The application "KreativEU - Knowledge and Creativity European University" submitted to the European Union funding line European Universities (ERASMUS+) by the consortium of 7 European higher education institutions led by the Instituto Politécnico de Tomar, received the European Commission's Seal of Excellence, which certifies the outstanding quality of the proposal submitted.

The consortium is comprised of the Polytechnic of Tomar (Portugal), the University of Valahia de Târgoviste (Romania), the University of South Bohemia in Ceské Budejovice (Czech Republic), the D. A. Tsenov Academy of Economics (Bulgaria), the Adana University of Science and Technology (Turkey), the University of Camerino (Italy) and the University of Trnava (Slovakia). This is a unique alliance that links and connects local and national heritage, traditions, crafts and folklore with a common European value, strengthening European identity, cohesion, the knowledge economy, employment, creativity, culture and well-being, based on a shared vision of the importance of European cultural and artistic diversity.

Although the project did not obtain EU funding due to the low amounts available, the consortium established a cohesive and sustainable network in order to submit joint proposals for new projects, namely to the EU Capacity Building, Erasmus KA2 and Horizon Europe funding streams. The consortium aims to attract new audiences and students through new jointly developed teaching units, master programmes, summer schools and internships. As part of the joint initiatives, mobility actions are scheduled for researchers to participate in the Blending Intensive Programme (BIP).

So far the consortium has submitted applications to the Erasmus KA2 programme - Cooperation partnership in higher education with the project "Heritage Game", to the UNESCO UNITWIN Network programme with the project "Heritage Preservation, Science, Communication, and Sustainable Communities" and to the Erasmus Mundus Design Measures programme with the proposal to create a joint Master in the area of Cultural Heritage with the title "Heritage - multidisciplinary approach for better preservation". These actions are aligned with the European Union's strategic objectives for higher education and for the preservation and enhancement of cultural heritage. According to the European agency's comments, the consortium is already working on improvements to the proposal and expects to submit a new application in the first quarter of 2024.