm, Costantini and his team have succeeded in making large amounts of data easily accessible. To this end, the publications of all researchers involved in the INGENIUM universities – a total of around 12,000 scientists – were extracted from a database. On Connect, a simple search field gives users access to the wealth of data: by entering text (up to 500 characters), they can instantly compare who is pursuing similar research interests. This makes it easy to identify colleagues with whom it would be worthwhile to establish a research collaboration. 

The possibilities offered by Connect are even open to universities outside the alliance, as the platform structure can be transferred as an open-source solution. Marcello Costantini emphasises: "As a European university alliance, we believe in the fundamental openness of science." The professor also refers to a larger context: "Sharing knowledge is essential for the unifying power of European culture across national borders. This openness to cooperation between individual nations for common goals is no longer a matter of course today, but we as the European University Alliance are committed to it." 

Johannes Göbel (27 January 2026)