Zukunftswoche 2015

The Zukuftswoche at Europa-Universität Flensburg is an event which for the 3rd consecutive year brought into headlights important and current issues related to European values, diversity and education. Through workshops, lectures and fun sessions the whole EUF successfully accomplished its aim of increasing awareness towards the multitude of values and participation in interactive activities. In this context, Master European Studies was actively engaged into planning and organizing a large range of events which brought together students with shared interests and values. Placing emphasis on intensifying social, cultural and academic interaction, the European Studies MA programme tried facilitating and strengthening partnerships and communication during the lectures and extra-curricular events.

Under these premises the first event of the Zukunftswoche was "Diversity in Europe - Drawing with KIM" workshop which took place on Monday, June 29th. In cooperation with Kim Schmidt, the locally renown cartoonist, EUS brought the participants another opportunity of self-expression - this time through drawing. Kim did not have an easy task ahead: providing the theoretical framework of how to draw figures and help the participants portray an idea on diversity in about two hours was challenging. However, in the end the interesting workshop came up with a set of 14 drawings, each approaching various aspects of "diversity in Europe" from a unique perspective.  Additionally, all the drawings were exhibited on Campus until July 7th, when the drawings were moved to the City Hall, place where they were on display until July 14th. The inauguration ceremony in the City Hall was honoured by the City President Ms. Krätzschmar, the head of the Flensburg Office for Equal Opportunities Ms. Balve and by Prof. Dr. Gaitanides from EUF. The workshop participants and various guests therefore had the chance to attend the opening event and received a warm welcome from the City Hall hosts.

On Wednesday, July 1st brought the second event organised by EUS: the Poster Presentation of Master’s Theses. This was done by the 4th semester EUS students who are in the process of writing their Master’s thesis. This activity was particularly addressed to students who have not yet started their thesis writing semester. The main aim of presenting undergoing master thesis projects to the junior students and inspiring further research was successfully achieved. Furthermore, by having the most interesting projects awarded surprise gifts, the junior students felt incentivised to devise captivating Master’s theses projects for the next year (when it will be their turn to present) and to diversify the range of their academic interests.

inally, the last event took the shape of a student conference. Under the title "External Solidarity: EU’s responses to global challenges", the conference aimed at raising the interest in academic research and at encouraging collaborations between students and lecturers (as well as among students themselves) from Europa-Universität Flensburg and the University of Southern Denmark. From an academic point of view, the conference wished to increase the awareness of how essential it is to have a strong and unified EU in order to respond timely and efficiently to major problems ranging from global trade to energy-related issues. Consequently, students from both EUF and SDU presented their works on various topics and actively participated in panel discussions, bringing up interesting points and further research questions. The innovative element of the conference was the launch of EUS Vox - the research initiative providing a digital platform for publicizing students’ views and the outcomes of their researches. The platform can be reached by accessing eusvox.wordpress.com and all students can send in their articles and research papers.

Throughout the Zukunftswoche both Europa-Universität Flensburg and European Studies MA programme sought to engage the students to a maximum degree and promote the celebration of values and diversity in education and in the daily life. For this reason, EUS will continue the tradition of preparing interesting and innovative events for students and guests of EUF.