Erasmus University Rotterdam works with government, industry, and civil society to identify and act on shared societal challenges. Being a reliable, principled partner, and being transparent about who we work with and why, is as much a part of our sustainability approach as what happens in our own classrooms and research projects.
Our approach to partnerships
Collaborative partnerships are a key driver of EUR's impact and sustainability ambitions. We work with academic institutions, public authorities, civil society, and business to co-create solutions to pressing societal challenges. These partnerships enable interdisciplinary research, inclusive education, and real-world experimentation, and strengthen our societal relevance while supporting the transition to a more just and future-proof society.
Strategic alliances are central to this. Through Leiden-Delft-Erasmus (LDE), the European University Alliance UNIC, and the Convergence partnership with TU Delft and Erasmus MC, we work across institutional boundaries to co-create knowledge with a wide range of societal stakeholders — using the South Holland region itself as a real-world testing ground for research and innovation.
Alongside these long-term alliances, we build open innovation networks that connect people and societal issues, bringing together the needs of public, private, and civil society partners with our academic expertise, and drawing on our alumni networks and Lifelong Learning programmes to extend that reach. See our partnerships overview to learn more about our wider network of partnerships and collaborations.
Our fossil fuel sector guidelines
In 2025, following an 18-month review by EUR's Committee of Experts on the Fossil Fuel Industry, the Executive Board adopted an assessment framework for evaluating collaborations with companies in the fossil energy sector. The framework applies a forward-looking "moral minimum" test: whether a (potential) partner is genuinely committed to, and demonstrably working toward, the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, and is not actively working against related policy and regulation. Partners that meet this minimum can then be evaluated at the project level.
Faculties began working with the framework in the 2025-2026 academic year to build experience with its use; student associations are involved from the outset when inviting speakers or companies.
Industry Engagement Monitor
To understand who we partner with and what impact those partnerships have, EUR reviewed its formal partnerships — in research, education, and business operations — against publicly available lists of organisations with a significant positive or negative impact on climate and ecosystems. The review, covering formal partnerships between 2018 and 2022, identified over 61,000 such partnerships in total, and assessed how many involved organisations with a positive or negative climate and ecosystem impact.