Following a successful application, the European Commission granted 14.3 million euros in funding to the EMERGE university alliance, which includes Europa-Universität Flensburg (EUF). The funds will be distributed over the next four years as part of the European University Initiative funding program. EMERGE stands for "Empowering the Margins of Europe through Regional and Global Engagement."  Through this alliance, the nine European partner universities aim to deepen their existing collaborative work in education, research, and other university fields over the long term, focusing on each institution's peripheral regions and inhabitants.

Launched in fall 2019, EMERGE is one of 64 EU-funded European University alliances. The consortium includes Europa-Universität Flensburg, the Rennes 2 University (France), the Université Bretagne Sud (France), the University of A Coruña (Spain) the Democritus University of Thrace (Greece), the Inland University (Norway), the Matej Bel University of Banská Bystrica (Slovakia), the Neapolis University of Paphos (Cyprus), and the University of Limerick (Ireland), which also coordinates the alliance. Together, these nine universities represent approximately 126,000 students and 11,000 employees across eight European countries.

All EMERGE partner universities are located in European peripheries – border regions far from national capitals and metropolitan areas. "Peripheries are characterized by a high degree of social diversity, which we clearly see, for example, in the national minorities and language groups on both sides of the German-Danish border. However, they often also face unique social challenges," explains Prof. Dr. Ulrich Glassmann, EUF’s Vice President for Europe and International Affairs, who is responsible for the alliance's project application. To address these challenges, EMERGE focuses on networking and cooperation between and among partner universities and their regions.

"We are extremely pleased to receive this funding as a 'European University'" commented EUF President Prof. Dr. Werner Reinhart with reference to the successful application. "It allows us to further expand and deepen our focus on Europe, benefiting everyone who studies or works with us. Ultimately, this great success will benefit the entire region will increase its attractiveness." Karin Prien, Schleswig-Holstein state minister for science and education (Ministerin für Allgemeine und Berufliche Bildung, Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kultur), stressed the major significance of the new funding for the state’s higher education and research landscape: "With Europa-Universität Flensburg, another university in Schleswig-Holstein is now joining a European University alliance, offering an extraordinary opportunity to strategically advance internationalization and the European idea in research and teaching."

Within the scope of the project application, Europa-Universität Flensburg is tasked with implementing an innovative European education program for students. "Our central project is to  introduce the so-called 'European Pathway' in order to impart European knowledge, skills and values in existing degree programs. We view this European-oriented, problem-based and interdisciplinary study pathway as especially significant in light of the numerous challenges that Europe currently faces" explains Dr. Thomas Duttle, who coordinated the project proposal for EUF and played a leading role in developing it. In addition to the pathway, students will gain new and easily accessible opportunities to incorporate international experience into their studies, such as study and internship placements at partner universities and shorter physical and virtual mobility formats, among other advantages.

The project will also open up new opportunities, spaces and formats for international collaboration and exchange among academic and administrative employees. Additionally, the EMERGE alliance plans to create lifelong learning opportunities for people in the region, including disadvantaged groups, and to promote linguistic and cultural exchange among the involved regions.

For more information on the EMERGE concept, including a short video clip, please visit the university alliance's website: https://euemerge.eu/