In 2012 the vice chancellors and presidents of the then six partner universities of the network "University of the Greater Region - UniGR" decided to further strengthen cooperation in research and teaching between all the partners.

As a first step – based on recommendations by the European University Association (EUA) in the course evaluating the UniGR - three key areas were selected where cooperation is now particularly targeted. These key areas include Biomedicine,  Border Studies and Material Science. In these fields, all the universities have identified the possibility of using existing strengths and resources in order to act as a motor for development within the Greater Region.

As a second step, during orientation workshops in the spring of 2013 possible subjects within the key areas were identified for future cooperation between UniGR scientists and scholars in research and teaching. Specialized workshops referring to these subjects were held and are still being held in order to link the research groups of the seven partners and to launch promising project ideas with the aid of experts for research funding.