As a part of the activities of the EC2U Alliance, the University of Pavia in Italy is organising an EC2U Student Event between 7 and 9 October 2025 with the theme ‘Active Citizenship Education’.  

The Student Event gathers a number of students from the allied universities in Finland, Germany, Austria, Romania, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Sweden and Ukraine. It is a unique opportunity for students from the 9 Partner Universities of the EC2U Alliance to meet, connect, exchange ideas, co-create and participate in various sport and cultural activities.

The University of Pavia, in collaboration with the EC2U’s Student Representatives and the Associate Partners, is offering a rich programme mixing team building activities, workshops, conferences and collaborative sessions for students. 

When: 7-9 October 2025 

Where: Pavia, Italy 

What will this week focus on?

The theme of the event is Active Citizenship Education, giving students the opportunity to engage on a range of selected topics.  

Democratic societies are more likely to thrive when there is an active and engaged citizenry who contribute positively to political and public life as voters, community members and informed, active citizens. 

Active citizenship education is a pedagogical approach to give students a practical experience of democratic action and community involvement.  It involves students in learning how to take part with others in activities designed to make a positive difference to the world around them. It complements academic learning with real-world involvement. It aims to develop a deeper understanding of democracy and social structures through activities like community service learning and engaging in civil society. This might involve taking action on a local issue like homelessness or a global issue such as climate change. 

By attending this event, students will engage in collaborative sessions and actively contribute to shape the offer of Active Citizenship Education within the EC2U Alliance. 

 

What can students expect from this week?

• Discuss with experts from associations and organisations how to strengthen their collaboration with the university when it comes to the provision of activities on active citizenship education 

• Learn how to build learning opportunities 

• Design their learning opportunity to boost active citizenship education on a given topic 

• Meeting students from 9 different cities and countries, and learning about new cultures and traditions 

• Engage in sports and cultural activities 

The event is open to degree students of the 9 EC2U Universities from all levels and fields. Selected students should have an English level of at least B2 (no need to certify the level). We aim for a balanced representation of different fields, degree levels and genders in the selection.  

The Local Coordinators of each university will contact selected students by the end of June to detail the application process. 

All expenses are fully covered by the EC2U Alliance, chosen candidates will receive an EC2U grant of 1265 €.  However you will be in charge of booking your journey yourself using the grant. The University of Pavia, which will host the event, will provide accommodation details to selected students.

Travelling to and from Pavia has been planned for 6 and 10 October.  

Questions? Get in touch with the EC2U team at ec2u@unipv.it 

The EC2U Alliance fully supports sustainable mobility and is encouraging students to choose more sustainable means of transportation. 

• Train: Pavia is easily reachable from Milan by train. You can refer to the Trenitalia website for information on ticketing and related regulations: > Trenitalia 
• Plane: you can fly to Malpensa, Milan Linate, or Orio al Serio Airport and then take bus, train or subway connections to Milan train stations. 

More detailed information will be provided to selected students.

Please contact the organising team if you have any questions: ec2u@unipv.it