Student Congress: Sharing and shaping our joint Una Europa story

Our alliance is only at the beginning of its journey; we are actively learning what it means to be part of the Una Europa community and searching for the values, beliefs, and ideas we want to foster, together. Creating an Una Europa identity and community to which all students feel they belong doesn’t happen by itself, but is shaped through finding common views, shared stories, and crafting a joint vision for the future. We are so excited to invite you to be part of this journey, sharing and shaping our joint story!

The Una Europa Student Congress is an annual event bringing together students from all our 11 partner institutions to discuss topics and themes relevant to our student communities. Attendees have the opportunity to connect with their classmates across Europe, participating in critical thinking and creative problem-solving as they work together to shape our vision for a European University of the Future. Each year a different Una Europa university hosts the Congress, adding their own flavour to the programme with cultural and social events reflecting their diverse yet shared student experience.

This year’s Student Congress focuses in on storytelling, exploring how stories shape our identity, communities and sense of belonging by creating a sense of inclusion or exclusion. The student participants will work together across cultures, backgrounds and experiences to shape new stories of their own – sharing, listening and collaborating with actors from both inside and outside our universities. Participants will have the opportunity to explore the University of Helsinki as well as the city to gain insights into the stories that have shaped this part of Europe and find connections with their own journey.

The packed programme promises four days of learning, exploring, community-building and an opportunity to share your visions with the wider Una Europa community. The event does not take the form of a standard conference with lectures and one-way communication, but instead creates a space for sharing your stories, reflections and ideas with your peers across Europe with the purpose of gaining new perspectives and experiences. This is not a drill – your outcomes will be taken forward in the work of our alliance and shape how we will develop more inclusive and open communities for all our students in the future.

• Travel to Helsinki and make new friends from across Una Europa’s 11 partner universities.
• Learn more about yourself by engaging with others’ cultures, backgrounds and life stories
• Gain practical skills in storytelling, engaging others and teamwork
• Learn about different models, tools and channels of storytelling
• Make a real impact on Una Europa and help us build a strong foundation for our student community
• Learn about Una Europa’s other opportunities for students and how you can get involved

For your chance to attend the Una Europa Student Congress 2023, please complete this application form.

Each of our university partners has a slightly different application schedule. Review your local Una Europa office’s information to find out the deadline for applying to the Congress at your institution. All successful students will have been selected and notified by mid-October at the latest.

Please note: Applying doesn’t mean that you will automatically be accepted! Each university will select the students who will represent their institution at the Congress.

If you are selected, there will be a small pre-assignment to complete by the end of October. This will not be very demanding but do keep in mind that this is a mandatory part of the programme. You might need to put aside a bit of time for a short meeting and a bit of individual work in order to complete this assignment.

To be eligible to attend the Una Europa Student Congress 2023 you must be:

• • Enrolled as a student at one of the 11 Una Europa partner universities
    
  • Currently studying at bachelor's, master's or PhD level. We encourage any interested student to apply, regardless of discipline or level of study.
    
  • Comfortable communicating in English. There is no expectation of perfect fluency, however the highly interactive programme will be delivered in English so you will need to be able to discuss your own experiences and engage with others' experiences in English.
  • Excited to connect with students of all ages, backgrounds, cultural experiences and levels of expertise.

The Una Europa Student Congress 2023 will take place from Tuesday 14 to Friday 17 November. Attendees will travel to Helsinki on Tuesday to arrive in time for the event kickoff in the early evening. The Congress will end after lunch on Friday, after which students can begin their journey home.

Your university will cover your travel and accommodation costs; however, the process by which they will do this varies for each institution. Please contact your local Una Europa team if you have any questions on costs related to participation in the Congress.