2026

How do political and legal frameworks, borders and social inequalities shape the experiences of refugees? These and other questions will be explored in the public lecture series ‘Forced Migration’, organised by the Viadrina Center B/ORDERS IN MOTION during the winter semester 2026/2027. To kick off the series on Wednesday 21 October at 4.15 pm, migration researcher Melanie Griffiths from the University of Birmingham will speak about the long-term effects of an insecure residency status on families. The lecture series, featuring international guests, will take place predominantly online.

The Staff Training Days organised by the Division of International Affairs, held from 28 to 30 September 2026, focused on AI and digital transformation in university administration. Thirty guests from international partner universities gathered at Viadrina to discuss the responsible use of AI in their work.

Europa-Universität Viadrina is one of 261 institutions from 30 European countries that have co-signed the joint statement "For an explicit recognition of European University Alliances as pillars of Europe's competitiveness, sovereignty and skills". The statement calls on the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament to acknowledge the role of the Alliances in the 2028–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework and in the European Competitiveness Fund.

One year, six interviews, six very different paths. Between September 2025 and August 2026, the ERUA Student Engagement Coaches at Viadrina launched the Success Stories series. The idea behind it was simple. Students are often told that getting involved pays off, but they rarely get to see where it actually leads. This series shows exactly that: people who started out at Viadrina, joined projects, initiatives or committees, and today work in university leadership, in research, in politics and in business.

On Friday, 5 June 2026, World Environment Day, the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) hosted a joint waste collection campaign on the island of Ziegenwerder. Together with the IMD Labor Oderland and the German Red Cross (DRK Kompetenzzentrum Flucht und Migration Brandenburg gGmbH), the university brought together residents, students, and staff for a shared effort in environmental protection, sustainability, and community involvement.

Michalina Lorych, elected representative of the ERUA Student Board and student in the German-Polish Law program at Viadrina, reports on her participation in the CoA #3, which took place in Malta from May 1 to 5, 2026:

Three blog posts published in July on the Entanglements blog return to the German-Polish networking event Doing Democracy of April 2026 — and show what happens when a conference is designed to produce something beyond the conference itself.

From 19 to 22 January 2026, students from Europa-Universität Viadrina, Goethe University Frankfurt, Université Paris 8, and the C.E.R.P.E. (Centre d'Études et de Recherches pour la Petite Enfance) came together in Paris for the ERUA Traveling Seminar "Life Writing – Writing in Life: Autobiographical Writing in Multilingual and Transcultural Settings". The seminar was led by PD Dr. Andrea Gremels (Viadrina), Prof. Delphine Leroy (Paris 8), and Alessandra Casigli (C.E.R.P.E.) bringing together the disciplines of Transcultural Literary Studies, Educational Sciences, and early childhood practice. Built around both theory and practical experience, the seminar examined the relationship multilingual people have with writing, and aimed to help students develop their own writing practice across languages by drawing on their personal multilingual or migratory backgrounds. Mbalou Savane, a student at Europa-Universität Viadrina, attended the seminar. Here is her account of what happened.

On Friday, 5 June 2026, World Environment Day, a joint waste collection campaign will take place in Frankfurt (Oder) on the island of Ziegenwerder and in Kleistpark. Residents are invited to join the initiative of the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), the IMD Labor Oderland and the German Red Cross (DRK) and set a joint example for environmental protection, sustainability and community involvement.

What happens when 15 researchers from across Europe come together to write for four days? According to those who were there: sometimes a small miracle.

What began as a student idea in the cosmos of the ERUA university alliance ended in a week full of music, exchange and European spirit. For the first time, musicians from universities in Italy, France, Spain, Bulgaria, Germany and Lithuania came together at ERUAvision in the first week of May 2026. They presented their self-written songs at the Kleist Forum in Frankfurt, competing with the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC), which takes place this weekend in Vienna.

On 7 May 2026, Prof. Dr Eduard Mühle, President of the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), together with the directors of the partner universities of the European Reform University Alliance (ERUA), signed the notarial deed to establish an international non-profit association under Belgian law in Brussels. With this step, the Alliance is transforming its previously project-based cooperation into a permanent institutional structure. The aim is to secure the cooperation within ERUA in the long term and to develop it strategically - independently of temporary funding cycles.

The ERLab Bootcamp 2026 concluded with an impressive final event at the Gravity Building of Campus Founders. For one week, the Bildungscampus Heilbronn was transformed into a European innovation lab: as part of the ERLab Days, international students, academics, and innovation stakeholders from the European university alliance ERUA collaborated on real societal and economic challenges – developing solutions with genuine practical relevance.

The third edition of Catch-Up is out — and this one is something special. For the first time, all eight ERUA partner universities have contributed to a joint issue. That's not just a fun fact. It's a sign that ERUA is growing into a real community. The content lives up to exactly that: the new issue covers what's happening across the alliance in depth — told from the perspective of students who live and shape ERUA every day.

Intense discussions in working groups, prominent public events and valuable opportunities for exchange were offered at the two-day networking event "Doing Democracy: Connecting Academia and Civil Society Across Borders" on 23 and 24 April 2026 in Frankfurt (Oder) and Słubice. The event was organised by the Viadrina and the Social Science Institute of the SWPS University of Warsaw as part of the European Reform University Alliance (ERUA).

Shortly before the 70th Eurovision Song Contest is held in Vienna, the ERUAvision Song Contest will take place on Thursday, 7 May at 7.00 pm on the stage of the Kleist Forum. Solo artists and music groups from Italy, France, Spain, Bulgaria, Germany and Lithuania will create a musical evening with their self-produced songs. The audience can vote live or via livestream as well as a jury with judges from all participating countries will vote on the best performances.

The Viadrina has been a member of the European Reform University Alliance (ERUA) since November 2023. The alliance brings together eight European universities with a shared vision: greater internationalisation, closer cooperation, and a stronger European dimension in research, teaching and campus life. Two and a half years on, much of this vision has not only been initiated but already realised. ERUA is no longer an abstract, externally funded project; it is becoming increasingly tangible for both students and staff.

First ERUA Intensive Course hosted by Viadrina.