Registrations open for the 27th European Students’ Convention and SAGE Final Conference

BRUSSELS – Participants of the 27th European Students’ Union (ESC27) will have an unique opportunity to get to know the latest policy developments for higher education in Europe from 19 to 21 March 2014 in Brussels, Belgium. This event will be held under the high patronage of the European Parliament.

Students’ views on employability

During the first day of this event, the European Students’ Union (ESU) will present the results of its three year long research project on the employability of graduates. This project, named Student Advancement of Graduate Employability (SAGE), examines students’ views on key policies in Europe in this area, such the EU 2020 Strategy and the “Strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training” (ET 2020).

The SAGE research team will present policy recommendations for the employability of graduates that are based on the outcomes of this project. Participants in this Final Conference of the SAGE project can join workshops and debates where they can discuss those results with key stakeholders and experts in higher education policies in Europe.

Students’ participation in European policy discussions

The second day of the convention will focus on how students can contribute actively to policies for higher education in Europe. This event is organised in collaboration with the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), which acts as one of the main consultative bodies to the European Union.

This part of the convention will also continue discussions on employability and the social dimension of higher education, including an analysis of the recommendations for improving quality in teaching and learning from the EU High Level Group on the Modernisation of Higher Education and of the recently published Quality Assurance Progress Report from the European Commission.

European Parliament elections 2014 – Vote For Education!

The final day of the event will be held at the European Parliament and will have a strong focus on students’ wishes for the European elections in May. Representatives of different political groups will be invited to participate in open discussions and explain their thoughts and policies that are relevant to students and education.

ESU launched in February a campaign for the elections called Vote For Education, where candidates are asked to pledge to a manifesto of ten items that students want them to work for. This campaign and the manifesto will be introduced to the participants and debated, with the hope of raising awareness about higher education in the upcoming political debates.

Practical information

Registrations are open to people that are interested in participating in this event. Those who are interested are asked to send an e-mail to esc27@esu-online.org and state which part of the convention they would like to attend. Please note that limited seats are available for the second and third day of the convention. Registrations will be closed on 14 March 2014, due to security procedures. A draft agenda for the event can be accessed here.

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For more information, please contact:

Rok Primozic, ESU’s Chairperson: +32/479.126.390 // rok@esu-online.org or Robert Hlynur Baldursson, ESU’s Communications Manager: +32/473.669.894 // robert@esu-online.org