EUROSTUDENT 

The final conference of the eighth round of EUROSTUDENT took place in Vienna, Austria, from 10th – 11th July 2024. Entitled Reshaping Higher Education: Inclusivity, Innovation, and Resilience in a Complex Post-Pandemic Era, the event saw the presentation of recent research on students across Europe. 

Twenty-five countries participated in EUROSTUDENT 8, which collected and analysed comparable data on a wide range of topics related to students’ social and economic conditions. These include student backgrounds, study conditions and experiences both at entry and during their studies and living conditions.  

The EUROSTUDENT survey sheds light on university students’ perspectives by asking them to rate the quality of their studies and inviting them to indicate their satisfaction with the support they receive. By exploring a wide range of themes, the survey generates a multi-dimensional view of student life. This includes modes of study, accommodation and cross-national mobility. Each round also features topical questions, the most recent concerning the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

 

The Conference

The first day of the conference featured presentations from Elmar Pichl (Austrian Federal Ministry), Prof. Harald Badinger (Vienna University of Economics and Business), and Kristina Hauschildt (the EUROSTUDENT project manager). Mia Wallin Hansen from the EU Commission addressed the conference about EU policy initiatives including ‘Students at the centre’. 

The main part of the conference featured thematic panels of research presentations. For example, a panel on the ‘time budgets of students’, how students use and prioritise their time, showed how we can explain changing patterns of in-person attendance.  

 

Research   

Of notable interest was work undertaken by the Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS) in Austria using register data to enhance the analysis of survey research to better understand students. 

Vlasta Zucha and Nora Haag showed how surveys and register data are two sources, each offering strengths and challenges. Survey data, such as the Austrian Student Social Survey which has been conducted since the 1970s, offers flexibility in exploring a range of topics, but comes with limitations, such as sampling errors, non-response, or response bias.  

In contrast, as register data is administrative data, it includes the whole population, i.e., all enrolled students. However, as register data is not collected for research purposes, it is not tailored to specific research questions. Moreover, although survey data can be closely interlinked with register data, it typically cannot be matched on an individual level. The research shows the challenges of combining survey and register data for data harmonisation, integration, and interpretation.  

Another study by Sylvia Mandl and Nora Haag investigated if the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an increase in the number of young people entering higher education to avoid the labour market. This phenomenon had been observed during previous financial crises in Austria. The research used Austrian registry data to show how access patterns changed during the pandemic and in the following period. 

 

Take Aways 

The United Kingdom does not participate in EUROSTUDENT, so what relevance does this exercise have for the University of Manchester? The takeaway lies in what they do, and how they do it. EUROSTUDENT provides a holistic view of the life of students and insights into what students think. In doing so, it contributes to the debate on how to survey students.  

Student surveys can have many foci: teaching, education, engagement, experience, satisfaction and so on. Some of these are narrowly defined and others address wider experiences. Surveying students is easy to do poorly, and difficult to do well. Moreover, student evaluations of teaching, known as SETs in the United States, are particularly problematic: their accuracy is questionable, and their misuse can have pernicious effects. 

However, the known flaws of student evaluations must be reconciled with the fact we need to gather student voice. As I argue in my book, Teaching Excellence? Universities in an age of student consumerism, despite their undeniable limitations, student evaluations are here to stay, whether we like them or not. For example, their results form part of the Teaching Excellence Framework. Furthermore, the Faculty of Humanities has over 20,000 students; it would be difficult to justify having no interest in what these people think and never asking them their views.  

There is an inevitability to student evaluations, which means we need be aware of good practice and execute them the best we can. This involves knowing how to gather student views and when to use the results.  

Campus Tour

I was fortunate to receive a guided tour of the host location, The Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU). This new campus was constructed between 2010 and 2013 at a cost of €500 million. 

The move from the university’s former site in Vienna’s 9th District to the all-new ‘Campus WU’ in the 2nd District enabled WU to design a new campus from scratch. The opportunity to relocate the entire operation to a purpose-built campus is rarely afforded to an established university. My tour of the 90,000 square meters site showed how the new campus, featuring twenty-first century spaces for learning and teaching, was realised. 

The Library and Learning Center occupies the centre of the campus. Its innovative interior houses the library and two ceremonial halls. It is instantly recognisable for its cantilevered roof designed by the Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid. This is surrounded by five building complexes, each designed by difference architects, but all part of WU’s overall vision of what a university of the future should be like. 

For example, the Teaching Center houses most of WU’s auditoriums, the largest of which has a capacity of 650 — meaning whole programmes can come together in person. The teaching rooms of various sizes all have natural light, and the auditoriums feature state-of-the-art equipment. This building is also notable in how it brings together undergraduate teaching from all departments in one place. Designed by BUSarchitektur a Vienna-based firm, it has Corten steel façade, with a ‘rusty’ appearance which slowly changes colour over time. 

Departments 2 and Student Center, designed by Japanese architect Hitoshi Abe, is notable for being finished only in black and white both inside and out. Areas for academics and student life are separated into different zones but are closely connected. 

Departments 3 and Administration buildings have layers of colour ranging from dark orange to pale yellow designed by British architect Sir Peter Cook and CRABstudio. 

 

Conference Competition  

125 participants from 27 European Higher Education Area countries joined the conference. The event took place during the semi-finals of the Euros. Being the only delegate to rightly predict the result of both games, I won the conference prize of a Sachertorte – Austrian chocolate cake – presented in a wooden case.  

 

 

 

 

All photos by Andrew Gunn unless otherwise stated.

Andrew Gunn, Manchester Institute of Education  

Connect with Andrew:

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-gunn123 

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