Pictured: Presidents and Rectors of EMERGE Partner Universities, with the EMERGE Charter of Common Values
Photo by: Arthur Ellis Photography
Building Connections Across the EMERGE Alliance
For five days, teams from the nine universities of the EMERGE Alliance are coming together to share experiences, address common challenges, and strengthen cooperation. The event brings together presidents and rectors as well as local coordinators from each institution. Communication officers and audiovisual technicians will work on aligning practices in the fields of culture and communication across partner universities. Supported by Erasmus+ funding for staff mobility, this staff week will foster networking, professional development, and peer learning, helping to build a dynamic and supportive EMERGE community.
Partner Universities
Each Alliance partner will send a small team of staff, with around 45 participants expected in total. The partners include:
- University of Limerick / Ollscoil Luimnigh /Ireland
- Université de Bretagne Sud (UBS) /France
- Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences /Norway
- Univerzita Majeta Bela / Banskej Bystrici /Slovakia
- Europa-Universität Flensburg /Germany
- Neapolis University Pafos /Cyprus
- Universidade da Coruña, Spain
- Democritus University of Thrace (DUTH), Greece
Organisation and Highlights of the Week
The event is being coordinated locally by Anne Goarzin, Vice President for EMERGE at Rennes 2, with support from staff in the Direction des partenariats et projets stratégiques (2DPS), Direction des relations internationales, Service Communication, and a team of EMERGE referees from Rennes 2’s various composantes.
Key Highlights
October 14
- Opening Ceremony (Tambour): Speeches by Rennes 2 President Vincent Gouëset and Alliance leaders
- Hybrid presentation from communication officers showcasing EMERGE’s progress since its launch in January 2025.
- Governing Board (closed session): Presidents and Rectors gather to discuss strategic matters before traveling to the UBS Lorient campus.
Throughout the Week (Villejean Campus)
- Workshops & collaboration: Communication officers and audiovisual technicians will focus on:
- Aligning communication strategies across the Alliance
- Promoting inclusive and multilingual practices
- Developing shared resources, including audiovisual toolkits, campaign calendars, and progress-measurement methods
- Inspiring activities: The week will also include engaging activities, such as:
- A guided tour of the cultural offerings of Rennes 2 (an artistic exploration of the campus, featuring the “United in Diversity” exhibition at the Language Library, and “The Encyclopedia of Migrants” exhibition at the Central Library -a project by L'âge de la tortue)
- A presentation of ESS Cargo
- A visit to the Braille climbing wall art project, highlighting accessibility, inclusion, and creativity
These sessions are designed to share experiences, develop practical solutions, and produce tangible outputs, while providing opportunities for informal networking and cultural exchange.
About EMERGE
EMERGE brings together nine universities located in regions that reflect the remarkable diversity of Europe in geographic, social, economic and linguistic terms. Mirroring their locations, EMERGE higher education and research institutions are characterised by a greater focus on societal and territorial priorities. United by a common aim to empower peripheral territories and marginalised groups, the partner universities will develop various teaching, research and mobility activities together for the benefit of each of our communities.
Funded principally by the European Commission, EMERGE is also the recipient of national funding through the ANR / France 2030 program (ANR-24-GURE-0006).
