NextNormal - WeStudy@Home

What is the “NextNormal” of European student life? There will be a time after the Corona shutdown, and we want to discuss what it should look like. How can we learn from the digital turn in order to create a better future for higher education? In our podcast, we are talking to students and student unions from all over Europe about the “NextNormal” - the future of higher education beyond Corona. Each episode is dedicated to one European country...

In this first episode, we are talking to Irina Duma (Vice President International Relations) and Tamara Ciobanu (Vice President Education) of ANOSR, the National Alliance of Student Organisations in Romania. Together, we are discussing topics such as mobility, inclusivity in digitization as well as ANOSR's policy recommendations for the next academic year...

In the second episode of "NextNormal - WeStudy@Home", we talk to Tina Smonkar, Andrej Pirjevec and Kristjan Kos of SSU, the Slovenian Student Union. We are discussing the need for evaluating the past few months and the dynamics of digitization and social interaction - as well as the role of national politics in preventing university dropout...

In this third episode of "NextNormal - WeStudy@Home", which is also the first of two episodes with students from Belgium, we talk to Jens Matthé, Laura Remery and Ruben Janssens of VVS, the Flemish Union of Students. They are sharing perspectives and visions for a new kind of European mobility as well as on the need for student support - and the role of student participation in discussing the future of higher education...

In our fourth and second Belgian episode of "NextNormal - WeStudy@Home", we talk to Manon Spérati, Arno Schrooyen and Kérian Clam of FEF, the Federation of the French-speaking students in Belgium. They explain why, in the past few months, it has become harder for many students to make sense of their studies - and how many institutions' one-way communication has left students with a feeling of being disconnected...

In our fifth episode of "NextNormal - WeStudy@Home",  we talk to Miisa Tervala, Clara Garcia Millan and Rico Martikainen, who are all studying in Finland. Even if some of their institutions have already embraced online learning before the shutdown, social distancing and isolation remain problems not yet resolved. They also ask us to make sure that, even in times of crisis, education remains a top priority...

In this sixth episode of "NextNormal - WeStudy@Home",  we talk to Vittoria Messina and Lucrezia D'Annunzio from Italy who are also engaged in UdU, Unione degli Universitari. We learn that the difficult situation created challenges, such as staying motivated and focussed when studying at home, but also funny and positive experiences, such as beginning a new study programme without having to move to another city...

The seventh episode of "NextNormal - WeStudy@Home" is the first one of two episodes featuring Edward De Gabriele and Nicole Galea from KSU (University Students’ Council) in Malta. We learn about the very specific situation and its impact in a small country where most students live with their families and the virus has always felt much closer than in other countries...

The eighth episode of "NextNormal - WeStudy@Home" is the second one of two episodes featuring Edward De Gabriele and Nicole Galea from KSU (University Students’ Council) in Malta. In this part of the interview, they tell us how an international place like Malta felt during the shutdown, what important role student volunteers played in helping the country handle the crisis and in what way mental health has become a much more prominent issue of debate and concern...

This ninth episode of "NextNormal - WeStudy@Home" is the first one in 2021, a new year full of question marks, hopes and optimism, not only when it comes to higher education. Facilitated by ESU and ÖH, we had the opportunity to talk to Asja Ahmetovic and Eileen Robiati from Austria. They tell us about jam-packed working and study days, when it is time for teachers to finish early, how to make friends online and how reducing things to the essential can sometimes be just more than enough...