On 12–14 September 2024, the SGH Warsaw School of Economics hosted the first-ever meeting of student ambassadors from over 40 European university alliances. At the European Universities Student Ambassador Forum (EUSAF), participants discussed the opportunities and challenges of building student community engagement with European universities.
The European University Alliances project was launched by French President Emmanuel Macron in 2017. The European Commission selected 64 alliances in five competitions (2019, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024), involving 560 institutions from across Europe.
Since 2022, SGH has been a member of the CIVICA alliance – The European University of Social Sciences, which received funding from the EC in a 2019 competition and then a 2022 competition, which resulted in SGH and IE Universidad from Spain joining the alliance. At CIVICA, SGH is responsible for building an engaged CIVICA student community and its common identity, deeply rooted in European values and heritage, which will help to build bridges between nations, cultures and languages and promote the European way of life through cross-campus activities, networking, sharing experiences and learning from each other.
Thanks to its experience, SGH was invited to join the EUC-VOICES project in the Erasmus+ programme, where – together with the Erasmus Student Network (ESN) – it is responsible for Work Package 3 (WP3): Ambassadors Forum. EUC-VOICES aims to involve young Europeans in discussions and debates that help to build their competences, promote active citizenship and strengthen the commitment to the development of European universities and the wider context of the European Higher Education Area. The project includes the organisation of the European Student Assembly (ESA) in Strasbourg and the European Universities Student Ambassador Forum (EUSAF) in Warsaw, as well as the creation of the EUC-VOICES alumni network.
EUSAF is attended by carefully selected student representatives from each EUA, called ambassadors, who – within a given group – meet three times a year both online and in person. The first meeting of the 2024 group was held in July and the last meeting is scheduled for December this year. At this year's EUSAF in Warsaw, participants engaged in discussions on the values and objectives of European university alliances, and student challenges and opportunities for collaboration and alumni networking. During the three-day event, participants could attend sessions, panels and workshops on the subject, take part in a competition for the best poster on interesting student initiatives in alliances, and explore our beautiful city during a city game organised by ESN.
This year's meeting was attended by ambassadors from more than 40 European university alliances. We look forward to hosting ambassadors from all 64 alliances in 2025 and 2026.
At the end of these three EUSAF meetings, an “EUSAF Report on Student Engagement within and Across EUAs” will be produced, covering a range of topics, including mapping existing forms, mechanisms and programmes to facilitate student engagement, sharing examples of successful student initiatives and making recommendations for enhancing student engagement and a sense of identity across all European university alliances. It will be based on insights provided by the participants and information gathered during the activities identified in the EUSAF. The report will aim to promulgate best practices and improve the quality of student engagement across all alliances.
The project aims to raise the profile and prestige of the European universities initiative and to strengthen cooperation between consortia in many areas of operations. The EUC-VOICES project will run until 2026, funded using the EU funding of the Erasmus+ KA220-HED programme – cooperation partnerships in higher education.
MAŁGORZATA CHROMY, Acting Director of the SGH International Centre
