“Just imagine how much we can achieve when we are able to meet again!”

06/17/2021 | by Benedikt Ruppert | Linnaeus Students

Student engagement is key in developing the European University for Well-Being. Rebecca Esselgren, one of the founding members of the EUniWell Student Board, calls on all students from the seven partner universities to get involved and work together for a more international, more inclusive European University for Well-Being.

A photo of three representatives of the EUniWell Student Board. Cho Park, Rebecca Esselgren and Judith Barth are standing next to each other in a hallway with an EU flag draped over their shoulders.
From left to right: Cho Park (University of Birmingham), Rebecca Esselgren (Linneaus University) and Judith Barth (University of Cologne). Source: EUniWell

Rebecca Esselgren is a student from Linneaus University, one of seven European Universities of EUniWell. She is Vice-Chair of the Student Board of EUniWell and Head of the Student Union at Linneaus. She has been part of the EUniWell journey almost from the start of the Alliance. Her personal journey within EUniWell began in February 2020 when she took part in the meeting of the student representatives in Birmingham to establish the structure for EUniWell’s Student Board.

The Student Board consists of 15 members, two for each university, plus the Chief Student Officer, and is the basis for the active participation of students within and their co-creation of EUniWell. The student representatives also decided to form an elected Executive Team, intended to lead board meetings and represent the interests of the Student Board. It consists of the Chief Student Officer and two executive board members, one of which is Rebecca Esselgren.

“My hope is that students will become engaged in EUniWell. Those who are interested can engage themselves now, right away. We are now starting up different work groups and we need students to fill these”, said Esselgren in a recent interview.

Students are at the centre of the alliance and play a big role in shaping the future of the flagship European project. EUniWell offers students the opportunity to participate in programmes and initiatives delivered jointly across university campuses in seven different countries, experience challenge-based learning, and cooperate in inter-disciplinary teams to help tackle some of the biggest issues facing Europe today. Further advantages include the participation in EUniWell events, such as hackathons and conferences. In doing so, students can gain a unique insight into European education and policy systems. Collaborating with students across Europe also provides valuable networking and opportunities to develop diplomacy skills. Esselgren confirms the many benefits students can gain from being involved in EUniWell: “They can establish closer collaborations, which makes it easier for students to gain international experience. It will become easier and more open. It is also an opportunity to gain new perspectives and good experiences.”

In light of the ongoing pandemic the Linneaus student said: “It feels good that we got to meet in person before the pandemic. That was the only time, but it has meant a lot during the past year. I hope we will be able to meet in real life again soon.” The prospect of being able to travel again and visit the countries of the alliance is no doubt an exciting one and a big plus of being part of an international project. A working group meeting in the vineyards of Florence, Italy or on the shore of Kalmar, Sweden would certainly feel extra special after being forced to meet online for so long. This could also boost the productivity of the meetings states Rebecca: “If we can do this much online, just imagine how much we can achieve when we are able to meet again!”

 

Get involved!

The well-being of students is one of our main priorities and we would like your help in further establishing the European University for Well-Being. If you are a student from a EUniWell member University and are interested in joining, please contact the Student Board Executive Team.

Amal Anane, Chief Student Officer: cso[at]euniwell.eu

Rebecca Esselgren & Paul Koch, Executive Student Officers: student-officers[at]euniwell.eu

 

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