The CIVICA Student Engagement Fund (SEF) is a mini-grant scheme that supports student-led projects and cross-campus collaboration across the CIVICA alliance.
The CIVICA Student Engagement Fund (SEF) is a mini-grant scheme that supports student-led projects and cross-campus collaboration across the CIVICA alliance.
Partner universities: Hertie School, IE University, SNSPA
Short description: “EU AI Hack : Hack for Strategic EU Governance” is a 6 month-long, multi-campus initiative uniting 24 students from Hertie School, IE Madrid, and SNSPA to co-design actionable solutions for Europe’s most critical AI governance challenges. Spanning December 2025 through June 2026, the project combines authentic problem-scoping with real European stakeholders (MEP offices, European Commission, civil society), intensive in-person prototyping, and strategic dissemination to decision-makers.
Students work in interdisciplinary teams mentored by leading faculty and policy practitioners, producing both working digital prototypes and policy briefs addressing urgent issues: algorithmic bias in public services, cross-border data governance, and transparent AI decision-making in migration and welfare systems. Outputs are actively pitched to MEPs, ministries, and NGOs for adoption and scaling. The initiative establishes a replicable model for student-led policy innovation, reaching 2,500+ students across CIVICA through open resources, case studies, and institutional knowledge-sharing, positioning the alliance as Europe’s vanguard for bridging technology innovation and democratic governance.
NEWS
Invitation to “Cracking the Code: EU AI Policy Hackathon”
Partner universities: Hertie School – Women in Public Policy, Sciences Po – Women in Business, SNSPA – ad-hoc project team, IE – Women in Business
Short description: EUWISE 2026 – Women in Social Sciences is a one-day, student-led, cross-campus event bringing together the CIVICA alliance to advance gender equality through dialogue and action. Hosted at the Hertie School with hybrid hubs across partner universities, the summit features a keynote address, two expert panels, and a “Foresight Hackathon” focused on implementable EU gender policies. Participants from all CIVICA campuses will collaborate in interdisciplinary teams to design evidence-based solutions informed by policy in sectors such as economics, finance, climate, AI and others. The event concludes with a public showcase of the teams’ proposals and a networking session, fostering connections and long-term collaboration. With the 2025 World Economic Forum estimating gender parity still at 123 years away, the initiative aims to inspire students and accelerate progress by transforming ideas into tangible, measurable actions within the CIVICA network and beyond.
Partner universities: Sciences Po, SNSPA, Central European University
Short description: This project aims to unite both students and experts across CIVICA universities to examine how artificial intelligence can be governed effectively within democratic societies. To achieve this, an interactive workshop structured around Model EU and UN formats will be set up. By forming
committees, workshop participants will represent different stakeholders, governments, civil society and VLOPs. Policy proposals targeting AI-driven misinformation, digital accountability, algorithmic bias and their subsequent effects on democracy will be debated and drafted by the committees. Furthermore, under the guidance of academic and policy experts, students will collaborate to write a policy paper proposing recommendations for ethical and transparent AI governance in the digital and public sphere. Through this initiative, we hope to strengthen collaboration across universities as well as policymaking skills and democratic awareness among participants. We believe this directly contributes to important discussions on how Europe can ensure that AI upholds, rather than undermines, democratic values.
Partner universities: SGH Warsaw School of Economics, Central European University, IE University, SNSPA, LSE, Bocconi University
Short description: “Voices of CIVICA” is a series of video podcasts and debates designed to foster interdisciplinary dialogue and academic exchange across the member universities of the CIVICA Alliance. Implemented collaboratively by student teams at each partner institution, the initiative features conversations with professors, researchers, and practitioners who contribute expertise in the social sciences and related disciplines. By promoting open dialogue and diverse perspectives on contemporary social challenges, the project reinforces CIVICA’s commitment to academic collaboration and inclusivity. Recorded content will be published on a YouTube channel and other affiliated media platforms.
