Introducing the Una Europa Student Award
The Student Award is an annual call to recognise and showcase student visions, ideas, and creativity towards reinventing the university and building a University of the Future. The scope, prize, and impact of the Award will change from year to year.
The Student Award asks big questions related to the future of our alliance and of universities at large, considering how they relate to big issues in our societies. This is a platform for students to share their ideas and visions and to engage in a dialogue with students, professional staff, and academics across our Una Europa community.
The winners of the Student Award will get the opportunity to share their ideas and insights in different ways, such as presenting at the Una Europa Student Congress and other events, and having their work published online.
" As a PhD researcher who has spent several years abroad, I wanted to create something that could have a broader impact on supporting undergraduate and postgraduate students to advance their future careers in academia. "
Kiira Sarasjärvi, doctoral researcher at Helsingin yliopisto/Helsingfors universitet, on her motivation for participating in the Una Europa Student Award 2024.
Each year the Student Award addresses a different theme. In 2024, for example, the theme encouraged students to reimagine the future of six different key areas of Una Europa:
- Diversity and inclusion
- Global engagement beyond Europe
- Student and staff mobility/exchange
- Research and innovation
- Teaching and learning
- Sustainability and climate protection
Six winners were selected, one for each theme. Each winner was awarded fully-funded participation in the Student Congress in Berlin in September 2024 and the platform to present their work to their peers there. The winners also had their work shared on the Una Europa website.
The winners of the Una Europa Student Award 2024.
Why participate in the Una Europa Student Award?
The Una Europa Student Award is for those with big thoughts, ideas, and visions. Any student is welcome to apply from our 11 partner universities, and it is an opportunity to bring your ideas and visions to a bigger stage and audience. The format is very flexible to encourage creativity; for example, using video, collages, spoken word, poems, art, and other creative approaches. This is the place for beautiful and inspiring ideas and visions!
By participating in the Student Award, you get a chance to share your vision and dreams for the future and get a platform to share your idea with our Una Europa community and beyond. In addition, the winners are awarded participation in an alliance activity, for example our annual Student Congress or twice-yearly General Assemblies, where professional staff, academics and students from across Una Europa gather as a community at one of our partner universities.
What can I expect from the Una Europa Student Award?
Each edition of the Una Europa Student Award is differs in theme, scope and timeline. Once the call is published, there is a specified timeline within which you submit your contribution. You are free to plan your work on your submission independently, in your own time.
" As a student who relates deeply to the challenges discussed, I was inspired to submit an entry to the Student Award because I wanted to address issues that resonate with my own experiences and those of my peers. It concerns me. "
Kateryna Fadieieva, student at Uniwersytet Jagielloński w Krakowie, reflects on what attracted her to participate in the Una Europa Student Award.
Want to learn more?
Delve deeper into the Una Europa Student Award by reading about previous editions:
Countdown to the next Una Europa Student Award
The next Una Europa Student Award will open in 2026. To stay up to the date with the latest updates, we recommend subscribing to our monthly newsletter and following us on Instagram.
The Una Europa Student Award is part of our work to empower students across our alliance, initiated under the Una.Futura project.
