On November 7, 2019, the European Commission launched the second round of calls for the European Universities Initiative (EUI), a program funded by ERASMUS+ designed to strengthen the competitiveness of European higher education by adopting a challenge-based approach under which students, academics and external partners can cooperate in interdisciplinary teams to tackle the biggest issues facing Europe today. The EUI is one of the flagship initiatives of the EU’s ambitions to build a European Education Area. Under the initiative, 24 more multi-university alliances will receive funding to develop joint degrees and activities.
It is in this context that Rennes 2 University is joining forces with 6 other higher education institutions to create eMERGE.
eMERGE member institutions
Combined, our seven institutions have over 105,000 students. While we each have varying cultures, languages and educational programs, our aim is to build a new long-term joint strategy with a bottom-up approach which will impact and support all of our areas of activities, from teaching and learning to research and innovation, whilst encouraging new forms of student and staff mobility. In short, we aim to create systemic changes in how we cooperate and operate to the benefit of our communities and local stakeholders.
Objectives of European Universities
The aim of the EUI is to revitalize the European university system, specifically strengthening mobility opportunities for students and staff, while boosting the level of quality, performance and attractiveness of the system through unprecedented levels of cross-border and transdisciplinary cooperation. More information on the objectives of European Universities is available here.
What’s next for eMERGE?
The European Commission will announce this summer the list of selected European Alliance Universities. In the meantime, we are continuing to collaborate on building our Alliance and are in the process of organizing a dedicated Staff Week. More information will be coming soon.
