The Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) was established on 1 October 2021. It achieved European University status through successful membership of the RUN-EU consortium. RUN-EU is an alliance of seven like-minded higher education institutions drawn from all regions of Europe coordinated by the Polytechnic of Leiria in Portugal with partners (from Portugal, Ireland, Finland, Netherlands, Hungary and Austria). RUN-EU was established in 2020 under the European Universities Initiative.

Together, we’re creating a regional development-oriented European University that embodies the values of sustainability, multiculturalism, and inclusiveness in all its work.

RUN-EU PLUS (Professional Research Programmes for Business and Society project) is an integrated long-term strategy for research and innovation within our European University. The main goal of this project is to reinforce academia-business collaboration in the three RUN-EU thematic areas (Future Industries and Sustainable Regional Development, Bioeconomy and Social Innovation), through the development of a framework and programmes at MSc and PhD levels across the network.

RUN-EU envisages a global hub, to create an inter-European HEA based on international cooperation and academic exchange whereby ‘learning, studying and doing research’ enables our students to cooperate across borders, languages, and disciplines, and thus develop a strong European identity fostering the free movement of academics, students and researchers, scientific knowledge and innovation, and encouraging a more competitive European industry through inter-university Future and Advanced Skills Academies and collaborative European degrees, designed and delivered through challenge and work-based programmes to meet future student needs as well life-long learning and upskilling and reskilling requirements.

Inter-university European Mobility Innovation Centre – building and sharing expertise in designing quality monitored innovative international student and staff mobility activities; Interregional European Innovation Hubs and Innovation Discovery Programme-fostering joint RD&I activities with industry and regional stakeholders focused on: Future Industries and Sustainable Regional Development, Bioeconomy, and Social Innovation to create a single, borderless market for research, innovation, and technology across the EU.