IT:U and UTN launch first joint initiative
Interdisciplinary Transformation University (IT:U) and Technische Universität Nürnberg (UTN) represent newly conceived models of universities. Founded in the 2020s, both institutions aim to rethink research, teaching, and organization beyond traditional faculty structures. A joint agreement for the Erasmus+ mobility program has now been signed in Linz.
Shared challenges and visions
IT:U and UTN both have a legal and societal mandate to explore new approaches and structures for higher education, research, and knowledge transfer in the age of digitalization and artificial intelligence (AI). Intensive discussions in Linz at the end of April highlighted key similarities in their development phase: a high workload resulting from simultaneously building institutional structures while operating in a growing academic environment, as well as the challenge of communicating this complex situation externally.
“The key challenge is to embed new institutional models in reality in such a way that they do not become rigid like their predecessors, but instead remain permanently agile, bold, and capable of learning. Through intensive exchange with the leadership team at UTN, we were able to jointly reflect on the challenges that come with building entirely new universities and lay the foundation for tackling them together going forward.”
– Stefanie Lindstaedt, IT:U Founding President
Building agile and resilient universities
At the same time, both institutions reaffirmed their shared commitment to strengthening excellent research, knowledge and technology transfer, and teaching alike, while actively promoting interdisciplinary learning. They also emphasized the goal of establishing resilient and agile governance structures capable of sustainably supporting research and teaching in a rapidly changing world.
“As a newly founded university, we benefit significantly from regular exchange with other start-up institutions or with universities that have achieved international excellence within just a few decades of their establishment. IT:U is a particularly interesting partner for us due to its intended profile and legal framework, as this allows us to increase the effectiveness of our respective development efforts through mutual exchange. We look forward to our next joint activities.”
– Michael Huth, UTN Founding President
Mobility and Exchange
With the signing of an interinstitutional Erasmus+ agreement at the IT:U Research Campus in Linz, the two universities have laid the foundation for their collaboration, which will begin with the exchange of the first doctoral candidates from both founding institutions.
