A key element of integration in the programme are the jointly organized winter and summer schools, which are compulsory for all first year EMGS students. They bring together all students from Ghent, Leipzig, London, Roskilde, Vienna, and Wrocław to offer them the opportunity to attend lectures by representatives of the partner universities. They help create a common identity from the very beginning and inspire fruitful, enriching exchanges amongst students and lecturers from all European participating universities about expectations and experiences made so far in the programme.

During summer schools, students present a first proposal for their master’s thesis to be discussed in working groups together with lecturers from the respective universities. In addition, the EMGS programme is evaluated by the students and representatives to ensure the high quality of the course.

Academic workshops and further joint activities, such as excursions, prepare the students for the transition to the second-year university. The workshops at these winter and summer schools are co-taught by lecturers from at least two different universities of the EMGS Consortium. Each workshop aims at engaging students with different understandings of key concepts within a particular dimension of global studies in order to discuss their analytical application in relation to both topical issues and academic debates. Students learn to deal with varying disciplinary and conceptual framings in order to provide the capacity to adapt to different political as well as academic cultures – this being one of the key challenges in global studies. Students need to cover the travel costs to the winter and summer schools on their own.