EMERGE

The EMERGE European University Alliance is one of the 65 University Alliances that have been established across Europe in recent years. These European University Alliances are a flagship initiative of the European Union in the field of Higher Education. Their aim is to enhance the international competitiveness of European universities while also promoting European values and identity.

The EMERGE Alliance comprises nine universities: Democritus University of Thrace (Greece), the University of Limerick (Ireland), Université Bretagne Sud and Université Rennes 2 (France), University of A Coruña (Spain), Europa-Universität Flensburg (Germany), Matej Bel University (Slovakia), Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences (Norway), and Neapolis University Pafos (Cyprus).

What unites these nine universities is their location on the geographical “margins” of Europe or of their respective countries, a common characteristic that brings shared challenges.

EMERGE—an acronym for Empowering the Margins of Europe through Regional and Global Engagement—is the coordinated effort of these nine universities to turn their peripheral position into a strength, fostering collaboration and institutional transformation in the fields of education, research, and societal impact in the regions where they are based.

Their ultimate goal is to evolve into a fully integrated inter-university ecosystem—an innovative and competitive European University that draws its strength and identity from the unique features of Europe’s periphery. This institution will be closely connected to society and committed to the values of inclusion, solidarity, and sustainability, as well as the principles of resilience, multilingualism, and cultural diversity.