I see them as my most important allies for change and sometimes as my strongest critics. With European higher education policy growing in importance, especially in light of the Bologna process, students must be able to actively participate in policy discussions at European level. ESIB was present at the Uppsala informal meeting of ministers of education and research. In fact it was the only organisation that got this opportunity. For the student voice to be realistic, constructive and responsible student organisations must be able to evolve and improve over time.
Students are only students for a few years, which is a challenge to student influence.
But organisations have a longer perspective than individual students have. This creates continuity and ensures that opinions persist long enough to have an impact. Quality is at the centre of any debate on higher education today. The forces of globalisation are experienced in all parts of society. With increasing mobility of students and labour, globalisation will drive development of quality in education.