This April, Strasbourg hosted the European Student Assembly (ESA) 2026 — one of the most significant student-led policy initiatives in Europe — and for the first time, Mykolas Romeris University (MRU) was part of it.
Held at the European Parliament from 20 to 23 April, ESA brought together students from 54 European University Alliances, including the European Reform University Alliance (ERUA), to engage in substantive policy work on issues shaping the continent’s future. The scale of the initiative was matched by its selectivity: 2,889 students applied, with only 250 selected to take part. Participants did not attend as observers. Working in international, interdisciplinary panels, they spent several days analysing complex challenges, negotiating perspectives, and drafting policy recommendations that were later debated and voted on during plenary sessions in the Hemicycle — the same chamber where European Parliament discussions take place.
ESA is structured to mirror real policy processes. Each panel focuses on a specific topic, guided by coordinators and supported by research, discussion, and revision cycles. The outcome is not just dialogue, but a set of concrete, collectively developed proposals — shaped through compromise, argument, and collaboration across cultures and disciplines.
MRU’s First Participation Through ERUA
MRU joined the Assembly as a member of ERUA, which selected four students to represent the alliance this year. Among them was Olha Taushan, a Master’s student in European and International Business Law — the first MRU student to participate in ESA through ERUA.
Olha’s background brought a distinctly relevant perspective to the Assembly. Originally from Ukraine and pursuing a double degree across Lithuania and France, she has studied and lived across different legal systems, education environments, and institutional cultures. At ESA, she worked on topics including cross-border education, digital transformation, and the circular economy — contributing not only analytical thinking but the practical understanding of someone who has personally navigated the realities these policies seek to address. Her focus throughout was on translating complex policy frameworks into implementable, grounded solutions.
Supporting MRU’s participation, Yuliana Shuhani, Student Engagement Coordinator, attended the Assembly as an invited representative of the ERUA — contributing to the broader coordination and engagement perspective that connects student participation across institutions.
A Step Into a Larger Conversation
ESA reflects a broader shift in how student engagement is understood within European University Alliances. Bringing together students from 34 countries and 54 nationalities, it moves beyond participation as presence, towards participation as contribution — where students are expected to engage critically, collaborate across differences, and take ownership of the outcomes they help create.
Within this context, ERUA provides a framework that enables these experiences to happen. It connects institutions, but more importantly, it connects people — creating opportunities for students to step into international environments, test their ideas, and work alongside peers they might otherwise never meet.
