With more than 80 participants, the European Conference for Student Affairs and Services gathered Professionals in Student Affairs from all over the world from 28 to 30 October 2019 in the wonderful location of the Franklin University of Switzerland in Lugano. The three days conference, organised by EucA, NASPA and Franklin University of Switzerland, offered to the participants the possibility to analyse, discuss and get proposals on the most pressing topics currently debated by Student Affairs Professionals around the globe: Global Mobility, Mental Health & Well-being, Employability & Career Services, Residential Life & Student Engagement.
During the Conference many participants have been involved as speakers presenting sessions based on their specific areas of expertise. The concurrent sessions have been therefore an opportunity to get into the topics but also for networking to share best practices.
Remarkably inspiring the conference keynote speech by Kevin Kruger, President of NASPA, the leading association of Student Affairs in USA. Introducing the origins of Student Affairs, and the current trends on the issue, Kruger tried to imagine future scenarios of the profession that over the years has inevitably evolved responding to the most important historical events and to the changes of the attitude of young people.
"Students'', said Kevin Kruger, “are now polarized on their positions and are modulating our work". According to him, the priority for Student Affairs professionals today is to help students in developing Soft Skills useful for their present and their future: creativity, pro-activity, ethics, problem solving, team working.
Overall, the content of the conference was highly appreciated by the participants coming from disparate countries as Kuwait, UAB, Canada, Singapore, United States and Australia. The purpose, results and outcomes were very positive: many subjects of debate have been opened and discussed with lively exchanges of experiences.
The organisation of the Conference confirms once again the role of EucA as leader in Europe in Student Affairs and Services. Thanks to its high-level partnerships with Associations as NASPA, EucA promotes the American model in Europe, facilitates exchanges among professionals and supports the internationalisation of the European Halls of Residences.