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Students and researchers are finding new ways to learn, connect, and make a difference across Europe. The EUPeace alliance isn’t just another academic network — it’s a community built on shared values, open dialogue, and curiosity about what holds Europe together. But how does an idea like peace and inclusion translate into everyday university life? Answered by EUPeace Chief and Vice-Rector of Marburg University. 

The name itself highlights peace, justice and inclusion. What do these values mean in the daily life of an university?

That’s a big question. We’re living in a time of major transformation. Artificial intelligence is changing our lives and jobs, especially for your generation. Social and ecological sustainability concerns everyone, whether we’re talking about droughts, floods, wars, or migration. The world feels unstable and EUPeace is about shaping it, keeping peace, democracy and liberal values alive and ensuring that everyone has the chance to grow. Across Europe, populist movements are offering easy answers to complex issues. As scientists and educators, it’s our role to say, “Wait a minute — there are no easy solutions.” Many of today’s challenges are what we call “wicked problems”, issues with conflicting solutions. Ecological sustainability is one of them: solving one part often creates another problem. That’s why EUPeace is about dialogue — bringing people together, encouraging respect and sharpening our arguments.

Many of these themes sound like they belong to the social sciences. Is there a place for engineering, medicine, or natural sciences in EUPeace?

Of course. Inclusion begins with basics — clean water, good infrastructure, healthcare and education. Those depend on engineering, medicine and life sciences. And when we think about external threats, such as biological, chemical, or environmental, we need both scientists to create solutions and humanists to define their ethical and societal limits. EUPeace encourages that exchange between all fields.

What is the main reason everybody should know about the alliance? 

The main goal is to build a pan-European campus and unite Europe’s youth. Our alliance includes universities from Madrid, Limoges, Marburg, Giessen, Pilsen, Sarajevo, Mostar, Adana and Calabria — a true European mosaic. Imagine starting your studies in Madrid, continuing in Marburg, spending a term in Pilsen and finishing in Calabria. You’d experience different cultures, share dreams and worries and learn what Europe means in practice. That’s the idea of EUPeace.

So what can students get from this alliance right now?

Students can join the European Track, which offers a list of courses across partner universities. If you’re curious but hesitant to go abroad, you can start with a VEEP module, that’s our Virtual Educational Exchange Program. You’ll take online classes with students from other universities and build international connections from home. Then, of course, we have classic Erasmus exchanges, where partners in the alliance are preferred destinations. And we’re already designing joint master’s programs — in Peace and Conflict Studies, Water for All, Global Health and Interreligious Peacebuilding.

And for researchers or university employees?

For young researchers, EUPeace opens doors to new networks. Postdocs and PhD students can connect across institutions and start projects together. We also support staff exchanges — administrative employees can spend a week at a partner university, shadowing colleagues, comparing workflows and sharing experiences. It’s a great way to learn and grow professionally. We even have seed funding from our universities to help research groups meet, start projects and apply for external grants.

Hear more on our UniverZ podcast below or on Spotify.