In today’s interconnected world, diversity and internationalization are key priorities—and points of debate—in higher education. This project examines how these concepts intersect, shaping university policies, practices, and discourses.

The European Universities Initiative, an EU flagship program supporting 65 cross-border university alliances, serves as a case study for exploring these shifts. European university alliances focus on cooperation in research, teaching, third mission, and governance. Using a sociological approach, the project investigates how the alliances integrate diversity into their internationalization efforts and how these efforts, in turn, influence diversity policies, practices, and discourses.

By studying these evolving alliances, the project enhances our understanding of how diversity influences internationalization strategies and discourses, and how internationalization reshapes diversity while potentially reproducing intersecting inequalities in higher education. Ultimately, it sheds light on how universities navigate and shape these dynamics in the context of decreasing state funding, the rise of neo-nationalism and global competitiveness.

The project is led by Dr. Daniel Schumann. For any inquiries, please contact him directly.

Publications

Schumann, Daniel, Kathrin Zippel, and Henrike Terhart. 2026 (in press). “Transnationale Hochschulallianzen und Ungleichheit. Zur Vernakularisierung von Diversität im Zuge der European Universities Initiative.” In Ungleiche Transnationalisierung von Bildung, hg. von Ulrike Deppe, Theo Döppers, and Catharina Keßler, Weinheim: Beltz Juventa.

Schumann, Daniel, Kathrin Zippel, Jo-Anne Dillabough, Bjørn Stensaker, and Mieke Verloo (accepted): “Fragile Resilience: Universities, Democracy and Inclusion in Challenging Times.” Comparative Education Review. 

Organized Scientific Event

Contested Spaces of Democracy and Inclusion in European Universities (CONTESTED). International Workshop at Freie Universität Berlin, 27. & 28.11.2025, funded by Una Europa/DAAD and the Einstein Foundation Berlin. Read the workshop report here.