This large conference on public student services in Europe was jointly organised by ECStA, the STW Anterior Palatinate as a host institution and the German National Association for Student Affairs (Deutsches Studierendenwerk – DSW).
Shaping Change in Student Services – How can we transform crises and challenges into positive change?
The combined crises of Covid19, the economic repercussions of the war in Europe, and climate change have put students, higher education institutions and student services under profound stress. It is indeed a “Zeitenwende” with challenges that we have not seen since the end of the Cold war. Campus life has changed forever with more online and off-campus learning. Students’ well-being is threatened by financial and economic difficulties, mental-health problems, and social challenges. Student Services must find a solution to the gap between rising costs and lack of funding.
How are student services adapting to this situation? How can we impel change and strategic management? What kind of scenarios can we develop for the near future? What kind of strategic change management is necessary to transform the social infrastructure in higher education for the future? How can we build resilience, ignite change, and take everybody along on the journey?
The European Student Affairs Conference provided student perspectives, expert knowledge, peer discussions and good-practices on these volatile, rapidly changing times for student services across the continent.
The event was a continuation of the Polish-German and French-German conferences that DSW has organised with international partners for since the 1990s and 1960s respectively, in a new European format.
For more information, do not hesitate to contact office@ecsta.org