Thorsten Kliewe

Founded in 2016 as part of the University Industry Innovation Network (UIIN) in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, ACEEU spun out of UIIN in 2019 to form an independent organisation, and moved its headquarters to Muenster, Germany. ACEEU has 11 staff members and is backed by a 45+ person strong Council composed of international experts in entrepreneurship and social engagement. ACEEU is an affiliate of ENQA (European Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education) and a full-fledged member of INQAAHE (International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education).   ACEEU’s EU Project Unit started in 2020 to complement its accreditation work by developing and executing EU-funded projects focused on fostering entrepreneurship, engagement, innovation, digitalisation and sustainability by collaborating closely with higher education institutions (HEIs) and by covering a wide array of aspects, such as institutional strategy, educational approaches, research management, or partnership/network building.  Since September 2020, ACEEU has been involved in 60 EU projects, including but not limited to Erasmus+ (Strategic/Cooperation Partnerships, Knowledge Alliances/Alliances for Innovation, Capacity Building in Higher Education), Horizon Europe, EIT HEI Initiative, European Universities Initiative, or the Digital Europe Programme and the European Excellence Initiative (both Horizon Europe).