CIVIS Student Ambassadors Take Centre Stage in Newsroom Pilot

Bucharest / across CIVIS Alliance, February–June 2026. From social media campaigns to live reporting in Bucharest, a group of CIVIS student ambassadors has helped shape how the alliance tells its story, by telling it themselves. 

Launched on February 23, 2026, the CIVIS Ambassadors Newsroom Project set out to do exactly that: empower students to become active communicators of CIVIS activities, while building skills in storytelling, collaboration and digital content creation.  

Over the course of the pilot, the project brought together 15 ambassadors from across the alliance, with 12 travelling to Bucharest to form the first student-led newsroom covering CIVIS Days 2026.  

I have been truly delighted to contribute to increasing the visibility of CIVIS by creating videos and writing articles that reflected the spirit of the alliance and its members. It was especially rewarding to conclude this contribution during the CIVIS Days, capturing the event through my camera lens and collaborating with ambassadors from other universities whom I had the opportunity to meet in Bucharest and with whom I hope to continue working in the future

A Student-centred Approach to Communication 

Co-led by the CIVIS Communication Unit and the Mobility Unit, and supported by local CIVIS teams, the initiative was designed as a hands-on, “learn by doing” experience.  

Students worked across several formats: 

• co-creating social media campaigns (seven published, with more in development), 
• conducting interviews with “civizens”, 
• engaging in digital storytelling through social media, 
• and, in some cases, contributing to local events promoting CIVIS opportunities.  

Beyond content production, the project relied on close coordination with mobility teams across universities. Ambassadors were not only active online: they also contributed to student fairs, welcome days and local outreach activities, helping connect CIVIS opportunities with their peers on campus. 

This dual role as communicators and local representatives reflects the broader ambition of the project: to strengthen the link between the alliance and its student community. 

The Project in Numbers

Motivation: Collaboration, Creativity and Impact 

From the outset, student motivations were clear. Many were drawn by the opportunity to work in an international environment, develop communication skills and contribute to a shared European initiative. 

Across the cohort, ambassadors expressed a desire to: 

• collaborate across universities and cultures, 
• gain experience in content creation and storytelling, 
• increase the visibility of CIVIS opportunities for students, 
• and contribute to projects that “make the student network more impactful, not just visible,” as one participant put it.  

For some, it was also about stepping outside their comfort zone and experimenting with formats such as interviews, reels or social media takeovers, often for the first time. 

I was constantly working to get over my fear of being on camera and, most importantly, making friends from all over Europe. I never intended for just three days to leave such long-lasting memories, but that is exactly what happened, and I am incredibly grateful... This constant exposure allowed me to work-out the ‘fear muscles’ that held me back from making an appearance on camera for years, and there we have it - a true personal development

Bucharest: A Student Newsroom in Action 

The project culminated at CIVIS Days 2026, where ambassadors became the official student news team, working alongside the CIVIS Communication Unit.  

From behind-the-scenes coverage to interviews and live social media content, they captured the event through their own lens, including Instagram takeovers that highlighted both formal sessions and informal moments of the gathering. 

For Paula Medio Torrubiano CIVIS Days created a space to exchange ideas and form new connections.

During these three days, I saw an alliance that works together, continuously building new initiatives and opportunities for its students. I am leaving Bucharest feeling grateful for the people I met, refueled by the conversations, and excited to carry this energy forward

Working in small, international teams, ambassadors experimented with formats, engaged audiences and documented the atmosphere of the event, contributing to a more immediate and human narrative of CIVIS Days.  

“I Came as an Ambassador. I Left a Civizen” 

For many participants, the experience went far beyond communication training. 

Hakim Traoré, student ambassador from Université libre de Bruxelles, described the project as “one of the most enriching human experiences” he’s had in a long time, highlighting the energy created by working alongside “brilliant, curious, deeply engaged” peers. 

He added: “I came as an ambassador for ULB. I left feeling like a civizen”. 

This sense of belonging was echoed by other participants. Louise Wallinder‑Mähler, from Stockholm University, emphasised the value of meeting and working together in person.

In a world that at times seems increasingly divided, I truly believe that all efforts for international collaboration are important. Since a lot of the work and communication for CIVIS is remote from all the different universities, it can sometimes feel quite detached and lonely, and it was truly amazing to be able to meet so many people involved in the alliance and get to know them better!

Building Skills and a Community 

Across the pilot, ambassadors developed practical skills in communication, teamwork and content creation, while also gaining a deeper understanding of CIVIS itself. 

Others highlighted how the experience changed their perspective, not only on CIVIS, but on collaboration more broadly, like Louise Brulard, from ULB:

Beyond becoming true experts on all the possibilities within CIVIS, I believe that what I learned during the CIVIS Days was that behind the academic alliance there are faces of personalities and cultures. And it’s by meeting that we make the alliance stronger

Whether producing articles, creating videos or engaging audiences online, the project gave students the tools to become active contributors to the alliance. 

A Promising Pilot for the Future 

From a coordination perspective, the pilot also offered valuable lessons. 

Esther Malice, from the CIVIS Communication Unit, who handled the social media component of the pilot, described it as a “very valuable” initiative that creates stronger connections with students across universities, while noting the importance of allowing more time for future iterations to fully develop the dynamic.  

Mădălina Csiki, who worked closely with the ambassadors on the civizen stories, highlighted both the challenges and the strong potential of the initiative. Reflecting on the experience, she noted that initial expectations were uncertain but once contact was established, the dynamic quickly became smooth and constructive. Despite a short timeframe, uneven participation and some delays, she described the overall experience as worth repeating, particularly given that several ambassadors showed strong motivation and produced “very good texts, comparable with the ones done by professionals”. As did Esther Malice, she underlined the need for more time and support from local Communication Unit members in future editions, especially to scale collaborative formats beyond individual contributions.

The results speak to its potential: 

• a growing portfolio of student-generated content, 
• a connected network of ambassadors across institutions, 
• and a strong student presence at CIVIS Days 2026. 

Amplifying the Student Voice

The CIVIS Ambassadors Newsroom Project demonstrates what happens when students are not only participants in an alliance, but its storytellers. By giving ambassadors the tools, space and trust to communicate CIVIS from within, the pilot has helped build something more than a communication initiative: a community of engaged, creative and connected “civizens”. 

And it’s not over.  

For Paula Medio Torrubiano, the Newsroom project gave ambassadors “the chance to connect and channel our enthusiasm into creating content together along the way. Ending it all at CIVIS Days 2026 in Bucharest felt like the perfect whistle… but maybe just halftime, so stay tuned!” 

List of participants in the Newsroom pilot

This list includes the student ambassadors who fulfilled the requirements for a mobility to CIVIS Days by participating in at least two projects. Some went above and beyond, taking part in up to seven different projects. The appear here in alphabetical order of their last name. CIVIS warmly thanks them for their committment and great work!

• Laura Maria Badea, University of Bucharest 
• Marina Bell Calatayud, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid 
• Minase Berhane Getachew, University of Salzburg 
• Julia Birner, University of Salzburg 
• Louise Brulard, Université libre de Bruxelles 
• Laura Carmona Navajo, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid 
• Maria Gravvani, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens 
• Lena Guldner, University of Salzburg 
• Marie Lang, University of Tübingen 
• Paula Medio Torrubiano, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid 
• Leonie Oyen, University of Tübingen 
• Jesús Romero Moreno, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid 
• Hakim Traore, Université libre de Bruxelles 
• Emily Wake, University of Lausanne 
• Louise Wallinder-Mähler, Stockholm University