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on March 19, 2025
Published on March 19, 2025– Updated on March 19, 2025

EUTOPIA Joins Call for Increased EU Investment in Global Research, Innovation, and Higher Education

 

EUTOPIA joins The Guild and ERASuD in supporting a joint statement urging the European Union to enhance its strategic commitments to Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). Together with other leading universities and research institutions from Africa and Europe, we emphasise the need for increased investment in research, innovation, and higher education collaborations as part of the Global Gateway's fifth investment priority.

Universities and research-performing organisations have come together to highlight the necessity of directing more funding to the Global Gateway. This will help strengthen European connections to knowledge societies in LMICs and address shared challenges such as health, climate change, and digital transformation. To this end, we call for an increase in investment at both European and national levels to fully realise the potential of the Global Gateway strategy through the Team Europe approach.

In the statement, higher education and research institutions call for:

  • The European Commission, national authorities, and the private sector to invest more in research, innovation, and higher education – in line with Global Gateway priorities – to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness, resilience, and preparedness.

  • A comprehensive approach across all Global Gateway priorities that better integrates research, innovation, and higher education to ensure the competitiveness, effectiveness, and sustainability of international partnerships.

  • International research collaborations with LMICs to be funded through an excellence-based self-standing successor to Horizon Europe (FP10).

  • The establishment of a research-focused advisory group, including research-performing organisations and universities, to enhance the scaling up of the Global Gateway over the coming years through valuable expertise, coordination, and readiness to act.

The official joint statement can be found here: Stakeholder statement on research, innovation and higher education between Europe and LMICs_March2025.pdf

This call is open for stakeholders, universities, and research organisations to sign. If you are interested, please contact Senior Policy Officer Sean Rowlands at sean.rowlands@the-guild.eu.