'A U!REKA student council will increase the quality of the network.'

Roxanne Van de Voorde is in her final weeks as chair of the HOGENT student council Revolte. She will soon graduate from HOGENT as a bachelor of supply chain management. On Wednesday, 31 May, she was invited to kick off the plenary opening of the U!reka Connects congress in Amsterdam. With amazing obviousness, as if she speeches to an international audience every day, she argued in favour of building a student council at the level of the U!REKA partnership.

Roxanne is one of the students who wants to put student participation on the map within the U!reka partnership. "U!REKA's ambition is to educate and train the European professionals of the future to contribute to an inclusive, intercultural society with an open mind. That's what it says on the website, anyway. There is no better way to achieve that than to include students in that process," she believes.

'Not a synonym for complaining students'

Because student participation is not synonymous with complaining students who constantly want to express their opinions, she assures. She is pushing for the creation of a U!REKA student council. "That can be the platform in which we challenge ourselves and come up with solutions to the obstacles on our way in these fast-evolving times."

According to Roxanne, student participation helps develop skills you need as a European professional, including leadership, critical thinking, social understanding, intercultural collaboration, inclusion and commitment.

"By encouraging students to participate in the functioning and decision-making process of the U!REKA organisation, you give them the opportunity to build a sustainable network with their peers and other professionals," she stresses. "The U!REKA student council will not only increase involvement, but also the quality of the U!REKA network. And thus it will improve the quality of education, and consequently the future-proof European professionals who will help shape society tomorrow."

“The U!REKA student council will not only increase involvement, but also the quality of the U!REKA network."

Roxanne Van de Voorde, chair student council HOGENT