NeurotechEU – a European University

The European University of Brain and Technology - NeurotechEU - is part of EU's initiative “European Universities”.

Why Neuroscience?

From health and healthcare to learning and education, Neuroscience has a key role in solving some of the most pressing challenges that we face in Europe today. Whether the challenge is the translation of fundamental research to advance the state of the art in prevention, diagnosis or treatment of brain disorders or explaining the complex interactions between the brain, individuals and their environments to design novel practices in cities, schools, hospitals, or companies, brain research is already providing solutions for society at large. 

Neuroscience has also a great promise to become an applied science, to provide brain-centered or brain-inspired solutions that could benefit masses and kindle a new economy in Europe. The European University of Brain and Technology (NeurotechEU) aims to be the backbone of this new vision.

The European University of Brain and Technology - NeurotechEU

Logo NeurotechEU
Logo NeurotechEU Foto: N/A

As an alliance of eight leading universities and 250+ industrial, academic and societal partners the European University of Brain and Technology NeurotechEU will implement a comprehensive training program for bachelor, master, and doctoral students while promoting life-long learning in all segments of society.

… to build a trans-European network of excellence in brain research and technologies to increase the competitiveness of European education, research, economy and society. 

NeurotechEU's mission

Beyond its education mission, NeurotechEU research will facilitate technological and societal innovation while providing multidisciplinary professional training and mobility to scientists and engineers, promoting direct access to cutting-edge infrastructure for fundamental, translational and applied research to help Europe become the global leader in brain research and neurotechnologies.

… to establish neurotechnology as an applied science and provide society with brain-centered and brain-inspired solutions by educating the next generation of scientists, engineers and health professionals.

NeurotechEU's vision

Partners

NeurotechEU consists of eight universities from as many countries. Together the universities have 170 000 students, 400 000 alumni and 70 000 employees. Radboud Universiteit is, as coordinator for NeurotechEU, responsible for management and coordination of the network and the activities.

  • Radboud Universiteit (Netherlands)
  • Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche (Spain)
  • Karolinska Institutet (Sweden)
  • Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn (Germany)
  • Boğaziçi Üniversitesi (Turkey)
  • University of Lille (France)
  • Reykjavik University (Iceland)
  • Universitatea de Medicină și Farmacie „Iuliu Hațieganu” din Cluj-Napoca (Romania)
  • Debreceni Egyetem (Hungary)
Logos of eight universities in NeurotechEU
Logos of eight universities in NeurotechEU. Photo: N/A

Organisation

Central organisation scheme of NeurotechEU Photo: N/A

Associated partners

Apart from the eight universities in the alliance the network also consists of 250+ associated partners.

  • 1 university network 
  • 2 European University Alliances
  • 3 technology transfer offices
  • 6 regional innovation networks
  • 8 NGOs
  • 9 public bodies
  • 14 research centres
  • 29 higher education institutions
  • 200+ companies

Five key deliverables

NeurotechEU Campus+

NeurotechEU Campus+ will create the crucial shared virtual space, an extension of the partnering organizations, where students, teachers, and administrators work together without administrative, cultural and societal obstacles to provide physical, digital and blended education.

NeurotechEU Graduate School

NeurotechEU Graduate School will provide co-tutelage education at master’s and doctoral level to train top-flight researchers in a multidisciplinary and intersectoral setting. It will promote innovation and an entrepreneurial mindset. Each student will work on a Neurochallenge, a societal challenge that can be met by neuroscientific and neurotechnological knowledge and solutions.

NeurotechEU Life-long Learning Centre

NeurotechEU Life-long Learning Centre will support the continued training of its graduates and society at large. It will provide the necessary knowledge, skill sets, and competences for individuals to adapt to the changing personal, civic, societal and employment-related needs and provide them opportunities in brain research and technologies.

NeurotechEU Spaces

NeurotechEU Spaces will be the virtual collaboration platform. Based on a suite of open source software, the Spaces will provide the necessary tools to communicate, create, share and store information safely. It will address the needs of users from any background, from a scholar studying the philosophy of mind to students jointly working on robotic control algorithms.

NeurotechEU Ecosystem

Modern universities need to be integrated into the society and economy. This integration will help universities to focus on their education, talent development and innovation efforts based on the current and future needs of the world. It will also ensure that their graduates are embedded in an ecosystem, boosting their employability and promoting entrepreneurship. NeurotechEU will form its ecosystem by synergizing stakeholders in society, education, research and innovation sectors across the continent.

Three phases 2021-2040

The first pilot phase only stretches three years, but the initiative envisions a continuation until 2040.

NeurotechEU in three phases 2021-2040
NeurotechEU in three phases 2021-2040. Photographer: N/A.

Eight work packages (WP)

A central goal of NeurotechEU activities is the continuous integration of education, research and innovation and the activities are coordinated in work packages (WPs). Each WP is led by one of the eight institutions and all institutions are represented in all WPs.

Workpackages NeurotechEU
Workpackages NeurotechEU Foto: NeurotechEU

Neurotech Research and Innovation (NeurotechRI)

Neurotech Research and Innovation (NeurotechRI) is a parallel and interconnected project to NeurotechEU that brings together the same eight universities in Europe to transform cooperation in research and innovation in the European University for Brain and Technology NeurotechEU.

The purpose of this project, funded by Horizon 2020, is to set up an actionable and sustainable plan to develop a pan European, inter-institutional and inter-sectoral strategy to help Europe realize its full potential in the global knowledge economy.

EH
Content reviewer:
Emma Hägg
13-03-2023