The EMERGE University Network: European Margins Engaging for Regional and Global Empowerment
What is EMERGE?
For 2023, the EU Commission has published the fourth round of the "European Universities Initiative" (EUI) funding line under the Erasmus+ program. "European Universities" are university alliances that aim to combine the strengths and diversity of European research and teaching in new structures, in order to address the challenges that Europe is facing. The aim is to create an outstanding European educational area, as well as to strengthen international competitiveness and improve the attractiveness of European universities in the fields of education, research and innovation. In this context, Europa-Universität Flensburg has joined forces with eight strategic partner universities from Ireland, France, Spain, Norway, Greece, Cyprus and Slovakia to found the EMERGE university alliance. The network is coordinated by the University of Limerick (Ireland).
The EMERGE vision
Despite being far from the European center or the national centers respectively, the EMERGE partner universities hold European ideals and values as central. The goal is to increase the integration and engagement of and with the European periphery, and to create a model of excellence in the fields of higher education, research, languages and cultures as well as lifelong learning (LLL) that engages students, staff, and the wider society. The alliance promotes a transformative and sustainable educational approach that offers learners a personalized educational journey ("European Education Pathway"), preparing them to effectively address global, European and peripheral challenges.
Our core concept of "productive and creative peripheries" is presented in our short EMERGE film.
Activities
Current and planned activities include, for example, developments in virtual mobility and virtual exchange, applications for collaborative project funding with Erasmus+ Key Action 2 in the area of the internationalization of teaching, and the establishment of so-called Inno'Campuses. An Inno'Campus is a both international and regional platform for research and networking activities, joint third-party funding applications, publications and events as well as research- and project-based learning. There is also an exchange between staff (Staff Weeks) and a forum for student representatives from the participating universities.
What are the cooperation universities?
- University of Limerick, Ireland (UL) (Project coordination)
- Rennes 2 University, France (UR2)
- University of Southern Brittany, France (UBS)
- Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Norway (INN)
- Matej Bel University, Slovakia (UMB)
- Neapolis University Pafos, Cyprus (NUP)
- Democritus University of Thrace, Greece (DUTH)
- University of A Coruna, Spain (UDC)
- Europa-Universität Flensburg, Germany (EUF)
Contact persons
If you would like to get involved in the internationalization of either research (for example, in an Inno'Campus) or teaching within the context of EMERGE, you are welcome to contact us.
- For general questions about EMERGE: Dr. Thomas Duttle, Coordinator International Cooperation and Virtual Mobility
- For questions about internationalization: Marita McGrory, Senior Advisor for European and International Affairs, or Prof. Dr. Ulrich Glassmann, Vice President for European and International Affairs
- EMERGE and research: Dr. Maria Schwab
- EMERGE and university teaching: Dr. Kathrin Rheinländer
- EMERGE and virtual mobility/virtual exchange/distance learning: Dr. Thomas Duttle
- EMERGE and the student forum: AStA
The official EMERGE internet site is: https://euemerge.eu/