An increasing number of exotic terranes or microplates within and outside of large orogenic belts were recognized worldwide in the last decades leading to the idea that accretion of microplates substantially contributes to the lateral growth of continents. Although the provenance of these microplates and timing of their collision with major continental plates is often known, the nature of the related collisional zones and the diversity of the collision processes are still little understood in detail. We would like to draw attention to this specific tectonic environment and invite a broad spectrum of geoscientists, including petrologists, structural geologists, sedimentologists and geophysicists, to present their process-oriented studies to this interdisciplinary symposium. These studies should include various aspects of the top to the bottom features of the corresponding geodynamic systems as well as modelling attempts. All collision zones related to microplates are adressed.