UNICA, along with other prominent university networks including Coimbra Group and YERUN, has joined the Steering Committee of the Open Source University Alliance. The initiative, launched by European University Foundation, aims to help European HEIs face the challenges of the information society by creating an open source code repository which will be open to all HEIs willing to work with open source solutions.
The Open Source University Alliance Initiative is a spin-off initiative of the Erasmus without Paper project (EWP). By creating an open repository of source code and software, the Higher Education community will have full access to the necessary tools to meet the demands that they are posed with today. The core of the Open Source University Alliance will be composed by HEIs willing to lead by example with regards to sharing open source solutions developed by their respective teams.
Under the aegis of the Erasmus Without Paper project (EWP), Europe's most prominent university networks, including Coimbra Group, YERUN, SGroup, Compostela Group, and UNICA, have committed to taking the lead on the Open Source University Alliance. By composing the Steering Committee, the organisations commit to furthering the idea of a European digital Higher Education landscape where institutions contribute to a common goal with their own resources. During the initial phase of the Open Source University Alliance, the Steering Committee will be responsible for engaging Higher Education Institutions and building a strong pool of committed Alliance members. In a second phase, the Steering Committee will discuss the usage and policies of the repository and develop the Alliance's future strategy.