Strong Student Organisations

Strong student organisations are the backbone of EUPeace. They are the engines that give the Alliance its unique character: rooted in participation, driven by energy, and committed to building peace, justice, and inclusive societies. At the centre of this vision stands EUPSA, the EUPeace Student Alliance. By linking students across all partner universities, EUPSA turns the Alliance into a genuine community, where students are not just participants, but leaders and co-creators.

Students, through EUPSA as well as their representatives in the Student Council and the Senate of the Alliance, contribute to governance, exchange, and innovation. Student voices are shaping curricula and mobility policies, while also taking part in hybrid and in-person events—from competitions and debates to workshops and exchanges—that create meaningful opportunities for engagement. In this way, student organisations ensure that EUPeace is not simply about institutional collaboration but about a living, vibrant network driven by its members.

Education remains at the heart of the Alliance, but it is strengthened by student leadership. With the European Track and European Degrees, EUPeace builds joint academic experiences across universities. These shared curricula foster intercultural competence, interdisciplinary collaboration, and a deep understanding of the conditions necessary for peace and justice. Crucially, students contribute to designing and evaluating these programmes, ensuring they remain relevant to real needs.

Mobility is another flagship area where student organisations play a decisive role. Together with the mobility experts, they work to identify and reduce barriers, whether financial, structural, or personal. Peer-to-peer initiatives like the Buddy System help incoming students adapt smoothly, while EUPSA provides additional guidance and advocacy to make mobility inclusive for all. By engaging directly with policies on blended, physical, and virtual exchanges, student organisations shape mobility into a tool for equal opportunity.

Capacity building for both staff and students is supported through platforms such as the Teaching Staff Academy and the annual Conference on Teaching Europe. Here, student perspectives are integrated, co-developing innovative pedagogies and offering input on new learning formats, from lifelong learning offers to blended intensive programmes. This demonstrates how strong student organisations go beyond representation: they are active partners in innovation.

The Internationalisation of Teacher Education flagship also benefits from student leadership. Students contribute to initiatives like summer schools, the “School for All” concept, and collaborative teaching projects, ensuring that tomorrow’s teachers are prepared to model inclusion and European values. By engaging with both higher and secondary education, student organisations extend their impact to younger generations.

Ultimately, EUPeace’s students embody the strength of the Alliance. They build a community across borders, giving all students a strong voice in governance, and transforming policies into lived experiences. Through service-learning projects, mobility frameworks, and lifelong learning opportunities, students are not just recipients of education but active agents of transformation.

Strong student organisations are therefore not an add-on—they are the backbone of EUPeace. Through EUPSA, the Student Council and Senate, students connect, lead, and inspire. They turn mobility, education, and governance into inclusive practices and prepare a new generation of leaders ready to build peaceful, just, and inclusive societies across Europe.