Una Europa Student Congress | Dis-/Assemble: Reinventing the University

We're on a mission to build the University of the Future, together. Our annual Student Congress is all about your perspective, voice, and ideas. It’s a gathering where our student community addresses central questions about student life at European universities:

• Being human in a digital world.
• Why universities?
• Future trends in higher education.

The Una Europa Student Congress at Freie Universität Berlin is a place for you to connect with peers from all 11 Una Europa universities and partner universities from Ukraine. Berlin is an open city and a vibrant place for new ideas, which makes it a great setting for the congress as a laboratory of the here and now and a space for creativity and experimentation.

Follow your curiosity and join us in exploring different futures of the university.

Students will come together at the congress to disassemble ideas and understand them from multiple angles. This will be an opportunity for you to apply your knowledge by rearranging individual components. This experience will empower you as students to become co-creators who will jointly assemble a foundation for the University of the Future.

Freie Universität Berlin was founded in 1948 by students, scholars, and scientists on the impulse to be free in the pursuit of learning, teaching, and research. We want to actively connect this past with Una Europa’s ideal of a University of the Future, as a body of knowledge, ideas, and values, evolving freely beyond borders, mediums, and time. Since one of our main Una Europa Focus Areas at Freie Universität Berlin is sustainability, we want to make sure that each of our topics will include thinking about the sustainability dimension. In addition, we want to introduce you to the unique efforts of Freie Universität Berlin to become climate-neutral, which is a joint effort by everyone at our university – not least because 2024 is the Year of Biodiversity at Freie Universität Berlin.

• Travel to Berlin and make new friends from across Una Europa’s 11 partner universities and our partner institutions in Ukraine.
• Learn more about yourself by engaging with others’ cultures, backgrounds, and life stories.
• Gain practical skills in teamwork through workshops and innovative learning formats.
• Explore the role of universities in a world shaped by artificial intelligence and social media.
• Take your time to be creative and think outside the box about future trends in higher education.
• 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.

We expect all students who are selected for the congress to participate in multiple online meetings prior to the Student Congress in September. These meetings are meant to prepare you for the programme and the meetings that will take place at Freie Universität Berlin. These online meetings will take place over the course of the summer. We are very mindful of the different schedules of our 11 partner universities when it comes to semester times, exams, etc. – which is why we will ensure enough flexibility for you to join these online meetings. We will inform you about the schedule for the online meetings when you will be notified about your selection in May.

To be eligible to attend the Una Europa Student Congress 2024 you must be:

• Enrolled as a student at one of the 11 Una Europa partner universities, or at one of our partner universities in Ukraine (Ivan Franko National University of Lviv and Yuriy Fedkovich Chernivtsi National University).
• Currently studying at bachelor's, master's, or PhD level. We encourage any interested student to apply, regardless of field 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.

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.

For your chance to attend the Una Europa Student Congress 2024, please complete this application form.

The deadline for submitting your application is 11:00 CEST, 6 May 2024. All successful students will have been selected and notified by mid-May at the latest.

Each of our Una Europa partner universities reserves the right to close the application earlier if they receive a large number of applications. It’s best to send your application sooner than later. 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 have any questions, you can always reach out to your local Una Europa office.