STARS EU brings together its nine universities for the first time in a joint training experience in the Netherlands

STARS EU will host an innovative training experience from April 20 to 24 at Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen (Netherlands), bringing together students, faculty, and staff from its nine member universities for the first time. The aim of the first edition of the STARS EU Student Case Competition is for participants to work on real business cases, mainly focused on the challenges faced by family businesses.

The planned program combines collaborative work with practical learning and international exchange to promote skills development, teamwork, intercultural communication, and analytical abilities in different contexts.

To this end, the participants, organized into nine international teams, must develop solutions under time pressure and present them to an international jury of academic and industry experts. The activity is structured into intensive preparation, problem-solving, and presentation sessions, alongside interactive spaces designed to strengthen shared learning.

Pilot experience

The initiative, conceived as a pilot experience, represents a milestone within the alliance, as it is the first training activity in which representatives from the entire academic community participate together. With it, the aim is to consolidate the foundations for developing this type of initiative, which could be gradually and rotationally implemented at each of the member universities.

The program will conclude with a final day, during which the work produced by each team will be presented and awards will be given to the best teams and participants.

The participating institutions, in addition to the organizing university (Hanze University of Applied Sciences), include University West (Sweden); Bragança Polytechnic University (Portugal); University of La Laguna (Spain); Silesian University in Opava (Czechia); Aleksandër Moisiu University in Durrës (Albania); Cracow University of Technology (Poland); and Hochschule Bremen – City University of Applied Sciences (Germany).

In addition to the competition, the event will feature a social and cultural program designed to foster networking, collaboration, and intercultural exchange among participants.

With this initiative, STARS EU takes a significant step forward in promoting joint training activities that strengthen collaboration between its universities and create new learning opportunities in an international environment.