On 7 May 2026, more than one hundred representatives from European university alliances, alongside students, academics and policymakers, gathered online to celebrate the final event of the IamSTUDENT project.

Following three years of work under the Erasmus+ Strategic Partnerships framework, this digital meeting marked the culmination of a key initiative: the project Building Student Identity for European University Alliances within EU-CONEXUS.

During the two-hour conference, the project’s working groups presented its major milestones — practical tools designed to make cross-border university life an everyday reality. Key highlights included the building blocks of international student identity, the Inter-Campus Life Roadmap, as well as a range of practical guides and pilot projects.

The project’s key outputs, enriched through piloted inter-campus awareness and community-building actions, attracted significant attention from participants, demonstrating that the project objectives remain highly relevant within the current European University Alliances landscape.

The project coordinator, Eleonore, stated:

“I am incredibly proud of the IamSTUDENT team and of everything we have achieved together. This project truly reflects the strength of collaboration across eight countries united by a shared vision: fostering a sense of belonging to a single community and promoting EU-CONEXUS values among future generations of young Europeans, who will help shape the future of Europe and beyond.”

She also highlighted the replicability of the project’s key outcomes, emphasising that the initiative represents not only significant added value for students, but also for other European alliances.

Yet no project results matter without real student impact, and the true stars of the event were the students themselves. No one better than them to share firsthand how IamSTUDENT and EU-CONEXUS joint initiatives influenced their greater involvement in the alliance and inspired them to move from one activity to another:

  • Enrico Green shared his experience studying in the Joint Master Programme in Marine Biotechnology within the alliance, participating in the IamSTUDENT Congress and how this inspired him to create his own student project.
  • Fatima Uz Zama, from KU, relived the energy of the EU-CONEXUS Conference and Festival.
  • Creativity took centre stage with Katarina Petranović (UNIZD), who participated in an artistic project, and Ihor Melashchenko (SETU), who recalled the Welcome to the Hotel Mediterranean student festival held in Limassol in 2025.
  • Nancy Negrea, from UTCB, brought the active side of things to the table, discussing sports projects, whilst Imane Maridachahou, from La Rochelle Université, highlighted the academic value of the micro-credentials summer and winter schools.
  • Finally, Yelyzaveta Aralova, from SETU, inspired others by sharing her first encounter with EU-CONEXUS and explaining how anyone can join this community.

What lies ahead for IamSTUDENT?

The event was not only an opportunity to look back with pride at everything the project has achieved, but also to look ahead to its future. The conference concluded with a discussion on the long-term impact of IamSTUDENT, laying the foundations for keeping this collaborative network alive through a permanent community of practice.

In the end, the project’s main takeaway is clear: a true European identity is not built on bureaucracy, but by making students feel they belong to a European alliance right from the very start — ensuring that when they enrol at any of the EU-CONEXUS partner universities, they are already part of the alliance.