Last Friday, Rectors, Presidents, Director, representatives of external collaborators, staff, faculty, and students from all the member universities of the EELISA Alliance came together to exchange views, discuss plans and ideas on the building processes that are taking place within EELISA. Among them, we could find Francesco Serra, a student of Scuola Normale Superiore, a permanent member of the Governing Board, and a delegate of all student representatives currently involved in EELISA. Francesco has shared his reflections on the meeting with us. An enthusiastic message at a time when EELISA’s strategic plans outline an increasingly active role for students.
“ The communities, the mobility, the challenges are waiting for us. What are we waiting for?”
– Francesco Serra, EELISA Student Representative
Taking part in the meeting in Madrid was a thrilling experience. I felt welcomed, challenged, and most of all inspired by all the people that are working for the future of us, students. Meeting in person, you could feel from all the staff and faculty this passion to offer to us students the best experience of a European University.
I can only feel great excitement and anticipation for what EELISA is growing to become. The first EELISA communities have already formed. More and more communities will take off soon, addressing formidable challenges. Add to this the joint EELISA degrees and short-to-long-term mobility between partner institutions, and you can already see the build-up of a web of ideas and initiatives that bridge across academic and geographic borders.
For sure a project like this is not something that gets done overnight. From what little I know there has already been and still there is an incredible amount of work by both staff and faculty of each partner institution. These people are overcoming all kinds of obstacles to build a new European university.
But I think they cannot take care of everything by themselves. We, the students, have a crucial task as well. Indeed, although some details of the EELISA vision still need to be defined, EELISA is already waiting for us to join in and explore this new European dimension of the university, coming in touch with innovation and bringing forward our ideas. The communities are waiting, the mobility is waiting, the challenges are waiting for us. What are we waiting for?
Francesco Serra during the Governing Board Meeting in Madrid (01.10.2021)
* If you want to see more images of the EELISA Governing Board meeting in Madrid, click HERE