ERUA continues to strengthen collaboration and the exchange of best practice with other European university alliances. On this occasion, the alliance took part on 10 June in EU GREEN’s Communication Days, an event held at the University of Extremadura which brought together communications officers and representatives from various institutions to share experiences and discuss communication strategies within European universities. The event reinforced the exchange of experiences between different European university alliances within the framework of the European Universities Initiative.
Representing ERUA, Samuel Taviro, an alumnus and member of the local team at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, was invited as an online speaker to present some of the initiatives developed by the alliance in the areas of communication and student engagement. His presentation provided the students’ perspective on the alliances’ communication, highlighting the role of students as active ambassadors within European universities.
During the session, an explanation was given of how communication within ERUA is organised through Work Package 8, which is responsible for coordinating the alliance’s dissemination, visibility and impact activities. The presentation placed particular emphasis on the link between communication and student engagement, demonstrating how students actively participate in content creation and in publicising activities at both local and international levels.
Among the best practices shared, the creation of social media accounts for each university – managed by students from different universities within the alliance – stood out. This model raises the profile of the initiatives carried out at each institution, whilst maintaining a coordinated strategy at European level. As a result, ERUA has succeeded in bringing its activities closer to the student body and strengthening the sense of belonging to the university community.
The presentation also addressed the measures promoted by the alliance to recognise and support student engagement; more specifically, it showcased ERUA’s Student Engagement Recognition Framework (SERF), a common framework that promotes the recognition of student engagement through various mechanisms, such as paid positions, academic recognition via ECTS credits, mobility opportunities, certificates and other forms of institutional recognition.
ERUA’s invitation to this meeting highlights the interest generated by the initiatives developed by the alliance in areas such as communication and student participation. It also reflects the value of exchanging experiences amongst European universities in order to continue building models that are more participatory, inclusive and attuned to the needs of their university communities.
