At the University of Oldenburg there is a long tradition of students already conducting their own research – learning through research – in their bachelor’s degree programme. Together with four international partners, the University of Oldenburg is now interlinking this approach with the European project and bringing undergraduate students’ research to national parliaments and to the EU Parliament in Brussels.
The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) will provide 400,000 euros in funding for the project “Posters in Brussels” within the ERASMUS+ programme between November 2024 and the end of 2026. The project, which is coordinated by the University of Oldenburg, starts this month and involves four other partners: the University of Vienna (Austria), the University of Luxembourg, the Atlantic Technological University (Ireland) and the LLC International University in Klaipėda (Lithuania). The highlight will be the “Posters in Brussels” event, during which students from across Europe will jointly present their research in the European Parliament.
“In view of the major challenges faced by democracies in Europe, we want to sensitise the project participants to their political responsibility,” said Prof. Dr Andrea Strübind, Vice President for Instruction at the University of Oldenburg, adding: “Our students are the mature EU citizens of tomorrow. This project showcases the role of science and research as a unifying element and shared value in Europe.”
Before the event in Brussels, national “Posters in Parliament” events at which students use posters to present their research projects will be held in each of the five partners’ capital cities. The poster event in the German Bundestag will be organised by the University of Oldenburg in cooperation with the Berlin University Alliance. The project’s format was inspired by Posters on the Hill, an event held every year on Capitol Hill in the US capital Washington D.C. “I had the opportunity to attend one of these events while I was at a conference a few years ago and found it absolutely thrilling,” recalls project manager Dr Susanne Haberstroh, head of the Department for Study Affairs. “Ever since then it has been my plan to initiate a similar format in the European Union, and I’m delighted that this is now becoming a reality.” The project partners aim to establish the event format on a permanent basis in Brussels and also encourage other universities and national parliaments in Europe to take part.
Research-based learning is anchored in the University of Oldenburg’s mission statement for teaching and has been supported by the forschen@studium programme on a permanent basis since 2021. The Posters in Brussels project is also embedded in the development of student research and research-based learning in Europe and is a result of more than ten years of transatlantic collaboration with the U.S. Council on Undergraduate Research.
