Student Delegation President – Joana Pereira Cardoso

Following the interviews with past Student Delegation Presidents Alex Domin and Nicola Schreiner, we caught up with current President, Joana Patricia Pereira Cardoso.

After having finished her Bachelor en Droit in 2022, Joana is now in the second year of her master's in European Banking and Financial Law, so we could not imagine a better profile for the representative of the student body at the University of Luxembourg.

Why did you run for the Student Delegation and how did you become a President?

I became a part of the Delegation last year and it was my first experience in such a student association. Now, because I am in my last year of studies, I feel like I matured as a student which makes me able to bring a little bit of experience and help other students. The members of the Student Delegation that were elected by the students in turn elect among themselves a President. Very simple process, and here I am!

What have been your goals as President? What have you hoped to achieve?

The main goal is to make the Student Delegation more known to other students because I think it's a big problem that many students aren't aware that there is a body of students that is there to help them, to represent them. We will have elections next next year for the next Student Delegation, so my goal is to have more students interested in being delegates, but also more students voting for the delegates. This is not just to make students more aware of the existence of the Student Delegation  but also to enable us to actually do things for them.

What has been your biggest challenge?

I think the biggest challenge is that we are a small team. There's only eight of us and we also have a lot to do for our studies so it's hard to manage our time in a way that we can effectively create events, organise things and just be there for our fellow students. This is a problem that we had also last year: we have ideas, we planned the event, but then the time management is difficult and sometimes the result is not as we hoped.

Which changes have you seen at the University in the last few years?

I started studying for my bachelor and then there was COVID for one year and a half of my studies… Maybe because of that it felt like there are more events last year and this year. I feel like student associations (that we try to help financially because that's also one of our our goals and one of our roles) are organising more events now. It seems like students also became a little bit more interested in attending these events.

I also also feel like the University itself is trying to be more open to receiving students’ feedback, which I think may be something that our predecessors struggled with but for the year that I've been in the Delegation, we felt like actually the Uni was interested in listening to us and hearing what we have to say. We still have to figure out the doing part, but still, they're listening, which is already a good thing!

What is your favorite thing about the University?

That it is a true melting pot. You have people from all over the world, with very different backgrounds that come together and share their life experiences with each other. This is clearly visible when you look at the many student associations and clubs we have. With every new person we meet at Uni.lu, you always get to learn something new. 

What do you like most on campus and where do you usually go to have fun?

Luxembourg Learning Center. For me, it is the perfect place to study. I like that it is very colorful and that it also has relaxing areas for when you need a break. 

My favorite thing to eat in Belval is Golden Bean's carrot cake :) Golden Bean is also a nice spot to hang out with friends and even get some work done for uni.

Since I live in the south of Luxembourg, I usually go to the bars in Belval to have a drink and enjoy some time with friends. If I am more in a dancing mood, I usually go to Rives de Clausen or other clubs in the city.