Vanina Ninova is currently a master’s student in European governance in New Bulgarian University in Sofia, Bulgaria and a Student Research Assistant at the Student Research Group (WP2) within ERUA – European Reform University Alliance. She is also one of the ERUA student representatives in the upcoming European Student Assembly 2023 where she will be part of the panel focused on European higher education institutions.

Vanina graduated in International Politics in French from New Bulgarian University in 2022. She is a Research associate at the think tank ‘Policy and Citizens’ Observatory: Migration, Digitalization, Climate’ and works as junior researcher in several European projects related to migration and education.  Among her main academic interests are international migrations and European Union’s policies and politics, incl. Migration and Asylum, Higher education, EU Enlargement and the European integration of the Western Balkans.  Vanina is also part of the European project countering disinformation ‘READ TWICE’ and of the WB2EU (Erasmus+ Jean Monnet Networks Project) Youth Network of young researchers and civic activists.

Working in the ERUA Student Research Group

• “Working in the ERUA Student Research Group (WP2) to me is being part of a network of active and motivated young people as well as inspiring professors who are all engaged into contributing to the re-imagination of European Higher education and research. Being member of the ERUA Student Group is inspiring because it gives me the opportunity to experience the European union and the European integration through a new way – by participating in the creation and the establishment of a new characteristic of the European identity which is based on the reform universities ideals and goals. The work in the ERUA Student group is also a chance to discover in many ways your own university, in my own case – New Bulgarian University, while at the same time exploring the other four reform universities –University of Konstanz, University of Paris 8, Roskilde University and University of the Aegean.”

 Participating in the ERUA WP2 Research Group Workshop in Konstanz, Germany in 2022

• “In the period May 5th -7th 2022 I took part in the ERUA WP2 Research Group Workshop ‘The History and Legacy of Reform: Changing Promises and Realities of Higher Education’ which was organized by the University of Konstanz. During the workshop together with the other members of the ERUA WP2 research group and other interested parties we participated in various sessions and presentations on topics exploring the Reformed Universities and Higher Education through the perspective of history, architecture, digitalization, civic education and social transformation, funding and reform, Europeanisation of higher education as well as some specific case studies. I found very interesting the lecture focused on the question of the architecture of the reform universities. It was followed by a tour of the University of Konstanz during which we explored its brutalist and modernist architecture and were provoked to reflect on the way we perceive the reform universities’ architecture and design from today’s perspective.  I also really enjoyed exploring the colorful and lively city of Konstanz which turned out to be a great place for the lovers of street photography as me.”

You can read more about the workshop here: https://www.geschichte.uni-konstanz.de/en/research/kwaschik/miscellaneous/european-reform-university-alliance-erua/events/past-events/