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Campus Europae and the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, in the person of MEP Prof. Leonidas Donskis, organized a conference at the European Parliament about “Student Mobility and European Citizenship”.

The first panel focused on “the importance of student mobility”. Prof. Donskis gave a illuminating speech on how, throughout history, scholars and students whose careers and interests do not stop at borders have been instrumental in building bridges across cultures and political regimes, which in turn paved the way for acomplishmenta that range from conflict resolution to the establishment of the European project.

Prof. Leonidas Donskis and Lesley Wilson

Prof. Hans de Wit, a leading expert in internationalization policy, went on to discuss the do’s and don’t’s of “fostering European Citizenship through student mobility”, remarking that the objective of rendering students inclined to be active citizens must be pursued from the earliest stages of schooling, rather than only at University - his vision being that of mobility as a concept that is more comprehensive and far more pervasive than the strict Erasmus mobility we know today. The speech of Prof. Hans de Wit was also a plea to broaden the support to different types of mobility, both with respects length and purpose.

Prof. de Wit on how to foster European Citizenship through student mobility

The second panel focused on “the contribution of Universities”, and was opened by Prof. Anatoly Mikhailov, Rector of the exiled European Humanities University. Prof  Mikhailov spoke passionately about how universities mustn’t shy away from fostering their student’s critical spirit, which would enable them to be active and conscious citizens. However the increasing demand for training, rather than bildung, threatens the institutional capacity and responsibility to do so, and debating this slippery slope should go hand in hand with a reflection about how quality standards in Higher Education can be maintained and improved.

The fourth contribution was by Lesley Wilson, EUA’s Secretary General, who provided extraordinary insight on how universities feel the need – and pressure – to rethink their strategies and priorities, and how internationalization features amongst them. According to EUA’s studies student mobility has not became more central of an issue over the last 20 years, a situation that reflects the intensely competing agendas that institutions are confronted with.

The conference room at the European Parliament

The conference finished with a round table debate. Lesley Wilson, Achim Meyer auf der Heyde (General Secretary of the European Council for Student Affairs), Prof. Christoph Ehmann (Secretary General of the EUF – Campus Europae), Joachim Wyssing (Vice-President of the Erasmus Student Network) and Julian Walkowiak (President of the Campus Europae Student Council) spearheaded a rather lively debate which touched upon question such as whether the trend to decrease the length of  studies abroad was a race to the bottom that compromised the civic ramification of studying abroad, the rigidity that the Bologna process has brought about in the organization of said exchanges and how students could be best encouraged to look at studying abroad as a normal part of their curricula. The European Student Union was also in attendance and noted how financing and recognition difficulties entail that studying abroad remains a privilege that only a small group of students can afford.

The CE Alumni in attendance

In retrospective the conference served two main purposes: to enable key stakeholders in Higher Education to reflect how mobility is and must remain a matter of paramount importance vis-à-vis the universities internationalization agenda, as well as to render members of the European Parliament aware that the design and implementation of student mobility can be vastly improved.