Introducing the Una Europa Local Student Task Forces
Each Una Europa partner university hosts its own Local Student Task Force (LTF) – a team of engaged students committed to making the University of the Future a reality on their campuses and in their communities. Supported and empowered by Una Europa staff, each LTF has the autonomy to adapt alliance ideas and initiatives to their own local contexts, enabling them to interpret Una Europa in a way that resonates with their own local student communities while upholding the values that unite our alliance community.
The LTFs are a place to develop your skills, try out event planning, communication processes, and collaborate with staff and students from other departments in your own university but also with staff and students from across Una Europa partner universities.
The LTFs provide an opportunity to connect with an international community from your home university and really engage with the ideas and values of Una Europa. You can develop campaigns, activities, events, and other initiatives together with other students and really make Una Europa come alive!
Participants at the Student Congress 2023 at Helsingin yliopisto/Helsinfors universitet attending the Una.Fair.
Two members of the Helsingin yliopisto/Helsingfors universitet LTF welcoming people to a local Una Europa community event.
LTF members and staff at a local community event in Helsinki.
Two Helsingin yliopisto/Helsingfors universitet LTF members enjoying themselves at a local Una Europa community event.
Why participate in your Una Europa Local Student Task Force?
Your LTF is a place to get active and put your ideas into action. Through collaborating with other students and staff from your university. Each LTF is self-governing, giving you the freedom to test your skills and make your ideas a reality.
Through your LTF, you can gain concrete knowledge but also influence how the alliance develops and how students are engaged in this work. In collaboration with other students from your university, as well as peers from across the alliance, the LTFs give you the space to turn your ideas into action.
" Being a part of the LTF has brought me many opportunities, expanding my network beyond the Faculty of Law. It has sharpened my skills of event planning and communications, as well as helped me learn about all the opportunities students like me can enjoy because of this alliance. "
Logan Sunnarborg, student at Helsingin yliopisto/Helsingfors universitet.
Practical details
Each university runs their LTF quite differently and the process for getting involved is specific to your university. Often you can engage quite freely and focus on opportunities or experiences that will help you develop the skills or gain the knowledge that you are looking for, whether that is more related to communication, event management, research, or something else.
Participation in an LTF is entirely voluntary and physical mobility is not part of the experience by default. You are always more than welcome to apply for the mobility experiences and opportunities available through Una Europa, and your involvement in the LTF might be beneficial in this regard, but the LTFs themselves do not include mobility opportunities. Instead, the LTFs focus on local engagement and opportunities for students within your university. Increasingly the LTFs also collaborate with one another across universities, creating virtual communities and joint online events.
" As a Finn who hasn’t had opportunities to go abroad, everything Una Europa does has to do with creating opportunities for internationalisation at home. These can vary from, for example, interacting with international students in the Local Task Force, or through events that foster internationality. "
Saana Laaksonen, student at Helsingin yliopisto/Helsingfors universitet.
Want to learn more?
- Faces of Our CommUNAty interview: "The Una Europa Local Task Force is not a typical student society – we want to make the most of that."
- Blog post | The Youth of Europe: Beneficiaries and changemakers of the European Union
- Student Exchange Trip | Freie Universität Berlin visits Uniwersytet Jagielloński w Krakowie
Get involved in your Una Europa Local Student Task Force!
If you want to get involved with your Una Europa Local Student Task Force, we recommend that visiting your university’s local Una Europa website or contacting your local Student Engagement representative. All local contact information is available on our Contact page.
The Una Europa Local Student Task Forces are part of our work to empower students across our alliance, initiated under the Una.Futura project.
