The annual conference of "European University Networks (EUN) – National Initiative" took place in Bonn on December 9th and 10th, 2025. All German universities that are members of a European University Alliance were invited to participate with one member of the project staff and one student. The University of Greifswald (UG) was represented by the Student Pro-Rector Lukas Voigt, who is also UG Student Ambassador for KreativEU, and the Institutional Coordinator at UG, Dorthe G. A. Hartmann.

With over forty students participating in the conference, all EUN forums and Barcamp workshops took place with a substantial number of students, leading to an intensive and productive exchange between students and project coordinators. It became clear that students are eager to help shape university alliances as equal partners and contribute valuable ideas.

During the Barcamp on the second day, both the Student Pro-Rector and the UG Institutional Coordinator brought in their own questions. Lukas Voigt focused on how to attract researchers and lecturers to our European university alliances. His own position was clear and generally shared by the workshop participants: “Lecturers should not primarily evaluate internationalization based on the personal benefit they derive from it. It is far more crucial to recognize the enormous opportunity the alliances offer young researchers when European collaboration becomes a tangible experience in the lecture hall. Without committed lecturers who visibly and convincingly embrace the European ideal, students are denied intercultural exchange – and this is precisely where we are squandering enormous potential for the future of science,” the Student Pro-Rector concluded.

Dorthe GA Hartmann raised the question of how virtual mobility can be made attractive to students and welcomed the students’ input on criteria that define appealing virtual mobility opportunities, as well as the project coordinators’ good practice examples of their alliances. It became evident that students consider credit transfer towards their main degree program important, as well as interdisciplinarity in topics and interactivity during the self-study phase. Ideally, virtual mobility would conclude with a brief in-person meeting of the participants. Lecture series and alliance- or topic-specific supplementary certificates were stated as successful good practice examples, the latter being useful when credit transfer to the main degree program is not possible.

The Student Pro-Rector and the UG Institutional Coordinator found the participation in the conference in Bonn more than rewarding and have returned to Greifswald with numerous good ideas for KreativEU. They are very grateful to the DAAD for organising the conference, which made this valuable exchange possible.