What happens when you put 12 EU-CONEXUS students to the test?

In May 2026, 12 students representing 10 nationalities came together for an award-winning EU-CONEXUS student project, lacing up their walking boots to complete the Camino de Santiago from Valença, Portugal, to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Covering 124 kilometres and crossing borders both physically and culturally, the journey became a powerful demonstration of teamwork, resilience and intercultural understanding. One destination, one shared challenge and one unforgettable EU-CONEXUS experience.

Three training podcasts delivered by experts from SETU and UCV set the stage for The Camino de EU-CONEXUS, teaching students what it means to work as a team while taking on one of the world’s most famous spiritual pilgrimages. A special thank you to Dr Bernadette Flanagan, Sarah Grocutt, Dr Hector Esteve Ibanez and Laura Jimenez of the UCV Mountain Sports: Health, Inclusion and Society Research Group.

The student-led project demonstrated what can happen when students are given the space to shape and lead their own experiences while discovering Spanish coastal communities first-hand in the historic region of Galicia.

What started as an idea between three students at the IamStudent Conference at Frederick University in Cyprus expanded into a once-in-a-lifetime journey, bringing together cultures and experiences from across the alliance — from Klaipeda to Athens, Bucharest to Valencia and La Rochelle to Zadar — for an unforgettable trek across the Spanish countryside.

During the journey, the team shared their personal motivations for undertaking the pilgrimage and reflected on why opportunities provided by EU-CONEXUS to build international connections are so important to their lives and to Europe’s future.