"What I look forward to most is traveling with a nice group of people from SSE, and together with them meeting students from the other European business schools. It will be great to gain new perspectives not only on the topic of discussion, but to share experiences in general is always super interesting", says Maria Ljungdahl, one of the SSE students who are taking part.

Together with 10 high school students, 5 students from CIVICA’s Ukrainian partner universities, 10 expert lecturers and 10 tutors from the participating universities, the 80 bachelor students will meet at the campus of the London School of Economics for the European Week, a few days of fun activities, engaging workshops and interesting discussions.

Some of the issues that will be up for discussion are what the main challenges facing European societies in view of rising cross-border and intra-state migration are, and what factors drive international and internal migration. How should states, international organisations, and civil society actors respond? Who should be at the table in endeavours to craft a European approach to migration?

"Migration, integration, and all things related to that are responsibilities for everybody in our country and Europe - not only politicians and officials. I believe the private sector and civil society can have a great impact, and initiatives like these to get the discussion going among business students are great", says Maria. "It is a sensitive and emotional topic, but that also makes it so interesting and important to talk about".

Exciting to visit LSE and London

LSE is one of the most renowned universities in England with a rich history and a great variety of courses and programs. With over 12.000 students, many of them international, it’s an exciting school to visit, something that the students from SSE are looking forward to.

"I am mostly looking forward to experiencing how the study environment is structured and perceived at LSE, and how it differs from SSE. Since LSE is a prestigious school, it is going to be interesting to see what they are exceptionally good at and hopefully get some inspiration from both staff and students", says Maja Bellika.

Maja thinks the biggest advantage of CIVICA is the successful collaborations the alliance has been able to create and sustain between the universities.

"Despite being located in different countries with different cultures", CIVICA manages to actively engage the universities together in multiple ways such as offering courses, exchange programs, and creating physical meetups to discuss important social issues such as the European Week", she says.

Maja and Maria will among others be accompanied by fellow SSE student Stella Karlsson who will embark on her first CIVICA adventure.

"The European Week is my first experience with CIVICA, and I am very excited about it. I have heard from several friends who have participated in CIVICA’s events and offerings and been very happy with the outcome. They have learnt a lot and inspired me to engage in CIVICA as well. And it will not be my last engagement with the alliance, as I will also be going on exchange to Bocconi with CIVICA this upcoming fall", says Stella.

Maria agrees: "There are several reasons as to why I want to participate in the European Week, but primarily it is the focus on social sciences, which I consider one of the most meaningful subjects. In my opinion, it is important to discuss politics and societal challenges although we do not always agree. Then of course, it will also be fun to visit London. I have never been there during summer - and hopefully we will be lucky with the weather and can walk around in the city."

You can follow the SSE students during the European Week on Instagram at @stockholmschoolofeconomics