Una Europa Staff Week, hosted by the University of Helsinki, invited 40 participants from across Europe – students, professors, and administrative staff – to reimagine the university as a common space for everyone, where learning can happen beyond classrooms.
We often think that learning happens inside a classroom, between teachers and students. Students go to a lecture, take notes, go home, study from books, memorize, write essays, and learn how to pass exams. But is learning just about reading, analysing and criticising knowledge, and preparing students to graduate?
Universities as social institutions are often overlooked as communities that shape wider societies. Today’s societies are built around inequalities and isolation. With hierarchies between academics, professional staff and students, we live in our own silos and realities – building our identities and, in the end, reinforcing these societal hierarchies. As Kritika Sharma, a student from University College Dublin, notes:
“When you are in the academic pressure, you’re not able to see the larger picture. You just get so consumed in your own day-to-day grind that even if a professor or the university has a lot of resources, we are not able to appreciate it because we only see from a very singular lens”
With this question in mind, Una Europa Staff Week encouraged its participants to see universities as social and emotional spaces, not just institutions producing degrees.
The overarching theme of the week was to build a transformative learning community in which participants – regardless of their role – were actively invited to look beyond their own perspective and comfort zones.
Learning by stepping into someone else’s shoes
The Staff Week was built around one core idea: learning must be reflective and participatory. Content and method were matched through workshops that pushed people out of their comfort zones and made everyone – students, staff, and academics – active agents in their own learning. Participants were treated both as learners and as experts, invited to question their habits and explore new perspectives.
In one workshop, role play asked participants to step into very different positions. A student took the role of a vice-rector deciding whether to raise international tuition fees in a tight budget situation.
This exercise made the structural complexity of university decision-making suddenly more tangible.
“As a student, I always thought: why don’t they just change things?” noted Denise Gamache from Leiden University. “Now I see how many approvals and constraints there are. I’m going home with much more appreciation for the work professors and staff do for us.”
A transformative learning community emerges when members are willing to look beyond their own position and see the institution – and each other – from new angles. Understanding different roles and perspectives is fundamental to start the transformation, as well as believing that change does not emerge from a single person intention - collective action is needed.
Staff Weeks are about learning – but also having fun and making new friends
Staff Weeks are not only about professional development and learning but also about discovering new cultures, building friendships and having fun together. The Staff week offered participants a chance to experience uniquely Finnish traditions, from relaxing in a hot sauna to bravely dipping into the chilly waters of the Baltic Sea. For many, pouring löyly over the hot stones and feeling the rising steam was a memorable experience that brought them closer to Finnish lifestyle.
The dynamic Finnish student culture also came to life through a traditional sitsit, a formal yet playful academic dinner. Participants learned how to skål properly, sang songs in both Swedish and Finnish and learned the classic drinking song Helan går. Between the laughter, music and shared challenges, the Staff Week became a space where lifelong friendships are made.
“I didn’t expect to form friendships so quickly [..] I’m leaving with genuine human connections today.” - Kritika Sharma notes.
Universities have the potential to build a more inclusive future for all
Participants repeatedly returned to one core idea: if universities want students to engage, they must involve them as genuine partners.
“Once you give students the tools and trust, they can completely change how we see things,” said Nuria Pinilla Alcázar from Universidad Complutense de Madrid. “The goal is that this doesn’t feel ‘special’ anymore – it becomes normal practice.”
Transformation doesn’t always mean destroying institutions as we know them. Sometimes it can begin with small things. The invitation from the Staff Week is simple: to find one small step in our daily work through which universities can become spaces for mutual learning and unlearning, and in doing so, strengthen a more inclusive and participatory culture whose effects spill over into wider society.