Together in Europe
2026/05/08
TU Darmstadt celebrates Europe Day and one of its strongest alliances – Unite! What began in Darmstadt in 2019 as an idea has since developed into a well-established university alliance with a distinct profile and the goal of contributing to a resilient and vibrant Europe. On Europe Day 2026, we look back at the achievements so far and ahead to future plans.
The Unite! kick-off meeting took place at TU Darmstadt in 2019. Alongside TU Darmstadt as coordinating institution, the alliance initially included six partner universities: Aalto University (Finland), KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden), Grenoble INP-UGA (France), Politecnico di Torino (Italy), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (Spain), and Universidade de Lisboa (Portugal). Unite! was therefore among the first 17 university alliances funded through the initial Erasmus+ call.
For six years, TU President Tanja Brühl served as President of Unite! Under her leadership, the alliance made significant progress towards becoming a sustainable and impactful European University Alliance: the alliance expanded from seven to nine partner universities, with Wrocław Tech (Poland) and TU Graz (Austria) joining the network. Initial joint degree programmes were established, and ambitious initiatives were launched, including the Unite! Seed Fund, the Visiting Professorship Programme, the Unite! Metacampus, and cross-university teaching offers.
Professor Tanja Brühl,
President of TU Darmstadt
Seven years ago, Unite! was just an idea. Today, it is a lasting alliance with an impact far beyond our regions.
“Seven years ago, Unite! was just an idea. Today, it is a lasting alliance with an impact far beyond our regions,” says TU President Brühl. “Our holistic approach will continue to create impact in the future. Unite! offers outstanding opportunities for students, researchers at all career stages, and staff members. We connect excellent, innovative research with societal relevance. My thanks go to all Uniters who shape our alliance through their impressive commitment and dedication.”
Unite! Today
The alliance currently counts nine joint EU projects and 57 Seed Fund projects involving around 200 researchers. In addition, more than 100 courses from Unite! universities have been created for the entire alliance, alongside nine Unite! Joint Programmes and 30 courses within the Unite! staff development programme, attracting 2,350 participations. Around 2,000 student mobilities now take place every year in physical, hybrid, and virtual formats.
Unite! has evolved into a driving force for forward-looking European higher education, creating sustainable impact in teaching, research, and innovation. The collaboration aims to further strengthen the alliance’s impact, particularly with regard to the upcoming European funding framework for 2028–2034.
In autumn 2025, after six years of dedicated leadership, Brühl handed over the presidency to Vivien Quéma from Grenoble INP-UGA. Quéma was unanimously elected by the Unite! Assembly.
His vision, developed together with the Rectors and presented at the Unite! Academic Forum, aims to continue the ambitious work initiated by his predecessor and to further develop Unite! from an Erasmus+ project into a permanent and impactful European University Alliance.
“The European university alliances demonstrate how Europe takes shape in the day-to-day life of universities in a cross-border and tangible way: through joint study programmes, new mobility formats and closer cooperation in research, innovation and knowledge transfer. The alliances are key drivers of the transformation of the European Higher Education Area. At the same time, through their close cooperation, they also promote social cohesion in Europe. We are therefore delighted to highlight this commitment once again in May to mark Europe Day,” said DAAD President Prof. Dr Joybrato Mukherjee. mho
European University Alliances
European University Alliances are cross-border university networks that jointly develop innovative teaching and learning formats as well as new forms of cooperation in education, research, third mission and technology transfer. Following five rounds of calls for proposals under the Erasmus programme, the EU is currently funding 73 alliances in 36 countries involving almost 650 higher education institutions. 75 German higher education institutions are involved in 66 European alliances – more than from any other EU country.
In autumn 2025, the EU published a sixth call for proposals for a two-year follow-up grant. European universities had until early March 2026 to submit their applications. The results are due to be announced in July.
