HKA invites students from all disciplines to apply for the 4th edition of the European Student Assembly - ESA 2025 - which will take place from May 26-28, 2025 at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
The European Student Assembly is a grassroots project that brings together more than 200 students from different European University Alliances (EUAs) every year to discuss current issues, draft policy recommendations for the future of Europe and advocate them to stakeholders and decision-makers.
Participants will debate and draft policy recommendations on 8 topics related to the future of Europe that are important to students. From February to May 2025, the selected students will work online with other members of the same panel to deepen their understanding of their chosen topic and start drafting policy recommendations. They will meet with experts and participate in an online training on policy making and facilitation. They will analyze the political and legal context, identify the main challenges raised by the topic and determine the priorities they want to address. They will propose concrete solutions to these challenges to be implemented by stakeholders at different decision-making levels.
This multi-month project will culminate in an assembly at the European Parliament in Strasbourg from May 26 to 28, 2025. During the event, numerous activities will be organized for students and the 64 European universities.
For three days, they will discuss and finalize their policy recommendations with the members of their committee. They will also hear about the discussions and debates of the other panels. Finally, they will vote on all prepared policy recommendations in a plenary session and then participate in dissemination activities.
The panels of ESA 25 are:
- Panel 1 - Mentally (un)stable. How can the EU help young people manage mental health issues caused by overstimulation?
- Panel 2 - Greener tomorrow. What is the role of climate and environmental policies in higher education and energy?
- Panel 3 - AI, European democracy and civic engagement. How can the EU benefit from Artificial Intelligence in its mission of promoting democracy?
- Panel 4 - Innovation for all. In what ways can the EU balance innovation and competitiveness to support sustainable economic growth?
- Panel 5 - Education beyond graduation. How can the EU promote lifelong learning to prepare its citizens for rapid technological and socioeconomic changes?
- Panel 6 - Living with dignity. What measures should the EU consider to ensure affordable housing for its younger generations?
- Panel 7 - Unveiling inequalities. What are the issues related to the gender pay gap and minorities?
- Panel 8 - Unity in diversity. How can the EU foster cultural understanding and inclusivity in an increasingly diverse Europe?
Applications are open to students of all nationalities, disciplines and study levels from the second year of a bachelor's degree to doctoral level.
- Students who have never taken part in the ESA before can apply as participants and/or panel coordinators.
- Students who have taken part in the first, second or third edition of the ESA as participants can only apply as panel coordinators.
- Students who participated in the first, second or third edition of ESA as coordinators are not eligible to apply again.
- Faculty members are not eligible to participate, with the exception of doctoral students.
Interested students can apply until December 1 at 11:59 pm (CET). If you would like to apply, please also inform the INGENIUM team of HKA at ingenium@h-ka.de
We recommend reading the ESA25-Handbuch carefully before applying.