The launch of the first edition of the STARS EU Student Case Competition brought together around one hundred people at Hanze University of Applied Sciences(The Netherlands), including students, faculty members, university staff, and STARS EU ambassadors. Participants joined this first training initiative, which brought together the nine member universities.

The opening day of this pilot experience, which combined collaborative work with practical learning and international exchange to promote skill development and teamwork, was marked by the arrival of the participating teams and the first activities of the programme.

The event began with the registration and reception of students, followed by an institutional welcome led by Dick Pouwels, General Coordinator of the alliance and President of Hanze’s Executive Board, together with Mira Bloemen-Bekx and Heinrich Naumann.

First contacts

Afterwards, teams were assigned to their respective working divisions, where they had the opportunity to meet and establish initial contact before sharing a group lunch. The day continued with a social activity in the afternoon, preceded by a group photo that brought all participants together.

The programme promoted intercultural communication and analytical skills in different contexts. To this end, participants—organised into nine international teams—worked under pressure to develop solutions, which they later presented to an international jury composed of academic staff and industry experts.

Active involvement of partners

This STARS EU initiative achieved the active involvement of the nine partner universities, which sent their student teams accompanied by their respective tutors, helping to strengthen the alliance’s international and collaborative character.

The universities that participated in this pioneering experience, in addition to the host institution, Hanze University of Applied Sciences, were: 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); Hochschule Bremen – City University of Applied Sciences (Germany); and the University Marie and Louis Pasteur (France).

At the conclusion of this first edition of the STARS EU Student Case Competition, the judges announced that the team from Hochschule Bremen – City University of Applied Sciences (Germany) had won the competition, with the team from Aleksandër Moisiu University in Durrës (Albania) being chosen as the best presenter. Both teams stood out for the quality of their proposals, teamwork, and problem-solving skills throughout the competition.

For more information about the event, readers were invited to follow STARS EU on its social media channels: Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

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STARS EU will host an innovative training experience from April 20 to 24 at Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen (The 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); Hochschule Bremen – City University of Applied Sciences (Germany) and Marie and Louis Pasteur University (France).

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.