Following a challenging 2020, Arqus – the European University Alliance, comprising the University of Graz and six partners – has some ambitious plans for 2021. Over the next few weeks, the people at the University of Graz who are involved in the Arqus alliance will be reporting on what it has achieved so far and what objectives it has set itself for this year.
Today: the Student Council, contacts at the University of Graz: Annina Thaller (PhD, Environmental Systems Sciences) und David Repolusk (BA, Transcultural Communication)
Arqus was one of the first 17 alliances to receive major funding from the EU under the European Universities Initiative. As one of the few associations, Arqus has also given an active role to the students of the seven partner universities. What did the Student Council make of its first year with Arqus?
DR: We both joined the Arqus Student Council only last summer as successors to Stefanie Weißensteiner and Anita Neudorfer, therefore we still haven’t been able to meet our 12 colleagues on this Committee in person – each university sends two new students as representatives every year. That’s a pity, of course, but we are looking forward to having the opportunity to help shape the alliance.
AT: I got the impression that many students were focusing on their studies last year. In the meantime, however, the Student Council is really coming into its own: we meet virtually once a month, take part in the board meetings of the Action Lines, and are represented on the Steering Committee. Furthermore, we are also involved in planning the activities for 2021, which has been going on for some time.
What has already been specifically planned for this year and how is the Student Council getting involved?
AT: As an example, Action Line 6 (AL6) is organising a PhD Career Week here in Graz in mid-October. We are very much looking forward to that. It is precisely this exchange of opinions and ideas among like-minded individuals that is particularly important for doctoral students, yet difficult to bring about – most of all during a pandemic. We are in consultation with the AL6 team, giving suggestions and feedback so that the event goes down well with the target group.
DR: On the whole, we would like to make the opportunities that Arqus offers better known among students and also use our structures, such as the Austrian National Union of Students, for this purpose. Concerning the master’s programmes, we still regard the smooth awarding of credit points after study abroad periods as the most important issue to be improved by Arqus for the universities in this alliance.
What are your personal goals for this year and how can Arqus help you to achieve them?
AT: I’m writing my doctoral thesis on sustainable mobility. At the University of Bergen, climate and transformation is a known core research area, which is why I will most likely be doing research at the University of Bergen for three months starting from April as part of an Arqus Research Stay (AL6). I am looking forward to exchanging ideas with academics from this university and comparing the mobility behaviour of Norwegians with our own.
DR: My biggest goals for this year are to complete my bachelor’s degree and start my master’s in Translation. Arqus cannot directly support me in this endeavour, however making contacts with the other members has been invaluable to my chosen academic career. Although I have only been a member of Arqus for a relatively short period of time, I have already been able to learn a lot from the others and I look forward to working with them in the future.
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>> Retrospective: Faces of Arqus#1: Student Council (2019)