News

Alin Horj, designated Regional Coordinator EU di OCEANS Network, racconta e condivide con noi la giornata veneziana di lunedì 25 giugno, in occasione dello Student International Day, organizzato dall'Ufficio Affari Internazionali dell'Università. Un'occasione per aprire un confronto di idee sulla mobilità internazionale con gli studenti e le associazioni internazionali studentesche, ed un'opportunità importante per l'Associazione per entrare in contatto con il network OCEANS ed altre belle realtà come AEGEE EUROPE - European Students’ Forum, ESN - Erasmus student network, EMA - Erasmus Mundus Association, AIESEC e JADE.

It was a hot day in Venice on June 25th. While most of us would have preferred to be on the beach, some students attended the “Student International Day 2012” event in the Aula Mario Baratto. It is one of the most spectacular rooms of Ca’ Foscari University, thanks to its unique panorama on the Grand Canal.

Networking Across Borders

The main theme of the event was “Networking Across Borders” or how student organisations can better collaborate with the university on new student mobility programmes.
The event gathered around 35 participants and six student organisations, inter alia the OCEANS Network and EMA.
The event featured keynote speakers from the University of Ca’ Foscari, such as the Rector of the University, Carlo Carraro, and Prof. Anna Comacchio, the Rector’s delegate for Internationalisation, who is also one of the directors of the ATLANTIS programme.
I had the distinct honour to represent the OCEANS Network at this event and show how OCEANS can help its members build their network, improve and gain new skills, but also make new friends and have fun. As I mentioned at the conference, universities play a vital role in achieving our success, since they not only encourage students to be part of the OCEANS Network even before they go on exchange, but can also offer academic and administrative support for OCEANS events. As Prof. Carlo Carraro, the Rector of Ca’ Foscari University put it: “International student organisations are strategically important for Ca’ Foscari university, and internationalisation is among the main objectives of Ca’ Foscari”.

Fruitful discussions on future cooperation

The prezis online presentation was extremely well received by the public, and at the end of the conference the Ca’ Foscari Alumni Foundation and Ca’ Foscari International Office showed their strong interest in collaborating with the OCEANS Network on future initiatives starting from this fall. Some of the activities of the Ca’ Foscari Alumni Foundation include networking events such as for example, organising visits to relevant companies where Ca’ Foscari alumni hold managerial positions.
After the event, the ATLANTIS students met for dinner, a great opportunity to informally gather together, re-live the wonderful experiences, give advices to new students, and create more personal relationships between professors and students. It was the perfect occasion to get together with professors in a restaurant and share our international experiences. This would not have happened without the support of the OCEANS Network. 
The event was a real success and showed that if the ATLANTIS students continue sharing the benefits of our network, they will be the perfect ambassadors of the OCEANS Network.

By Alin Horj, designated Regional Coordinator EU