The new Erasmus+ project, coordinated by the University of Cádiz, will allocate €1.125 million directly to student scholarships, supporting 44 students across three SEA-EU Joint Degrees and reinforcing their long-term sustainability. 90% of the project’s total budget will be allocated directly to student scholarships.
Coordinated by the University of Cádiz (UCA), BLUE TALENT represents a major step forward in ensuring the long-term sustainability of SEA-EU’s joint educational offer by addressing one of the main challenges facing international degree programmes: the availability of adequate and continuous financial support for students studying across different European countries.
BLUE TALENT will focus on three existing SEA-EU Joint Programmes, covering both Bachelor’s and Master’s levels:
- SeaBluE, the Joint Bachelor in Sustainable Blue Economy.
- MIPMAL, the Joint Master in Port Management and Maritime Logistics.
- STORM, the Joint Master focusing on Sustainability Transition.
All three programmes have been accredited under the European Approach for Quality Assurance of Joint Programmes and offer integrated international learning pathways combining academic excellence, mandatory mobility and close connections with maritime, industrial and innovation ecosystems. While European joint degrees provide unique opportunities for students to gain international experience and interdisciplinary competences, their multi-country structure also creates additional financial challenges. Moving between universities, adapting to different living costs and maintaining financial stability throughout an international degree can become significant barriers to participation and completion.
From joint degrees to a sustainable European education model
Beyond providing financial support, BLUE TALENT marks an important milestone in SEA-EU’s development as a European University Alliance. Having successfully established and launched its first Joint Programmes, SEA-EU is now taking a further step towards consolidating their sustainability and ensuring that talented students can fully benefit from the opportunities they offer. The project brings together SEA-EU partner universities across seven European countries, building on their established cooperation in joint education, international mobility and academic innovation. Its scholarship model will combine academic excellence with inclusive selection mechanisms, taking into account socio-economic circumstances, accessibility barriers and the need for balanced participation. This approach reflects SEA-EU’s commitment to making international higher education more accessible while preparing highly qualified graduates for strategic European sectors, including the sustainable blue economy, maritime logistics, coastal and environmental management, and the green transition.
A model with impact beyond SEA-EU
BLUE TALENT is also designed to generate knowledge that can benefit the wider European Higher Education Area. Throughout its implementation, the project will assess the impact of different scholarship mechanisms on student recruitment, academic progression, mobility continuity, graduation and transitions into employment, research or doctoral studies. These findings will contribute to the development of a transferable European scholarship blueprint, offering practical recommendations for other European Universities alliances, higher education institutions and future Erasmus+ policy initiatives.
By combining innovative joint education with dedicated financial support, SEA-EU is strengthening the foundations of its international academic offer and demonstrating how European university cooperation can create more accessible, integrated and sustainable educational opportunities.
With BLUE TALENT, SEA-EU moves beyond developing joint degrees towards securing the conditions that allow students to access them, complete them and succeed.
