Student Delegation Presidents - Nicola Schreiner

As part of our alumni coverage of the 20th Anniversary, we already introduced you to the first President of the Student Delegation, Alex Domin, and now it is time for to meet Nicola Schreiner, who was heading the Student Delegation in 2020-2021, during the challenging times of the pandemic. He is now Secretary of Legation at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Luxembourg.

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

 
I did my Bachelor's at the University of Luxembourg before I went for one year of my Master’s at Leiden University and that gave me the perspective between my alma mater, the University of Luxembourg, and a different university environment. I realised that the University of Luxembourg has quite a lot of potential in terms of the things it could change or things it could adapt because it is young, and Leiden University is the oldest university in the Netherlands. 

 
When I came back for my second year of Master’s here, I saw that the Student Delegation was having the elections coming up and it was quite a spontaneous application to just see how it went and if I could convince my fellow students to elect me. I ended up having the most votes and getting into the Student Delegation, forming the team of the other delegates and we collectively decided I should take on the role as President. I was willing to take on this role to try and make a change and do something for the community. 

Uni.lu Student Delegation 2020-2021

What goals did you have as President, and what did you hope to accomplish? 

 
We had the ambition to see what we could do in the context of student life being more accessible and bringing more life to the University itself. Unfortunately, my mandate was during the Covid-19 pandemic so that was difficult to implement, even for the Student Delegation itself. You would rarely have physical meetings because of the severe restrictions at that time. That was one of the main ambitions - to guide the University on how to best approach coping with the pandemic and give feedback from the student perspective of how they felt about the measures the university would be taking. There were a lot of discussions coming about the examinations and the rest, where our feedback was quite important to guide the University, to have the measures which were having student interests in mind. 

 
Another very big topic for Student Delegation was to to focus on sustainability. We had one delegate who took this issue really to heart and launched initiatives that as far as I can see flourished after we left. We put everything in motion at that time, and I think that is always one thing about ambition and goals you have, especially in that context. Sometimes you see the results after you leave but getting the ball rolling is important. My current job [at the Ministry] reflects that to have a healthy and constructive relationship with the University, especially those in charge and the vice rectors, those who can influence decisions as well. We had the goal as well to have very good and regular exchange and being able to provide feedback on what we think should be done. I think we had very good communication which I hope the Delegations after me were able to maintain. 

 
What was the biggest challenge that you faced and how did you deal with it? 

 
Covid-19 was one of the biggest challenges because you had to keep the function of the University guaranteed while securing the health of the students by providing certain measures to allow them to take part in classes and do everything which is required from them.  

It was also tough not being able to be present at the University physically and to exchange with other students in order to be their voice. That was quite a pre-requirement to be able to discuss with them to be able to do my job.  

One of the residences also had to be closed in the context of some sanitary and health issues so that was a particularly tough issue because we wanted the students to be able to have accommodation and affordable prices and the University was forced to close that residence. The Delegation had to really be able to be there for the students to the extent possible as well to be the relay between the University and the students. 

 
Another challenge was the legitimacy of the Student Delegation itself, which still had to get the branding as well the status which it required to be truly efficient. I was only the second President and I noticed that this is something where we could work on and I think the following Presidents could see the value of the work we did to get the students' voices heard. 

The Student Delegation won the Student Initiative Award in 2021.

What was your proudest moment when you were the President of Student Delegation? 

 
It was the mental health week, where we collaborated with the UNEL and the University services. That was one of the first projects we actually implemented materially in terms of really having produced something besides actively engaging in dialogue with the University and bringing forward student claims and being engaged in defending the student needs. During the Covid pandemic it was the topic which was extremely important, and the ambition was to have this on a recurring basis. Mental health is always a very important topic for the students and giving them a platform where at least some tools on how to navigate that were available was crucial. Especially during the stressful weeks for the examinations or in the context of Covid which was quite tough for a lot of people. 

 
What changes did you notice the most during your time as a student at the University? 

 
From a student perspective, I think a lot of things changed, especially in terms of infrastructure. MAE or the student lounge, for example, were not there when I was a bachelor student. I also saw more student associations being being born after I came back. That was really good to see the student engagement as well the identification of the students with the University. 

One other thing is actually the Alumni Network because thinking about my experience abroad, I think it is such an integral part of the university's identity. In the context of the 20 years of the University it was about time that this was created as Uni.lu now has many alumni. This was really good, and I have to give credit for it to Andy Adams. 

 
As a Student Delegation President, I can also say that probably the first Student Delegation was a pilot and then season one was basically me, follower by the season two and season three. I truly believe that we were able to really get this ball rolling and that Student Delegation will be able to have a really affirm stands within the student community on one hand and as well as with the University to be the student voice and really being able to stand up for certain issues. We were able to do something on that front. 

The 2020-2021 Student Delegation at an informal meeting

What do you think makes the University of Luxembourg special?  

 
One thing that really stands out is the international community of students. During my time at the University, even though I was Luxembourgish, and a lot of critics say that they need to get outside of Luxembourg to have a truly international experience, it was not the case for me. I used to live in student residence with people from all over Europe, some even from countries outside of EU, having a great student experience in that sense: living on campus, being able to mingle with different students, to play football as well... There were also some practical implications as well for me to have to live there as I come from northern Luxembourg, but the real reason why I chose to live in student accommodation was because I wanted to be there, at the University. 

 
How would you like to see the University develop in the coming years? 

 
I would like to see more Luxembourg students deciding to go to the University of Luxembourg. At least for the Bachelor’s degree or maybe coming back for a Master’s degree because you have such an international environment and this is important. You have the mix between the locals and the international students which are here because the special thing is that by having such an international University, we attract a lot of internationals who want to stay here and work. There are so many people I personally know who decided to stay in Luxembourg and that is where you get to meet the locals too, at the University. I think the more Luxembourg students are there, the better mix we will have in the end.  

I would look forward to the University just to keep on growing and to becoming excellent in the different fields which they choose to be and keep producing talent which the national economy needs them to produce and do interesting research which will be internationally recognised. Profit from all the different talents which are choosing to continue at the University, especially the local students. I think that's something where where the mix between the international and local and is something very important. 

 
Where was your favourite place to eat on campus? 

 
The café on MSA first floor because I had quite a good relationship with the ladies working behind the counter, so I used to chat with them quite a lot. I really do miss them as well. I brought them some presents when I went back because they were nice and kind. That café is also more dynamic as well. You would see people going to classes, meeting friends, and interacting with other people… Not saying that the restaurant was different, but I think just the dynamism of that cafe was really cool.