There’s never been a more important time for UK SUs to nurture links with Europe – and our partners around the continent have much to offer to aid the development of student representation, democracy and services in the student interest.
Back in 2017 a group of SU officers and managers toured around Scandinavia on an extraordinary and magical five day journey packed full of lessons and learning – and since then we’ve organised tours to Scandinavia, the Baltics, the Low Countries, Finland, the Balkans and Austria, the Visegrad countries, Dublin and Stockholm.
So in 2026 we’re doing it all again. Our 5-day tour in January will travel through Switzerland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands – and just after Easter, we’ll be off to Iceland.
Details below are provisional – and while we’re expecting demand to be high, please don’t book travel or accommodation yet. If you’re keen to come, we do need an expression of interest now – and we’ll then confirm the details of what you need to do next early next month.
On the site, Durham SU CEO Gary Hughes explains the benefits to SUs and why taking development seriously means getting on the bus.
Why and how
We’re pretty confident that this will be the best bit of training and development spend you’ll make this year. Participants will:
- Engage with multiple delivery structures for student activities and SU volunteers and staffing
- See a range of models for democratic structures, including elections and policy making
- Generate new ideas for campaigning, collaboration and influencing in the student interest
- Learn about new types of regulation over student voice and the student condition
- Identify different ways to do belonging, student activities and employability
- Have the chance to network with other SUs
SUs normally send an elected officer and a manager. You are responsible for booking flights and accommodation (both of which are fairly inexpensive at that time of year). We book the in-country travel, plan the itinerary and set up the meetings with the local and national SUs.
It’s an amazing opportunity to spend time with other SU officers and managers, build links with European counterparts and bring back endless ideas for making student lives and SUs better.
Western Europe Tour: Switzerland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands
Travelling on Sunday January 4th, the tour will begin on Monday January 5th
This five-day journey will take us through six countries, meeting with some of Europe’s most innovative student organisations.
Day One – Switzerland and France: St. Gallen, Zurich and Mulhouse
We’ll start at St. Gallen SU, home to START Summit – Europe’s largest early-stage startup event attracting over 7,000 attendees, entirely student-organized. We’ll discover their unique system where students can earn credits for running societies and major projects, making student leadership academically recognized. We’ll hear about Start Week, where 1,800 new students complete a mandatory 5-day interdisciplinary program working in teams of 25.
Moving to Zurich, we’ll meet SUs that run tutorial sessions specifically for students with less prior knowledge, achieving measurably better exam pass rates, learn about their mental health research work, and engage over a student-led course rating app with over 70,000 reviews from 20,000+ students.
We’ll then cross into France to Mulhouse, visiting the Bureau de la Vie Etudiante (SU) and CROUS (city-wide student services) operations that manage 600 student housing units and university restaurants serving €3.30 meals – or just €1 for scholarship students.
Day Two – France and Germany: Strasbourg, Karlsruhe and Saarbrücken
In Strasbourg, we’ll visit AFGES – France’s oldest active student federation. It runs social grocery stores selling food at 10 per cent of market price and an emergency housing programme providing 1,000+ nights annually for homeless students during critical housing shortages. Founded in 1923, AFGES pioneered national student services including university restaurants that became the French national model – and students still hold seats on the CROUS board governing housing and dining for all of Alsace.
Then at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, we’ll meet the only German SU collecting fees directly from students rather than the university, enabling truly independent political work and service decisions. We’ll learn about their student-friendly exam policy where students can withdraw from any exam until literally walking into the lecture hall without it counting as an attempt, and we’ll also visit Studierendenwerk Karlsruhe, another city-wide student services organisation that has a pasta factory where students can watch production, as well as offering free private accommodation matching services arranging 2,500-3,000 additional rooms annually.
We’ll end the day at Saarland University, exploring their elected student government with specialized departments and comprehensive student services.
Day Three – Luxembourg and Belgium: Esch-Belval, Liège, Maastricht
We’ll start with UNEL – Luxembourg’s historic 110+ year student movement that’s entirely digitally-operated with around 300 members requiring no physical presence in Luxembourg to participate. They’re purely membership-funded with no public funding, maintaining a lean structure while actively campaigning against university tuition fee increases. We’ll also engage with the student organisations clustered around the University of Luxembourg.
Then in Liège, we’ll meet the Federation operating from their student house since 1996, coordinating 60+ student circles across all faculties. They run a comprehensive academic appeals service, comprehensive IT support service run by students for students, a dedicated employment service plus an épicerie solidaire offering affordable/free groceries for struggling students.
And in Maastricht, we’ll explore the University Council’s co-determination model: 20 members equally divided between 10 students and 10 staff, with statutory rights to approve or veto university policies, plus a Speakers’ Quarter allowing any community member to address the council publicly. We’ll also meet up with the second-largest study association in Europe, which has a model of “Career, Social, Academic, and Development” for its 7,000 members.
Day Four – Belgium and the Netherlands: Nijmegen
At Leuven’s LOKO, we’ll discover the organizers of Belgium’s biggest student event – the 24 urenloop, a 24-hour relay race now in its 48th edition. They also run the Ithaka visual arts festival taking over vacant city buildings and the notoriously difficult Groot Dictee spelling competition.
In Antwerp, STAN runs STUDY360: 600+ study spots across 25+ unique city locations including the courthouse, opera house, and cultural centers during exam periods – deliberately designed to get students out of isolated dorm rooms. They also operate CABIN, a mental health initiative providing a warm meeting place with workshops, stress management, and wellbeing support.
We’ll end the day experiencing traditional Dutch student life at Carolus Magnus in Nijmegen – a 600+ member association with their own purchased sociëteit building and extensive committee structure managing everything from charity fundraising (€11,295 raised for 3FM Serious Request) to housing assistance.
Day Five – The Netherlands: Enschede, Wageningen, Leiden
The final morning will be at Twente Student Union – operating with a massive €4m annual university block grant and employing 300-400 student sabbaticals yearly, creating Europe’s most financially robust student-run organization. They’re legally mandated by Dutch law to manage all university extracurricular activities, sports, and culture.
They host the world’s largest student case competition with 1,000+ participants and €4,000 in prizes, plus they deliver credit-bearing minor modules on mental health, policy-making, and organizational management. We’ll see how they run biannual introduction programs with 6 dedicated sabbaticals and a €500k budget. We’ll also visit Wageningen University’s student council before finishing the tour at Leiden University, one of the Netherlands’ oldest and most prestigious institutions.
Western Europe: Costs
We’d expect the cost of flights and accommodation to come in at around £500-600 depending on where you fly from and where you stay, with an in-country travel fee of £300pp on top of that (covers coach, some meals, and site visits). You’ll also need spending money for additional meals.
Iceland: Reykjavík
April 14-15, 2026
Travelling to Reykjavík on Sunday April 13th, we’ll spend two intensive days with Iceland’s student movement.
We’ll meet with the National Union of Icelandic Students (LÍS), Iceland’s umbrella organisation representing approximately 21,000 students across 8 member unions. We’ll learn about their high-profile campaigns including recent work fighting university fee increases and their award-winning student refugee support programme.
We’ll engage with the Student Council of the University of Iceland, discover their major “Októberfest” music festival (attracting 2,000+ students), and explore how their 17 elected representatives work across five organisational units including a dedicated Student Rights Office.
We’ll also visit Reykjavík University Student Association (SFHR) to understand their automatic membership model, six active committees, and strong partnership with Icelandic Startups on the Gulleggið business plan competition. Finally, we’ll meet the Student Council of Iceland Academy of the Arts to see how student representation works in specialist arts education.
Reykjavík: Costs
We’d expect the cost of flights and accommodation to come in at around £500. Note: Iceland can be expensive for additional meals and activities, so budget accordingly.
What is the business case?
We’ve uploaded an example business case for use internally. The feedback from previous trips suggests it’s the best bit of development/training spend you’ll make all year.
What do we do next
For the Western Europe tour, we will need to confirm coach bookings and that we have sufficient numbers to proceed by the end of October, so it would be helpful if SUs could confirm interest by then – we’ll then allocate for others joining later on first come, first served.
For the Iceland tour, we need expressions of interest by the end of 2025.
Don’t book flights or accommodation until we have confirmed with you! We also may need to ration places – there are strict limits on each trip. Let us know now if you have any questions.
We also recognise that some may need to apply for a Schengen Visa now – if that’s you for the Western Europe tour, get in touch and we’ll issue you with an invite letter and further detail.
