European Uni­ver­sity Al­li­ance COL­OURS

The European University Alliance COLOURS stands for COLlaborative innOvative sUstainable Regional univerSities and brings together nine universities with around 126,000 students and 12,300 employees in Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden, North Macedonia and Latvia. Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University in Ukraine is also a partner of the alliance. The academic institutions are joined by 54 associated partners - regionally based institutions and organisations. Paderborn University is responsible for the central coordination of all Alliance activities.

The university alliance will be sponsored by the European Commission for four years from January 2024. This makes COLOURS one of a total of 64 alliances of European universities throughout Europe.

Are you interested in working with us in studies, teaching, research or administration? Please contact us at implementation.colours@uni-paderborn.de.

Event re­view

Libori Summer School 2026

From 27–31 July 2026, the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists at Paderborn University successfully hosted the Libori Summer School 2026 under the theme “The History of Women Philosophers and Scientists.”

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Field Study at the “Tomorrow Eats” Festival in Lemgo

Which food trends will shape the future? And which innovations are already transforming the food industry today? These questions were at the centre of the COLOURS-field study at the “Tomorrow Eats” Festival, held on the Innovation Campus of Technische Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe in Lemgo.

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CoLab&Hackathon on “Frugal Innovations in Food Production and Green Transition”

From July, 7 to 9, 2026, Paderborn University hosted a transdisciplinary exchange on sustainable solutions for the food sector as part of the COLOURS European University Alliance.

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WP1 meeting in Paderborn – COLOURS strengthens its approach to impact assessment

As part of the Work Package 1 meeting held at Paderborn University, COLOURS partners met from July 8th – July 9th, 2026, to review the Alliance’s priorities for the post-mid-term phase and to align on the next steps for the remaining funding period.

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Intercultural Week 2026: Encountering Cultures, Encouraging Exchange, Strengthening Community

From 16 to 19 June, the campus of Paderborn University was transformed into a vibrant place of encounter and international exchange as part of Intercultural Week 2026 (ICW). The week of events was organised by the International Students’ Representative Body (ASV) at Paderborn University in cooperation with the COLOURS European University Alliance.

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Vis­it by Span­ish COL­OURS Col­leagues to the De­part­ment of Sport Sci­ence

The Sport Didactics and Pedagogy research group, led by Prof. Dr. Elke Grimminger-Seidensticker, recently had the pleasure of welcoming special guests from the Spanish COLOURS partner university, the Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM).

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COLOURS participating at the Diversity Day 2026

On 19 May 2026, DIV DAY OWL took place at Paderborn University. The action day focused on diversity, participation and social sustainability, offering university staff, students, researchers and interested guests a space for exchange, networking and new perspectives.

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COLOURS at the Anti-Racism Day 2026

As part of the Action Weeks Against Racism in Paderborn 2026, COLOURS co-organised and participated at the Anti-Racism Action Day at Paderborn University.

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COLOURS at Panel on "Addressing Far‑Right Tendencies on Campus and in Academia"

As part of the Action Weeks Against Racism in Paderborn 2026, the European University Alliance COLOURS invited participants to a panel discussion on 17 March 2026 titled “Addressing Far-Right Tendencies on Campus and in Academia.”

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COLOURS at the City of Paderborn’s International Women’s Day Event 2026

On Saturday, 7 March 2026, the COLOURS European University Alliance of Paderborn University was represented at the City of Paderborn’s event celebrating International Women’s Day.n.

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Goals and part­ners

The objectives of the European University Alliances are to strategically consolidate cooperation in research, teaching and transfer, improve international competitiveness, strengthen European identity and promote the mobility of students and researchers within Europe.

The name COLlaborativeinnOvativesUstainable RegionaluniverSitiessays it all: the core themes of "open innovation", "challenge-based teaching", "challenge-based learning" and "impact-driven research" are combined with regional "smart specialisation goals". In this way, the initiative aims to get social and technological innovations rolling and drive them forward. In addition, a multidisciplinary approach is to be developed in order to jointly tackle current social challenges.

COLOURS is not a "project", but a transformation process involving universities and regions.

To find out more, you can download the mission statement of the COLOURS alliance here.

In addition to UPB, the following universities are members of the COLOURS university alliance:

Together, the partners want to strengthen their European network, increase their international visibility and promote mobility within Europe. They also aim to develop a multidisciplinary approach to tackle current social challenges together.

All COLOURS partners are closely linked to their regional socio-political and economic environment. Their approach therefore also focuses on strengthening cooperation between the respective regions and regional stakeholders.

The so-called Quadruple Helix serves as the basis for the selection of the Associated Partners: players from the four fields of research & education, business, public administration and society are to achieve a new dimension in research and innovation through the targeted interaction of their respective strengths.

The COLOURS university alliance co-operates with a total of 55 associated partners from the respective regions of the individual universities. Paderborn University's partners are the city and district of Paderborn, it's OWL, the Heinz Nixdorf Museums Forum, Paderborn überzeugt e. V. and the Paderborn Theatre.

COL­OURS of­fers ...

Mobility and flexibility: Individualised curricula, participation in courses at partner institutions - face-to-face, online or hybrid

Joint degrees &micro-credentials: Combined qualifications

Innovative learning: student-centred approaches, activities such as "living labs"

Development of 21st Century Skills: critical thinking, problem solving, creativity and entrepreneurial skills

International collaboration: working with peers from different countries, enriching perspectives

Inter-university campus: expanding opportunities for students, staff and researchers across Europe and beyond.

Transnational cooperation: Strengthening cooperation, sharing knowledge and infrastructure, synergies in higher education, research and innovation.

Increasing competitiveness: Increasing attractiveness on a global level.

Excellence and integration: Bringing together higher education institutions of all sizes and structures from across Europe, expanding the concept of excellence.

Central role: in the implementation of the European Higher Education Strategy and development of the European University.

Partner in strategic development: of shared governance models, flexible educational modules and programmes, including micro-credentials.

Professional development: seamless mobility, cross-institutional teaching and research assignments, job shadowing, exchange of best practice, training programmes within the alliances.

Access to transdisciplinary and transnational cooperation and highly qualified professionals from Europe

Participation in knowledge ecosystems: promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in communities, cities or regions

Challenge-based activities: hackathons and living labs with multidisciplinary teams on real-life topics

Development of innovative solutions for real-world problems

Participate. Move. Transform.

Student hackathons

Student hackathons are exciting and creative events where you work together with other students on innovative projects.

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Public engagement events

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Summer Schools

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Field Studies

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Open Education Internship Projects

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Team

COL­OURS Pres­id­ent

Heike Trautmann

> Executive Board

Professor

Office: FU.231
Phone: +49 5251 60-4691
E-mail: heike.trautmann@uni-paderborn.de
Web: Homepage

CSO - COL­OURS Co­ordin­a­tion and Sup­port Of­fice - Al­li­an­z­weite Koordin­a­tion der neun Part­ner­uni­versitäten

Wael Mousa

> International Relations Office

Coordinator - Employee - Managing Director COLOURS

Office: TP6.1.305
Phone: +49 5251 60-4783
E-mail: wael.mousa@uni-paderborn.de

Mouna Amhoud

> International Relations Office

Employee - COLOURS Officer for Quality and Alliance Development

Office: TP6.1.304
Phone: +49 5251 60-4687
E-mail: mouna.amhoud@uni-paderborn.de
Web: Homepage

Marion Grote-Kraft

> International Relations Office

Employee - COLOURS Quality Officer (on parental leave)

Office: TP6.1.304
Phone: +49 5251 60-4678
E-mail: marion.grote.kraft@uni-paderborn.de

Basel Myhub

> International Relations Office

Employee - COLOURS Financial Officer

Office: TP6.1.304
Phone: +49 5251 60-4663
E-mail: basel.myhub@uni-paderborn.de

Miriam Jaßmeier

> International Relations Office

Employee - CSO Assistant

Office: TP6.1.305
Phone: +49 5251 60-4651
E-mail: miriam.jassmeier@uni-paderborn.de

CIO - COL­OURS Im­ple­ment­a­tion Of­fice - Cent­ral co­ordin­a­tion of the COL­OURS Al­li­ance at UPB and in the re­gion

Isabelle Leitloff

> International Relations Office

Coordinator - Employee - Implementation Office Lead (CIO-Lead) of the European Alliance COLOURS

Office: TP6.1.303
Phone: +49 5251 60-4674
E-mail: isabelle.leitloff@uni-paderborn.de
E-mail: implementation.colours@upb.de
Web: Homepage

Alena Diedrich

> International Relations Office

Assistant - Employee - CoSpace Officer COLOURS Alliance

Office: TP6
Phone: +49 5251 60-6303
E-mail: alena.diedrich@uni-paderborn.de

Christine Marie Hante-Koch

> International Relations Office

Employee - CoSpace Officer / Collaboration Manager COLOURS Alliance

Office: TP6.1.303
Phone: +49 5251 60-4673
E-mail: cmhk@mail.uni-paderborn.de

Katrin Renkwitz

> International Relations Office

Employee - University Translator / COLOURS Project Officer - Coordination of Work Package 8: Innovative Educational Formats & Work Package 7: Digital…

Office: O4.110
Phone: +49 5251 60-4691
E-mail: katrin.renkwitz@uni-paderborn.de
E-mail: translations@uni-paderborn.de

Aminah Schneider

> International Relations Office

Employee - COLOURS Coordinator for Communication and Event Management

Office: TP6.1.303
Phone: +49 5251 60-4740
E-mail: aminah.schneider@uni-paderborn.de

Office hours:

Please contact me by e-mail or phone to make an appointment.


Nicola Weinert

> International Relations Office

Employee - International Affairs Coordinator / Coordination of Work Package 8 (COLOURS): Innovative educational formats

Office: O4.110
Phone: +49 5251 60-5084
E-mail: nicola.weinert@zv.uni-paderborn.de

Markus Torben Wienkemeier

> International Relations Office

Student Assistant (SHK) - Student assistant at the COLOURS Implementation Office

Angeliki Coulouris

> International Office (Unit 3.1)

Coordinator - Employee - INCOLOURS

Office: I4.207
Phone: +49 5251 60-2450
E-mail: angeliki.coulouris@zv.uni-paderborn.de
Web: Homepage

Office hours:

nach Vereinbarung


Alina Luisa Cerezo Alarcon

> Zentrum für Sprachlehre

Research Associate - INCOLOURS

Office: I3.410
E-mail: alina.luisa.cerezo.alarcon@uni-paderborn.de

Office hours:

Nach Vereinbarung per Mail.