Bauhaus4EU Student Council Convenes for Inaugural Meeting at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
From 6 to 9 November 2024, the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar hosted the first meeting of the Bauhaus4EU Student Council. Student representatives from all nine countries within the Bauhaus4EU university alliance met to lay the foundation for active and sustainable collaboration while formulating shared visions.
The goal of the initial student meeting was to get to know each other better, gain insight into the structures and work methods of the various student councils from member universities, establish binding guidelines for collaboration, organize elections for positions within the Student Council and pinpoint shared topics and project ideas.
Kartik Bist, a student from the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, was elected Chair of the Bauhaus4EU Student Council, while Miłosz Serafin, a student at the University of Katowice in Poland, was elected Deputy Chair. Matteo Piantoni of the University of Bergamo in Italy and Izabella Silverberg, a student at Blekinge Institute of Technology in Karlskrona, Sweden, will be responsible for public relations. Gattupali Eswar Narayana, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, was appointed Treasurer. The secretaries are Angela Dobos-Neskovic of the University of Macedonia in Thessaloniki, Greece, and Cassandra Cescut of Université Lumière Lyon 2 in France. In the future, the Steering Committee will include student representatives Theo Falk of Blekinge Institute of Technology in Karlskrona in Sweden, Davide Barcella of the University of Bergamo in Italy and Lara Mohring-Landsberger of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, who will serve as a deputy.
»I’m truly grateful for the opportunity to engage with inspiring ideas and participate in enriching intercultural exchanges«, says Davide Barcella, student at the University of Bergamo, summing up. The dedication of the students and their willingness to collaborate across national borders highlights the significance of student involvement in the university alliance and their role in actively shaping the future of teaching and research.
Susanne Wille and Anke Schulze of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar International Office supported the students. They worked together in accompanying workshops to explore the diversity of perspectives within the alliance and formulate strategies for successful cooperation across cultural divides.
On the morning of the first day, Prof. Peter Benz, President of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, greeted the students and engaged in discussions with them over lunch at the cafeteria. Dr. Christian Kästner, Head of the International Office, gave an introduction to the history and vision of the alliance. Aryn Machell, also from the International Office, organised a Bauhaus walk to bridge the gap between the historic Bauhaus and today’s Bauhaus-Universität Weimar as a place of learning.
You can find out more about the European University Alliance Bauhaus4EU here: www.bauhaus4.eu
About the Bauhaus4EU Council
The Bauhaus4EU Student Council serves as the representative body for the over 124,000 students enrolled at the ten member universities of the alliance. The committee is responsible for making sure that the concerns and needs of students are considered in every decision-making process. The Student Council will be represented with two votes on the alliance’s Steering Committee and will therefore be able to impact fundamental decisions within the alliance.
The Steering Committee is the central steering group within the alliance, consisting of a Vice President for International Affairs or a Head of International Relations from each member university, a project coordinator from each of the ten universities, the Secretary General, two students as representatives of the Student Council and a doctoral candidate representing the PhD Council, as well as a Diversity Officer, a Sustainability Officer and a Research Officer. The Steering Committee convenes every two weeks.