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Cross-border collaboration at the European Student Assembly

Published: 4.5.2026

Master’s student Fatima Mohammad Amin represented Aalto and the Unite! alliance at the European Student Assembly (ESA) 2026 in Strasbourg. ESA gathers students from all 27 member states to debate pressing European issues and draft policy recommendations.

Large group of people posing in a circular blue chamber with EU flag and European national flags behind — Aalto student Fatima Mohammed Amin and other delegates at ESA.

For Fatima, a Master’s student in Health Technology Engineering, the motivation to attend the European Student Assembly was to influence issues that improve European society. She believes that student voices have the power to make the world a better place, but need a forum through which to do so.

As a participant on the panel, ‘Scaling the circular economy: How can the EU overcome uneven progress and encourage change across sectors and societies?’, she connected the theme with challenges she has encountered during her studies. Fatima shared how medical device manufacturers, particularly small ones, struggle with end-of-life product management and unclear frameworks for waste disposal. “That experience made the EU's circularity challenge feel very familiar: ambitious in direction, but fragile in execution.”

Consistent with reflections from last year’s Aalto representative at ESA, Fatima shared: “I believe most governments set targets sincerely, but without coordinated governance and enabling infrastructure, circularity stays a strategic objective rather than an operational reality. Our panel's proposals, from differentiated readiness frameworks to university-led regional alliances, were an attempt to close that gap.”

Another issue that stood out for Fatima is the funding gap facing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). “I hadn't anticipated how structurally deep that problem ran, or how difficult it is to design policy that reaches 99% of EU businesses meaningfully…The reality of a fragmented, two-speed Europe where weaker regions and SMEs are structurally left behind was starker than I had expected.”

Person in yellow headscarf looks up at tall flagpoles and modern glass building against blue sky

Fatima’s approach at ESA was also influenced by earlier experience within the Unite! alliance. At last year’s Unite! course on Underground Transport Infrastructure, she worked across cultures and systems to design a cross-border tunnel.

She shares, "Navigating different regulatory frameworks, cost structures, and engineering traditions taught me that technical solutions are never just technical - they're deeply cultural. This experience shaped how I approached circular economy policy at ESA, where I listened for the structural barriers beneath surface-level disagreements."

After a week of engaging with fellow student delegates from across the 27 member states, Fatima concluded, "Experiencing this vibrant international community has deepened my instinct to lead with empathy. I have learned that the best solutions emerge when genuinely different perspectives are given equal space and that cross-border collaboration is both critical and vital."

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