Open Call 2026: Third Places Fellowships

EMERGE brings together nine European universities committed to the vision:

"Empowering the Margins of Europe through Regional and Global Engagement".

Together, we aim to serve our local communities more effectively by building a network of equal partners, deeply rooted in our regions and capable of proposing alternative models to dominant, top-down development paradigms and representations of society.

The EMERGE Third Places Research Fellowships are designed to fulfil the mission of the EMERGE alliance:

Community engagement is EMERGE’s first mission. It is this mission that shapes our approach to research and education, and that defines how we operate as universities.

The EMERGE Third Places Research Fellowships provide senior researchers from any partner university with the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues and local communities during a one-month stay at a partner institution and its third places.

The fellowships are intended to enable researchers to take part in research activities in a range of settings, potentially in collaboration with new local communities or through participatory research formats.

Researchers who are interested can contact INN’s local EMERGE Research Coordinator, Hege Taarud (hege.taarud@inn.no) / +47 62 51 77 11).

An informal application must include:

• Your contact details and an abbreviated CV (maximum four pages)
• A short description of your research project(s)
• A brief statement outlining the need for, and details of, the planned activities during the stay, including:
  • A comment on the suitability of the selected host institution(s)
  • A comment on how the stay aligns with the values and principles of the EMERGE Alliance and the Third Places Research Fellowships
  • A preliminary timetable (the stay must be at least 25 days)
  • A letter of invitation from the host’s third place for research within the Alliance

The application must be approved by the Dean of your faculty.

All application documents must be compiled into a single PDF file and sent by email to the EMERGE Research Coordinator at Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Hege Taarud (hege.taarud@inn.no).

Our overview of third places for research provides a list of designated institutions (research centres, laboratories, research hubs, technology platforms, innovation campuses, fab labs, living labs, co-working spaces, etc.) that have committed to participating in the fellowship programme.

There is no guarantee of a fellowship placement at a host institution. Admission of fellows depends on the capacity of the relevant third place.

• See overview of the third places

Application Deadline: 15 April 2026.

Similar calls will be repeated in 2027 and 2028.

The fellowships are funded with NOK 25,000.

Supported fellows are expected to contribute to publicity of their stay on social media and to submit a short report on their experiences (maximum ¾ page).

Applications will be assessed by a committee chaired by the Pro-Rector for Research, with particular emphasis on the extent to which the proposed stay aligns with the values and principles of the EMERGE Alliance and the Third Places Research Fellowships.

The committee’s decision may also take into account the need to ensure proportional representation across different academic fields, as well as balance between host institutions and sending institutions.