Unite! Student Festival in Lisbon was packed with learning, community-building, and fun

Published: 12.9.2023

In late June 2023, Unite! university alliance organized the first event for the entire student community of the nine partner universities. The Unite! Student Festival took place in Lisbon, Portugal, and gathered together 200 students for a program packed with learning, community-building, and fun.

20 students from Aalto University at the Unite! Student Festival in Lisbon. — Aalto students at the Unite! Student Festival

From Aalto University, 20 students were chosen to participate based on their application. The bachelor, master and doctoral students came from all schools of Aalto.

While in Lisbon, students got to know each other via the Meet my Culture activity. They shared and enjoyed delicacies from all over Europe. Each partner university brought food from their country, and the room was abuzz with discussion and taste-testing.

Next, the friendly student mentors from the University of Lisboa led the students around six of Lisbon’s best vantage points. Each stop included stunning vistas, local information, and Portuguese treats.

Aalto University Student Darman Bacha at the Unite! Student Festival in Lisbon in July 2023. — Darman Bacha

After seeing the sights, all of the participants got down to business and engaged in intense and inspiring groupwork. They broke up into 13 teams and tackled challenges to help shape Unite! into an even stronger alliance. Topics included student engagement, inclusion, diversity and well-being, sustainability, and the university of the future.

"I gained hope from the collaboration among students from diverse European universities, who worked together to create impactful solutions for complex issues. This shows that addressing our greatest challenges, such as climate change and poverty, becomes more achievable when we leverage our differences, rather than allowing them to drive us towards an unsustainable future”, says Darman Bacha, an Economics student at Aalto.

Aalto University student Inka Viita holding a sign that says I'm shaping the future at the Unite! Student Festival in Lisbon in July 2023. — Inka Viita

The following day, all the students reconvened at the ULisboa Great Hall and pitched their innovative ideas to their fellow Uniters. Unite! administrative and academic staff also watched the presentations with great interest and awarded the top three teams with prizes and a promise to take their ideas into consideration.

After all the hard work, it was time to party. ULisboa arranged a lively arraial (a typical Portuguese party) for the ever-expanding Unite! community.

"I think the festival was a great opportunity to get to know fellow students from all over Europe. Discussions on how their student cultures vary from ours gave good perspective on the student life we live here in Finland. In general, it was also nice to meet new people and see Lisbon!", says Inka Viita, a bachelor student of Information Technology.

To stay updated with Unite! events, student life, and educational offerings, please, follow us on Instagram @uniteuniversity and visit our website.