Motivating role of the University Alliance on Engineering Education – Reflection of CTU in Prague

The European Universities Initiative (EUI) that was launched in 2017 represents one of the most important drivers that boost cooperation within the European higher education sector and significantly emphasizes the implementation of new teaching formats as part of an answer to the significantly changing current world. This practice paper focuses on the motivation and support role of the university alliance towards its member universities in reshaping their approach to education. It often brings into discussion new agendas, which results in significant changes within the educational process at particular universities (be it changes from above or from below). We primarily focus on the experience of the Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU) achieved from its membership in the European University EuroTeQ that was established in 2020 within the EUI. This paper highlights how the influence of the University Alliance initiated significant changes in the approach to the teaching process, including methods and support that improved the impact and outcomes for students of various engineering fields at CTU. After almost five years of participation in the EuroTeQ alliance, the main achievements for CTU were the significantly broader implementation of new teaching formats and methods across all levels of education and the initiation of internal support for teaching. Achievements and changes in education resulting from CTU's participation in the EuroTeQ are mentioned and further discussed.