Dzemal Bijedic University of Mostar is a partner in the European University Alliance project SUNRISE funded by the European Commission

Dzemal Bijedic University of Mostar is one of the partners in the European University Alliance project SUNRISE.

SUNRISE Alliance is one of the 14 approved alliances for funding for 2024, out of 60 submitted project proposals.  

The European Commission has allocated 14.4 million Euros for the financing of the alliance in the next four years.  

Apart from the Technical University Ilmenau as a project coordinator and  Dzemal Bijedic University of Mostar, alliance members are

• Free University of Bolzano, Italy
• University of Information Technology and Management in Rzeszow, Poland
• University of Technology of Compiegne, France
• Mälardalen University, Sweden
• Polytechnic University of Ancona, Italy
• European University - Cyprus LTD
• Polytechnic Institute of Viana de Castelo, Portugal

Forty-eight associated partners have supported these nine Universities. Associated partners from Bosnia and Herzegovina are the Federal Ministry of Education and Science, Herzegovina Neretva Canton Ministry of Economy, University of Bihac, Sarajevo School of Science and Technology, BreakPoint Ltd., Association for Entrepreneurship and Business LINK Mostar.

All Universities, members of the SUNRISE alliance, are small to medium-sized higher education institutions with a similar offer of syllabi, all located in smaller cities.  

Dzemal Bijedic University of Mostar is the only partner from Bosnia and Herzegovina in the alliance. It is also the only University from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the only University from Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina whose project application the European Commission accepted for financing, having in mind that it is the most extensive and ambitious project of the University financed by the European Commission.

Dzemal Bijedic University of Mostar strives to become a bearer of economic development and the wider community in general in Herzegovina and offer an adequate response to climate changes and demographic challenges we face nowadays, as well as to strengthen the European and democratic values and inclusion. By implementing this project, these goals will be significantly improved.  

Together with its partner, the University will develop innovative approaches to learning and education and provide funds for student mobility as well as create the strategy for joint science and research work in cooperation with the economy sector and the wider community in general.

„SUNRISE Project is of enormous importance for the University, bearing in mind that the project goals are in line with the University vision and mission. It will strengthen the University as a leader in responding to society's challenges, particularly in terms of current demographic challenges in the field of digital transformation and renewable energy sources. In cooperation with the partner Universities, we will strengthen our capacities, and by sharing our resources we will strengthen the partner universities’ capacities” emphasized Prof. Dr. Alena Huseinbegovic, the Rector of Dzemal Bijedic University of Mostar.  

„We are extremely proud that the SUNRISE project application was a success. We have been preparing the project application for over a year. During this process, we have clearly defined the needs of our environment, and as a higher education institution, we can contribute to meeting those needs. In the past period, we have also determined joint values with our partner universities and the way to create a functional and productive community. In the end, the purpose of this project is to create sustainable resources for strengthening University -economy cooperation to decrease the brain drain from smaller communities to big cities which would improve the quality of life of each individual and improve the business conditions in small communities, particularly from the aspect of availability of human resources” pointed out Prof. Dr. Emina Junuz, the project leader.   

Prof. Dr. Jasna Durakovic, federal minister of education and science, has recognized the importance of the project. The Federal Ministry of Education and Science supported the project in the process of preparation of the project proposal.