The post Statement on Vocational Education and Training appeared first on European Students' Union.

The post Statement regarding the Wave of Student Protests in Europe appeared first on European Students' Union.

The post Statement on the Rights and Inclusion of Disabled Students appeared first on European Students' Union.

The post Statement on the Implementation of the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) appeared first on European Students' Union.

Disturbingly, just a day before his detention, Istanbul University revoked Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu’s diploma under allegations of falsification, a move that raises serious concerns about academic integrity and the use of universities as tools of political retaliation, directly contradicting the fundamental principles of academic freedom and institutional autonomy. The repression of student protests constitutes a clear violation of fundamental student rights as derivable amongst others from Art. 19 and 20 of the Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. ESU unequivocally condemns the arrest of students whose only act is seeking justice and standing up for their rights. The excessive use of police force to suppress these peaceful demonstrations is politically motivated and infringes upon students’ rights to assembly and free expression. The heavy surveillance and threat of identification faced by student protestors represent a deliberate attempt to stifle political dissent and silence those who stand up for democratic values.

ESU demands that:

• The European community unequivocally condemns the unjust and undemocratic force executed by Turkish public authorities against students, academics and wider civil society standing up for democratic values
• The European community establishes monitoring mechanisms on academic freedom and closely monitors the current violations against academic freedom and student rights in Turkey.
• The rights of students to free expression and to organise peacefully without fear of persecution or academic repercussions must be upheld.
• Academic qualifications should never be exploited as political tools and the revocation of diplomas for political reasons must be reversed including through legal intervention at the European level.
• Turkey and Turkish higher education institutions must follow the fundamental values as enshrined within the Bologna Process, including academic freedom, student participation, academic integrity and democratic values.
• The fundamental right to protest must be protected as part of democratic participation, in line with international human rights law. 
• Higher education institutions must remain independent, free from state interference, and uphold democratic governance structures.

ESU stands in full solidarity with Turkish students and academics who continue to demonstrate such courage in the face of repression.

The post Solidarity with student protesters and civil society in Turkey appeared first on European Students' Union.

Summary of Recommendations

1. Creation of an EU Investment Framework for Higher Education

• Establish an EU Investment Envelope for Education to systematically coordinate education funding across different budgets, DGs and sectors.
• Apply a Golden Rule, excluding education financing from EU deficit rules to boost public investment.
• Systematically monitor and assess education investments through the European Semester, ensuring education is treated as an independent priority rather than being subsumed under employment.
• Create dedicated EU financial instruments or funding streams to support and expand educational infrastructure.
• Allocate a sufficient minimum of the total EU budget to education to reduce uncertainties.
• Reinforce education sector reforms and Bologna Process implementation through EU Structural Funds.
• Ensure education sector integration into other EU policy areas.

2. Systemic Stakeholder Involvement in EU Macroeconomic Governance

• Improve higher education stakeholder consultation regarding Cohesion Funds, ensuring key education representatives are included.
• Establish mechanisms to consult stakeholders at national levels in the European Semester, ensuring Country-Specific Recommendations (CSRs) align with stakeholder identified sector needs.

3. Erasmus+ Recommendations

a. Mobility

• Min. double the Erasmus+ budget by 2027 to maintain steady, linear growth.
• Increase the budget fivefold to support inclusivity and the Commission’s new priorities.
• Address financial barriers to mobility, ensuring Erasmus+ covers living costs, rent, and health insurance to reach the EU mobility targets and enhance inclusivity.

b. Budget Allocation

• Prevent reallocating higher education mobility funds to other sectors such as vocational education and training (VET) or European University Alliances.
• Ensure new priorities receive additional funding, rather than redistributing from existing programs.

c. Programme Priorities

• Maintain current priorities: Inclusion and Diversity, Digital Transformation, Environment and fight against climate change and, the Participation in democratic life, common values and civic engagement.
• Strengthen Participation in democratic life, common values and civic engagement amid growing societal polarization.
• Add Lifelong Learning as a priority to improve connectivity between sectors.
• Establish a “European Students at Risk” scheme to support students denied education rights in third countries.

d. Crisis Response & Preparedness

• Automatically adjust the Erasmus+ budget annually to reflect inflation.
• Strengthen academic freedom protections in research and education funding.
• Ensure future crisis response mechanisms include education as a key policy area.
• Guarantee stakeholder involvement in crisis response funding mechanisms, learning from the limited impact of the Recovery and Resilience Facility in education.

4. Administration of Erasmus+ Project Funds & Operating Grants

a. Erasmus+ Project Funds

• Adjust project funding to inflation and reduce excessive administrative burdens.
• Modify project innovation requirements, allowing for continuation of successful initiatives where appropriate (esp. to close persisting policy implementation gaps).
• Improve evaluator training to ensure the selections align with EU policy goals.
• Address the rise of “project mills” by introducing a checklist-based eligibility system.
• Strengthen targeted funding for higher education mobility, cooperation partnerships, and EHEA projects.

b. Operating Grants

• Maintain Operating Grants as an independent funding tool for European-level education stakeholder organizations.
• Simplify administrative and reporting requirements to reduce bureaucracy.
• Ensure cost adjustments in OGs to account for inflation.

1. Introduction

Over the past decades, national education budgets have faced continuous cuts, making EU funding increasingly vital for supporting education. However, the EU’s education budget remains minimal compared to other sectors and recent initiatives, particularly by member states, to further reduce education funding are especially concerning. Such reductions threaten the EU’s ability to build a resilient education system — a critical need in an era marked by polarisation, diminishing trust in democracy and science, and questioning of the fundamental right to education and the role of academia as a public good.

Education is essential to societal development: it not only imparts knowledge, critical-thinking and skills through teaching and learning but also drives knowledge creation through scientific research. Beyond this, education serves a broader purpose — promoting European values, fostering democratic attitudes and active citizenship, and enhancing intercultural understanding. Higher education institutions also participate in community engagement and provide outreach to marginalised and disadvantaged groups. This third mission extends the impact of education beyond classrooms and campuses into society at large.

To achieve the European Commission’s political priorities, higher education plays a pivotal role, as addressing challenges like the twin transition, labour shortages, combating poverty and inequality and the drive for innovation in the industrial sector to increase Europe’s competitiveness relies on cultivating knowledge and skills within Europe’s education systems. However, despite the emphasis on the importance of initiatives such as the Erasmus+ Student Mobility, European University Alliances, or the European Degree Label, Europe risks undermining its own ambitions by neglecting the critical role of providing quality education for students who will become the scientists, innovators, and workforce of tomorrow; defunding education jeopardises the very talent pool essential to achieving the Commission’s political priorities.

To empower higher education in fulfilling these varied and growing missions, stable and sufficient funding is essential. Supporting education is not only an investment in the EU’s future but also a commitment to maintaining education as a cornerstone of democratic values, social cohesion, and sustainable development across Europe.

2. Creation of an EU Investment Framework for Higher Education

On a broader level, a robust EU Investment Framework for Higher Education must be established, recognizing education as essential to long-term economic growth and societal progress:

1. An EU Investment Envelope for Education: While investments in education are done through Cohesion Funds, this is not systematically coordinated. While the Commission has worked on the efficiency of education spending in recent years, an investment envelope would be beneficial as it could finance tailor-made impactful initiatives. To maximize effectiveness, DG EAC should provide expertise to support evidence-based policymaking on education across departments.
2. Golden Rule: Education financing should be excluded from EU deficit rules to bolster public investments into the severely underfunded sector and therefore ensure long-term growth.

Education investments and reforms must be systematically monitored and assessed through the European Semester (ESU 2023). Currently, education is already being aligned with the EU’s broader social and economic objectives through employment heading, reducing it to a narrow scope but demonstrating the possibility to incorporate education in the European Semester. Education should be separated from employment and be given a more prominent and independent role within the European Semester. Furthermore, the creation of dedicated EU financial instruments or funding streams specifically designed to support and expand educational infrastructure across member states is also essential. This vision needs to be also reflected in the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).

As for the systemic involvement of stakeholders, both on national and European levels, to ensure transparency and inclusivity regarding the EU macroeconomic governance framework two aspects must be considered:

1. Implementation of Grants: Regarding the Cohesion Funds, the Partnership in Cohesion Policy framework establishes cooperation with stakeholders; however, participation is largely limited to larger organizations that often specialize in EU funding. As a result, key education stakeholders are excluded, despite education investments through Cohesion Funds being significantly higher than those allocated through Erasmus+. This exclusion creates a gap in stakeholder representation, limiting the integration of diverse perspectives in shaping education policy and funding priorities.
2. European Semester: At the national level, stakeholders are neither consulted nor involved in the reporting and monitoring of measures. While Country-Specific Recommendations (CSRs) are adopted by the Council based on the conclusions of the European Semester, and EU investment programs require member states to consider these CSRs, the lack of stakeholder involvement in the European Semester means that CSRs do not fully reflect the needs of stakeholder communities. To address this gap, it is essential to establish mechanisms for meaningful stakeholder engagement at all levels of governance, ensuring that investment decisions are informed by the perspectives of those directly affected.

A consistent allocation of a sufficient minimum of the total EU budget to education and specifically for Erasmus+ (based on the EU’s GDP) in line with the proposal of a “5th Freedom to enhance research, innovation, and education in the Single Market” (Letta Report 2024) is necessary, establishing education as a central pillar of EU policy in line with its recognised role within the competitiveness compass as a sector that will directly support the Future of European Competitiveness and thereby reducing the need for continuous renegotiations of the education budget which currently leads to reduced plannability and uncertainty in the sector. These demands underscore education as a cornerstone of EU policy, indispensable to achieving the Union’s social, economic, political and environmental goals. 

Finally, investments should be reinforced through the EU’s Structural Funds to support (higher) education sector reforms in line with EU targets and the implementation of Bologna Process tools (ESU 2020). The European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) and the Cohesion Policy goals should reflect the role of higher education for research and innovation in regards to the social dimension of higher education, i.e. enhancement of EU competitiveness through investments such as into infrastructure, student support schemes, etc., more strongly. This further expands to the need of including the education sector also in other policy areas of the EU, for example when it comes to initiatives regarding housing or health, where clear interlinkages exist.   

3. Erasmus+

a. Mobility

Erasmus+ has been the EU’s most successful program to date, enabling over 1.2 million people to participate in mobility activities and serving as a cornerstone for promoting European values, integration, and a shared European identity. Beyond its role in fostering cultural exchange, it is essential for strengthening the interconnectedness of Europe’s education sectors, advancing educational, social, and economic goals, and bolstering the competitiveness of Europe’s higher education and innovation landscapes (ESU 2023).

However, access to mobility (Erasmus for All) remains out of reach for many learners across Europe only reaching approximately 15% of young people in Europe, as Erasmus+ funding often falls short of covering the full range of costs, including those for relocation, rent, living expenses, and health insurance. With sharp inflation, rising rent and living costs, and a growing dependence on housing, jobs, and social benefits within one’s home country, many students face significant financial barriers that prevent them from fully engaging in Erasmus+ opportunities. Without adequate funding to address these realities, the program’s potential to foster mobility and inclusivity remains constrained. Given the EU’s current budget structure, with its annual exponential increases, it is crucial that the Erasmus+ budget be doubled by 2027 to maintain a steady, linear growth that would simply sustain Erasmus+ at its current level. However, to ensure an inclusive Erasmus+ that can incorporate the Commission’s new priorities and initiatives, a five time increase is essential (Draghi Report 2024). Without this significant boost, the integration of new goals within Erasmus+ will likely compromise existing targets, particularly impacting the program’s inclusivity and limiting its reach across diverse target groups and making the EU mobility targets unachievable. A solid investment pathway for education that ensures long term funding is indispensable (ESU 2024).

b. Budget allocation between sectors and programme objectives

Even with a sufficient budget, the question of balancing priorities across education sectors and addressing differing goals remains crucial. While the Commission – inter alia – aims to enhance support for vocational education and training (VET) as well as the European University Initiative, there is a risk that these initiatives could come at the expense of higher education mobility and other HE initiatives. Although strengthening efforts in the VET sector and expanding the European University Alliances are commendable goals in line with the student movements’ demands, it is essential to avoid limiting funding only to a select group of higher education institutions, such as the European University Initiative members, or reallocating resources away from higher education mobility to other sectors. To successfully achieve the new objectives and maintain the existing level of mobility in higher education, additional funding is needed. This would ensure that current mobility opportunities continue while supporting progress on these new initiatives. Notably, echoing the recent demands of the National Agencies implementing Erasmus+, to achieve all the current and new objectives under the goal of an Erasmus+ for all, a five-fold increase of the budget would be required.

c. Priorities of the Erasmus+ programme

Currently, Erasmus+ prioritises Inclusion and Diversity, Digital Transformation, Environment and fight against climate change and, the Participation in democratic life, common values and civic engagement. Generally, from a stakeholder perspective these key objectives are well received and should remain. Nevertheless, there is a notable decline as to the priority of Participation in democratic life, common values and civic engagement, which beyond the backdrop of increasing societal polarisation and anti-European sentiment is concerning, as civic engagement and active citizenship education are crucial to combat radicalism. 

Lifelong learning should be added to the priorities, as the lack of connectivity between education sectors prevents the fostering of synergies which are crucial both for the personal development of learners and to boost the European education sector in its ability to foster competitiveness by integrating different forms of learning through the synergies of formal, non-formal and informal learning in horizontal and vertical governance manners.

Lastly, given the rise of attacks on academic freedom and student activists, recognising student activists as human rights defenders both regarding the right to education and academic freedom but also democracy and common values on a larger scale, the establishment of a “European Students at Risk” scheme and the priority of supporting the fundamental values underpinning European higher education are crucial to address the issue via the European Approach. The scheme would allow student human rights defenders from third countries who are denied their right to education to receive the opportunity to continue their educational pathway in Europe via a scholarship programme, parallelling similar schemes established for researchers under Horizon Europe as well as the EU Mobility Programme for Myanmar.

d. Crisis response and preparedness

The COVID-19 pandemic and Russian war against Ukraine significantly impacted the education sector due to the high inflation, rising energy prices and rising living costs. At the same time, the funding instruments of the EU were not adapted to reflect the rising costs in higher education. While the MFF in theory is supposed to adapt in case of rising inflation, it is currently not functional and thus needs to be remodeled to integrate the automatic yearly adaptation of the Erasmus+ budget by design into the MFF to ensure that the program is proofed against future crises, alongside a one time increase to bring the budget to a level that matches the inflation of recent years.

To enhance preparedness, EU funding mechanisms regarding research and innovation and higher education should include strong provisions that promote and support academic freedom and the financial autonomy of the sector. This is especially important against the backdrop of rising attacks on academic freedom, anti-scientific sentiments and the downward spiral of a severely underfunded research and higher education sector. The missions of higher education, including learning, teaching and research, are pivotal to prepare society for future challenges and uphold the level of quality needed to ensure that the European competitiveness goals can be achieved, especially with regards to the framework of the Union of Skills and foreign threats.

Building on the experience of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), it is crucial that future crisis response mechanisms include education as a key policy area. The RRF’s failure to support educational institutions and the wider education sector has caused significant harm to younger generations, particularly in areas such as mental health, personal self development and independence, active citizenship, and knowledge/skills acquisition. Apart, while the RRF included a criterion for stakeholder involvement in policy design, though fairly minimal, this was largely not followed through and, as for implementation, involvement of the education stakeholder community cannot be observed at all. At the same time, in the few countries where stakeholder engagement in the consultations were conducted, more tailor-made investments in education can be observed (e.g. Portugal). Going forward, stakeholder involvement throughout the entire policy-cycle should be a standard feature of future financial instruments, alongside appropriate accountability measures to ensure effective implementation.

4. Administration of Erasmus+ project funds and Operating Grants

a. Erasmus+

A crucial component of Erasmus+ is its various funding streams that support projects fostering international cooperation and contribute to the development of the education sector. However, in recent years, the program has experienced a decline in effectiveness due to several financial and administrative challenges:

1. Project funding needs to be adjusted to account for the significant inflation seen in recent years, as current funds often fall short of covering actual costs. Additionally, the application and reporting requirements regarding deliverables and scope of projects are disproportionate to the grant amounts, leading to a substantial portion of staff time and thus project grants being devoted to administrative tasks rather than focusing on project deliverables. Easing these requirements would alleviate the administrative burden on applicants and allow the Commission to allocate financial resources more efficiently to deliverables rather than administrative needs to check up on projects.
2. Project applications have the requirement of proof of innovation, which is understandable to prevent repetition and ensure progress. However, there are areas where continuing existing actions and deliverables, rather than introducing new innovations, can be more beneficial. For example, addressing implementation gaps in (higher) education policy may require extended efforts beyond the typical 12-36 month project timeframe. This is especially true for the project funds dedicated to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).
3. While KA1 (learning mobility for individuals) funds have in tendency been increased in recent years, which is welcomed by the student movement given the important role of the Erasmus+ mobility scheme for higher education, KA2 and KA3 have been at the expense of this, leading to increased competition between education stakeholder organisations with each other and vis-a-vis other non-stakeholder organisations. In addition, funds are frequently awarded to organisations whose connections to the education sector are unclear. This has resulted in the emergence of project mills – entities that apply for funding without meaningful ties to the education sector and, consequently, lack the capacity to effect positive change. This issue is particularly pronounced in the formal education sector, where limited resources are distributed ineffectively, failing to address the actual needs of the sector and the stakeholder community.
4. The selection of beneficiary projects should better balance commendable initiatives and those aligned with EU political priorities, as the currently sometimes emerging misalignment results in a gap between the projects executed by stakeholders and the EU’s ongoing policy efforts. A key factor in this issue is the selection process carried out by evaluators. Limited awareness of evolving policy priorities in (higher) education, coupled with insufficient time to thoroughly assess lengthy applications, may lead to the approval of projects that are easier to grasp rather than those that, while more complex and specific, align with significant yet lesser-known EU initiatives. 

It is essential to establish and upkeep targeted funding streams dedicated to higher education mobility, cooperation partnerships in the education sector, support for the EHEA, and the youth sector. This targeted funding is necessary not only to ensure that organisations from the sector are able to apply given their limited capacities but also to safeguard these sectors from potential reductions in funding, which could be redirected to other areas if full flexibility was part of the design of the new scheme. It should be ensured that beneficiaries are strongly linked to the education sector, with special attention to be paid to (representative) stakeholder organisations engaging with target groups, including the possibility of a checklist-system connected to the eligibility criteria to prevent project mills which are not able to bring any added value to the programme goals to become beneficiaries. 

For the EHEA call and specific other policy areas where implementation gaps are to be addressed through dedicated project initiatives, the criteria of innovation should be replaced by a criteria of supporting established policy goals that have not yet been reached if it can be proven that measures from former project applications have been effective and thus are fruitful to be repeated in a follow-up project. 

Evaluators need to be trained properly to ensure a more strategic and policy-aligned allocation of funds and enhance the contributions of the sector to advancing EU policy goals. 

Lastly, while it is an established practice elsewhere, the Erasmus+ Programming Committee is reluctant to engage the stakeholder committee. Including stakeholders should become a practice to ensure that the experience of the stakeholder community as beneficiaries can support the continuous improvement of Erasmus+.

b. Operating Grants

The Operating Grants (OG) under the Civil Society Cooperation in the fields of Education and Training SGA call is an indispensable tool supporting the European-level education sector to be able to fulfil its role in supporting and furthering the European goals in education as stakeholder institutions. Especially in the education sector and specifically in higher education due to the traditionally strong autonomy of the academic community, the academic community through their representative stakeholder organisations bears many similarities to social partners, elevating bottom-up EU policy in education through their expertise while similarly top-down advocating EU goals towards national, regional and local levels, including and beyond their membership. It is vital that the Operating Grant remains as an essential tool for European-level education stakeholder organisations to execute activities that expand and fortify transnational collaboration in education, foster awareness of EU driven initiatives and tools for education and to promote the educational goals of the EU in line with broader social, political and economic priorities of the EU. The sole existence of project funds through the Key Action scheme or a new scheme similar to it would not be able to have the same fruitful impact, given that it puts European-level stakeholder organisations in competition with local and national level organisations as well as non-stakeholder European organisations. It is therefore of utmost importance to keep the OG scheme either as it is or to integrate it as its own programme within a possibly restructured budget scheme. On an administrative level, the OG needs to be simplified in terms of the number of required deliverables and reporting mechanisms to reduce administrative burdens for both the EU administration and benefitting stakeholder organisations, as well as better account for cost increases due to the inflation.

Further reads

• ESU’s opinion on the mid-term review of the European Education Area (2024)
• ESU’s contribution to the Common EU surveillance of Member States’ budgets & coordination of economic policies (Economic Governance Review) (2023)
• ESU’s Internationalisation and Mobility Policy Paper (2023)
• ESU’s contribution to the Mid-Term Review of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (2022)
• ESU’s Student Manifesto – 24 proposals for the 2024 European Elections (2022)
• Students demand a more social economic governance framework (2022)
• Resolution on the financing of the European Universities alliances (2022)
• ESU Statement on Multi-annual Financial Framework EU 2014-2020 (2011)

The post ESU’s Priorities for a Multiannual Financial Framework 2028-2034 and European Semester that Future-Proof Education appeared first on European Students' Union.

For two months, students across Serbia have been peacefully protesting and occupying higher education institutions in response to a tragic incident at a train station. These protests reflect the younger generation’s hope for a future free from corruption and injustice.

Across the country, tens of thousands of students have been blocking faculty buildings, with professors and teachers striking in solidarity to support their cause. However, despite the peaceful nature of the protests, there have been disturbing reports of physical attacks, threats, media slander, and hostile rhetoric targeting the academic community. These actions represent a serious violation of academic freedom and campus safety.

It has to be emphasised that student movements have always been powerful drivers of positive societal change in Europe, and the dedication of young people in Serbia deserves to be respected. To this end, ESU calls for:

• Institutions to monitor and investigate all breaches of academic freedom and acts of violence and political persecution against protesters, including students, and to ensure their safety on and off campus;
• Uphold student protestors’ universal rights to peaceful assembly, protest, and freedom of expression;
• Fostering an open and respectful dialogue to address the issues at hand;
• Respect and  support the democratic aspirations of Serbian youth, including their  esteem of  transparency and accountability regarding of society;
• Not place the student protests in a disconnected wider geopolitical and historical context.

The post ESU Statement regarding students Protest in Serbia appeared first on European Students' Union.

Since 29 November 2024, thousands of Georgian citizens have gathered in Tbilisi to express their concerns on the government’s decision not to proactively raise the issue of launching the EU accession talks on political agenda with the European Union until 2028. These demonstrations reflect the citizens’ firm commitment to Georgia’s European aspirations. However, the response by national authorities has raised significant concerns, as many protesters have reportedly been subject to violence and arrest, with troubling allegations of mistreatment, among them many young persons and students.

Numerous international organizations have raised concerns about the processes of the October 26th elections, with the European Parliament sharing these concerns. Several organizations called for the election results to be reviewed, and recommended that a new election be conducted under international supervision to ensure transparency and fairness.

The European Students’ Union in collaboration with the Georgian Students’ Organisation Association (GSOA), as stated in a joint resolution on ESU’s support towards European integration of Georgia, recently emphasized that Georgia’s young generation desires the future of their country as a member of the European community.

ESU therefore calls upon the public authorities in Georgia:

• Immediately monitor and investigate all acts of violence against protesters, including students, and ensure their safety and right to peaceful assembly;
• Uphold the rule of law in relation to the recent elections, in accordance with the recommendations of OSCE/ODIHR’s report;
• Respect and seriously consider the aspirations of Georgian youth, including by explaining November 28 decision on Georgia’s EU integration process;
• Honour and act in accordance with the will of the Georgian people, supporting their vision for the country’s future.

The post ESU Statement regarding current developments in Georgia appeared first on European Students' Union.

The world is currently facing what the United Nations calls the triple planetary crisis – the simultaneous and interlinked challenges related to climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. Each of these challenges have their own causes and effects, and they all need to be resolved if we are to have a viable future on this planet. At the same time, we are facing an increasingly unstable world with many crises and situations which may seem more critical to solve in the short term. In such a time it is important to focus not only on what is happening in the near term, but maintain a focus also on the more long term challenges.

ESU believes that in order to solve the complex polycrises we are facing, systemic change and a knowledge based approach is needed. Here, the higher education institutions (HEIs) have a particular responsibility. This includes equipping students with the skills and knowledge which will be needed in order to face these challenges, developing and disseminating knowledge about the current situation and future scenarios, contributing knowledge-based arguments to the political conversation in their society, and working to improve their own operations to make them more sustainable.

In order to take this responsibility, and contribute to a more sustainable world, a whole institution approach is needed. HEIs need to look at the total of their operations, including education, research, capacity building, institutional practices, social outreach and leadership.

In this statement, we are outlining ESU’s position on how HEIs can meaningfully contribute to a more sustainable world. As we already have a statement on Education for sustainable development (ESD), this topic will receive less attention here. 

ESU thoroughly believes that with quick, targeted and knowledge-based action, the crisis can be mitigated, and a sustainable world can be achieved for people and for the planet.

2. Education

Education is a cornerstone of capacity building for sustainable development, and key to addressing both local and global challenges. In order to maximise their contribution to a more sustainable world, HEIs should implement Education for Sustainable Development. The goal of ESD is to equip students with the necessary knowledge, skills, attitudes and values needed to contribute to sustainable development. The education should promote a holistic understanding of sustainability, including economic, social and environmental dimensions. It should provide every student with an understanding of the global sustainability challenges we are facing, and equip them with the knowledge and skills to contribute to solutions within their field. 

HEIs have a responsibility to integrate sustainability across all disciplines, not just as separate courses. Interdisciplinary approaches to sustainability should be fostered within institutions, through cooperation between faculties and departments. Institutions must develop strategies that genuinely contribute to sustainability, avoiding “greenwashing” and superficial environmentalism.

HEIs must equip students with the knowledge, skills, and values necessary to address climate challenges, including skills for sustainable innovation, entrepreneurship, and the green economy, along with fostering community engagement. ESD must also address global challenges like climate justice and inequality, promoting international cooperation among students and institutions. Student participation is key to implementing ESD, so HEIs should support students through internships and research opportunities. The role of academic staff is also crucial, with calls for better training and resources to incorporate sustainability into curricula and research.

Academic mobility is a cornerstone of the European higher education landscape, fostering collaboration, cultural exchange, and academic excellence. However, the environmental impact of student and staff travel poses a significant challenge. According to the data gathered within the Green Erasmus Project, international students are more likely to use high-emission modes of transport. To mitigate this, it is necessary to promote sustainable behaviours and to raise awareness about the ecological footprint of international exchanges. The ENGAGE.EU Green Mobility Report highlights similar concerns, noting that over 70% of student mobility occurs through high-emission modes. This report emphasises the need for structural changes in mobility programs to support greener choices. European University Alliances, with their vast network and policy influence, are uniquely positioned to act as catalysts for sustainable mobility, ensuring that international exchanges contribute to global sustainability efforts rather than detract from them. At the same time, it is crucial to recognise that green public transportation is still not as affordable and accessible as it should be and that there are huge regional differences in Europe in the necessary infrastructure. So, although it is necessary that HEIs fulfil their duty to promote green mobility, it is also necessary that we push for structural changes and investments to ensure the possibility to choose green mobility.

Lifelong learning, upskilling, and reskilling are essential to support the green transition in higher education and beyond. As the demands of the labour market evolve towards a sustainable approach, HEIs must equip students with the skills needed to address environmental challenges and foster innovation. This requires flexible learning pathways that enable individuals to continuously update their competencies in fields like green renewable energy, circular economy, and climate resilience. By embedding these opportunities into the educational system, higher education institutions can empower both current students and lifelong learners to contribute to a just and sustainable future. Stronger collaboration between academia, industry, and governments will further ensure alignment with green policy goals and workforce needs.

ESU believes that:

• HEIs should take concrete actions to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, waste production and harmful impact on biodiversity.
• HEIs should establish partnerships across regions and engage in joint action in relation to ESD.
• Global perspectives of ESD should be included in curricula.
• HEIs should support student engagement and student-led initiatives regarding sustainability.
• HEIs, European University Alliances and other networks should promote green modes of transport concerning mobility.
• HEIs should establish microcredential programmes and short courses focused on green skills, allowing both current students and professionals to upskill and reskill in areas such as green renewable energy, sustainable technologies, and environmental management.
• HEIs should establish dedicated career services that connect students and graduates to emerging job opportunities in the green economy, offering guidance on career paths in sustainability-focused sectors.
• Lifelong learning opportunities are essential in order to ensure that everyone has access to up-to-date knowledge about sustainability-related topics relevant for their field.
• HEIs should promote interdisciplinary approaches to sustainability in their curricula, and foster cooperation between different institutions, faculties and departments.

3. Research

Our higher education institutions have a central role in developing the knowledge that we need in order to understand and address the effects of climate change and the biodiversity crisis. It is crucial to understand the mechanisms behind the changes we see, project future developments, and spread proof-based knowledge about these changes to society in general and policy makers in particular.

ESU believes in the institutional autonomy of HEIs, and the academic freedom of individual researchers. However, these freedoms also come with responsibilities. It is necessary to direct academic and economic resources towards projects which contribute to finding sustainable solutions to these challenges. This is a responsibility of national and international funders of research, as well as individual institutions and researchers.

Research should not be conducted in isolation. For both fundamental and applied research, it is important to stay in touch with other disciplines, as well as other relevant actors from different parts of society. The challenges we are facing are complex and interconnected, and we therefore need to build on research and knowledge from a range of disciplines and sectors in order to understand them and identify realistic solutions. ESU therefore believes that more research funding should be directed towards interdisciplinary research in order to break down barriers between disciplines. It is also necessary to incorporate knowledge from diverse sources, recognising both academic, indigenous and local knowledge, and utilising them when applicable considering  their different strengths and weaknesses.

Many HEIs have research corporations and agreements with private companies and/or other public institutions, involving funding or co-funding of research activities. This cooperation can contribute to more relevant research, and to new knowledge easier being made use of to solve practical problems. However, some companies also use these agreements to influence research topics and methods for their own gain. This goes against the institutional autonomy and academic freedom of the HEIs, and might also limit their ability to conduct the free and independent research on topics such as climate change.

Effective use of lab equipment and spaces is important in order to keep the general resource use of HEIs as low as possible. Increased cooperation between departments and institutions can reduce the need to buy new equipment for new research projects, while also allowing to pool resources to buy better equipment when acquiring. Cooperation around computing capacities such as through the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking will be especially important in order to carry out research projects which require advanced computing.

ESU believes that:

• There must be strong sustainability indicators in the allocation of research funds.
• Research funding should favour interdisciplinary research.
• Research and knowledge production in academia must be based on diverse sources of knowledge, recognising both academic, indigenous and local knowledge when applicable.
• Research collaboration agreements with private entities should allow academic institutions the freedom to independently determine the direction and methodology of their research. These agreements should also be communicated transparently and made accessible to the wider community for accountability and openness.
• Sharing and more effective use of lab equipment and computing capacities is needed, both within and between institutions.
• Research that contributes to developing solutions for environmental crises should be encouraged by HEIs and supported through fund allocation.

4. Capacity building

All members of the academic community actively participate in the development of the learning environment and the principles that the HEI promotes, regardless of whether they are students, faculty, administrative staff, or members of the maintenance of the facilities or of the services on campus. Therefore, it is crucial that everyone commits to the common attempt towards sustainability. For this reason, it is necessary to offer capacity-building opportunities which can give the entire academic community and those connected to it the knowledge and critical thinking skills needed to make their actions more sustainable. In this way, they will have the competences to actively contribute to the promotion of new opportunities and of a more sustainable educational environment.

ESU believes that in order to foster a sustainable higher education culture it is essential that all staff are prepared with the knowledge and resources needed to face and effectively overcome sustainability challenges, as well as with a holistic approach that highlights the interaction between environmental, social, and economic justice. By providing the tools and resources, capacity building makes it possible for sustainability to become a core part of the institution’s identity and operations.

Through capacity building, HEIs can encourage active participation and collective responsibility, creating a culture where everyone feels capable of and accountable for contributing to sustainability efforts. This collective empowerment is key to reach and promote the necessary transformation, as it ensures that sustainability is a shared commitment across the entire campus. However, while implementing these best practices, it is of foremost importance to acknowledge that every member of the academic community should be given an adequate amount of time to commit and engage in these activities, not impacting their work-life balance. 

ESU believes that:

• HEIs should offer free and dedicated capacity building activities on sustainability to all their academic community, granting that they are accessible to all.
• HEIs should strive to increase awareness on environmental issues and sustainable practices among their academic communities, also through ad-hoc campaigns, fostering a campus culture that values sustainability.
• Every HEI should join or create repositories where the academic community can easily access resources on sustainability.
• Teaching staff should be provided the necessary training to meaningfully integrate sustainability principles into curricula and programmes. These training opportunities should also emphasise how to overcome historical biases and include indigenous knowledge in the curricula, promoting responsible environmental management practices that are both equitable and sustainable.
• Adequate time and opportunities to build up their knowledge about sustainability and engage in sustainable practices should be granted to every member of the academic community.
• HEIs should open to all the academic community collaborative reflections and dialogue on how to improve their sustainability, in order to shape together internal policies that promote sustainable practices.
• HEIs should ensure that sustainability is one of the key responsibilities of selected academic and administrative staff, in order to ensure that sustainability is prioritised across the operations of the institution.
• Every member of the academic community should be enabled to adopt and promote sustainable practices in their daily work that can benefit the overall institution.
• In order to make sustainable choices, each member of the academic community should also be provided adequate resources and retribution to contribute to and disseminate the sustainability mission of the institution. 
• Governments should provide every HEI the necessary funds to promote capacity building initiatives which focus on sustainability.

5. Institutional practices

For Higher education institutions to be credible contributors to sustainable solutions, it is crucial to implement sustainable practices  in their own operations. HEIs should ensure prioritisation of sustainable practices  within teaching and research, but also in all other institutional practices. Students and staff should be involved in developing more sustainable practices, in order to ensure that they are applicable throughout the academic community.

Many HEIs are large institutions, with big budgets, and therefore also a strong consumer power. To ensure that the environment is taken into consideration when economic decisions are being made, there should be strong sustainability components in guidelines for purchases and within purchase agreements. This should apply to all guidelines and agreements for HEIs, both national and institution-specific ones.

Considering the great consumption capacity of HEIs, measures for reduced water and energy consumption should be implemented. It is important to ensure that water and energy efficiency is a focus both when it comes to renovation and building new facility capacities. Recycled and recyclable materials should be used whenever possible. HEIs should explore the possibilities for utilising green renewable energy sources within their premises to increase the production of green renewable energy.

Transportation is another large source of emissions for HEIs. Students and staff should therefore be encouraged and incentivised to use public transportation, walking or biking whenever possible. The HEIs have a responsibility to ensure that the infrastructure on campus allows for this, e.g. by ensuring bike parking spots and locker rooms available for students and staff. Emissions from travelling should be considered when shorter in-person meetings and conferences for students and staff are organised, and HEIs should work strategically to reduce air travel.

Over the past few years we have seen increasing extreme weather due to climate change,  including natural disasters such as floods and landslides, with severe consequences for both students and staff. In these extreme situations, HEIs need to be flexible in implementing measures which keep students and staff safe, but also allows for daily operations to continue as normal as possible. These measures can include immediate support for victims,  flexible deadlines, extension of student status and delayed graduation, supplementary exam sessions and more. By joining forces with the community and fortifying together the support mechanisms for students and for the community, HEIs could provide shelters, resources and organisation that can make everyone feel safe, supported and cared for.

In the cases where HEIs provide accommodation and food services for the students and staff, it is necessary to ensure alignment with sustainability guidelines when it comes to providing these services. HEIs should support local producers to ensure seasonal meals when possible. Low impact meals should be offered when possible and food waste should be monitored to reduce the environmental impact.

ESU believes that:

• Students and staff should be involved in developing sustainable institutional practices.
• Sustainability should be a strong component in purchase agreements and guidelines for HEIs.
• Renovation of buildings should be prioritised over building anew, and recycled materials should be used whenever possible.
• HEIs should explore the possibilities for utilising green renewable energy sources.
• HEIs should prioritise utilising green renewable energy sources when possible.
• HEIs should reduce their greenhouse gas emissions linked to travel activities by encouraging students and staff to use public transport, biking or walking, and reducing air travel.
• HEIs should strive to preserve and increase biodiversity on campus, namely through conservation of soil, water and air within their premises.
• On campus, HEIs should also engage in sustainable waste management practices, including recycling and composting.
• By joining forces with the community, HEIs should fortify the support mechanisms for students and for the community in the case of extreme weather events. HEIs should also create institutional contingency plans to deal with such events.
• HEIs should adopt eco-friendly practices in student housing, such as utilising energy-efficient systems and incorporating sustainable materials in constructions and renovations.
• HEIs should offer locally sourced food options, minimising food waste and using environmentally responsible packaging and disposal practices.
• Within its spaces, HEIs should avoid and discourage the usage of single-use plastics.
• HEIs should establish smart consumption measures for the reduction of energy and water usage.

6. Societal outreach

HEIs are not isolated entities, through the learning and research opportunities they offer they can hugely impact society and provide solutions for pressing global issues. For centuries, they have been a space for democratic discussion and participatory governance. In the time being, HEIs should not step back on this responsibility towards society and should not fear their role as active participants in their communities, fostering a collective commitment to sustainability and community engagement on the topic.

Through their work, HEIs can create new partnerships, support their local communities, empower marginalised groups and vulnerable communities, and influence sustainable actions at all levels. This can be done by developing sustainable projects or internship opportunities, addressing local challenges together with municipalities, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders, fostering active citizenship, community-based research and citizen science and tackling the local consumption of natural resources.

Through their actions, HEIs can actively contribute to the social development of their regions. They can offer their facilities to initiatives of shared and collaborative production of green renewable energy, implement green technologies that benefit the society at large and promote new sustainable practices for the labour market. By offering science-based contributions to different discussions on sustainability, they can help the society enhance (or in some cases re-build) its trust in science. Following this commitment, HEIs should also be active participants in policy discussions and democratic spaces within their local communities.

HEIs should strive to set a model for other institutions when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions and investments in fossil fuels. The on-going under-financing of HE is pushing HEIs to look into partnerships with the private sector which can support them for new degrees and learning opportunities, for research equipment and the renovation of laboratories. However, if forced to explore potential partnerships, HEIs should set high standards regarding the companies’ commitments to sustainability, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and divestment from fossil fuels.

Furthermore, HEIs can support marginalised and vulnerable communities, who are often the most impacted by climate change. By promoting science-driven discussions with the local authorities, HEIs can contribute to the development of specific programmes that address the needs of these communities, and support them in the adaptation to environmental degradation and climate disasters.

The focus of community outreach should not be only at the local level. HEIs should also strive to share best practices and learn new ones from other fellow institutions on a global level. They can start from their cross-border relationships to engage in interregional sustainability initiatives that can benefit multiple communities at the same time. Exchanging knowledge on a global level is essential to learn sustainable practices from other regions who face different climate challenges.

The societal outreach of HEIs also passes through the actions of their students in the society. A common tendency today is that of criminalising or discrediting young climate activists. ESU believes it is fundamental for HEIs to empower their students to be free to decide to continue or start engaging in activism for the climate, without fear of repercussions in their academic path. HEIs should also strive to make their spaces an accessible place for climate activists, where they participate in discussions and make their voices heard.

ESU believes that:

• Higher education institutions have the responsibility to contribute to a knowledge based public discussion about climate change.
• HEIs should ensure that the research they conduct is available and easily accessible to the society at large, so that sustainable practices and new innovations can contribute to the sustainability of the broader community.
• HEIs should commit to open data, making available their data and research outcomes to society.
• HEIs should  promote citizen science initiatives and engage in collaborative projects and in the creation of internship opportunities to address local sustainability challenges together with municipalities, civil society organisations and other relevant local stakeholders.
• HEIs should participate in partnerships with local and regional stakeholders to establish interdisciplinary hubs with a focus on sustainability that involve students, academic staff and other stakeholders.
• HEIs should open their facilities in order to establish energy communities that can benefit the institutions but also the local community.
• HEIs should be an active policy advisor in the local policy dialogue, using the science-based knowledge coming from research on sustainability to support the local community development.
• If the HEIs manage assets in funds, these must be fossil fuel free and live up to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment and respect human rights.
• HEIs should focus their research also on the elaboration of indicators to transparently measure the environmental impact of the use of AI and digitalisation within their day-to-day activities, promoting this approach in the society.
• HEIs should proactively engage in science-driven discussion with local authorities and marginalised communities to support the latter in overcoming environmental challenges.
• HEIs should strive to exchange good practices and learn new ones by engaging in interregional sustainability initiatives at a global level.
• HEIs should empower and support their students who decide to participate in climate actions.
• HEIs should create multiple opportunities of discussion about climate change and environmental issues, open to the local community and involving climate activists and NGOs.

7. Leadership and institutional strategies

Leadership within higher education institutions (HEIs) bears a pivotal role in addressing the urgent sustainability challenges facing society. They must guide HEIs in adopting a “whole institution” approach to sustainability, embedding sustainable practices across all areas, from education and research to institutional governance and societal outreach. They are responsible for ensuring that HEIs develop and implement concrete action plans to achieve climate neutrality in alignment with European and global sustainability goals. This includes fostering a culture of sustainability that equips students with the knowledge and skills to tackle the interlinked crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.

Leadership must also engage in transparent reporting of emissions, ensure interdisciplinary collaboration, and contribute to policy discussions at all levels. By leading these efforts, HEIs can not only improve their own operations but also act as catalysts for broader societal change, positioning themselves as active contributors to sustainable development.

In order to identify and implement concrete actions to cut emissions and make their institution more sustainable, HEIs need to actively involve students and staff in decision making processes. This can for example be done by establishing “green offices” – co-creation spaces where students and staff can come together to receive information about the sustainability work of the institution, and create sustainability initiatives and events.

Sustainability initiatives at all levels should be guided by facts. Correct and transparent reporting of direct and indirect emissions from each HEI is therefore necessary. These reports should then be used as part of the basis for decisions when economic decisions and plans for emission reductions are made. Reporting should also be standardised, allowing for aggregation of comparable data on a national and European level. 

ESU believes that:

• All HEIs shall make concrete action plans for a goal of cutting 55% of emissions between 1990 and 2030, and reaching climate neutrality by 2050, in line with European commitments.
• Mapping and transparent reporting of direct and indirect emissions are needed in order to implement effective emission reduction measures.
• Decision-making bodies and processes plays a pivotal role in ensuring that the whole institution approach to sustainability is implemented in all aspects of the institutions’ operations.
• Student engagement in sustainability initiatives should be actively supported and encouraged, offering opportunities for research, internships, and activism as key components of HEIs’ sustainability efforts.
• Regular reporting on sustainability progress is essential, ensuring transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement in alignment with institutional and societal sustainability goals.
• HEIs should establish green offices where students and staff can come together and work on sustainable initiatives.
• HEIs’ reporting on emissions should be standardised, and data should be aggregated and published on national and European levels.

The post Statement on Sustainability of Higher Education – BM88 appeared first on European Students' Union.

The European Students’ Union (ESU), the organisation representing 20 million students at European level and the National Alliance of Student Organizations in Romania (ANOSR), as the legitimate representative of all students in Romania, firmly condemn any action that undermines the democratic values shaped by Romania in its 35 years of freedom. We emphasize the critical need to safeguard these values, maintain the country’s European path and address the alarming threats posed by extremist movements in the public sphere to the rule of law, scientific research, academic activity, fundamental rights and citizens’ liberties.

The results of the first round of the presidential elections have reflected the public’s justified dissatisfaction with how Romania has been governed over the years, as expressed through voting choices. However, it is crucial to understand that radicalization, populism, extremist ideologies, hate speech targeting minority communities, the abandonment of European values and threats to fundamental human rights are not solutions for advancing Romania’s development.

Romania’s current political landscape sends a clear and urgent warning that cannot be ignored by political actors. We call on political leaders and parties to prioritize the needs of citizens, move beyond superficial declarations to take concrete, impactful actions and reevaluate their political and governance agendas. If these systemic issues are not addressed with the utmost seriousness, the growing influence of extremist ideologies will continue to pose a significant threat to Romania’s democracy.

At this critical time, it is essential for citizens to stay united and well-informed. We stress the importance of critically analyzing and verifying information to ensure that the votes cast in the upcoming two weeks—during both the Parliamentary and second round of the presidential elections—are not influenced by misinformation or manipulation.

As the representatives of students at both national and European levels, we strongly condemn any public statements that undermine the validity of scientific research or promote ignorance, hate or undemocratic values. We urge all higher education institutions to take a firm stance against such actions, which threaten to erode the credibility of the academic community and its vital role in society.

We call on all students, political leaders, civil society actors and higher education institutions to stand firm against these threats, to reaffirm their commitment to democratic values and to reject the glorification of totalitarianism and the promotion of ignorance. 

Now, more than ever, Romania must:

• be resilient against disinformation and the extremist rhetoric 
• work to bridge the divisions that threaten to tear its society apart
• stand firmly with the European Union and Ukraine

The post Defending democracy and Romania’s European path against extremism appeared first on European Students' Union.