Higher Education Internationalization (HEI) refers to integrating an international, intercultural, or global dimension into higher education’s purpose, functions, and delivery. Some students’ perspectives on the impact of internationalization include the following:
  • It is a great opportunity to be introduced to a different culture.
  • To practice a foreign language.
  • To enrich their course curriculum.
  • To develop key soft skills for their employability.
The ATHENA European University Alliance, to celebrate the Erasmus Days 2023, organizes a round table discussion to reveal students’ perspectives about the Internationalization of Higher Education. Our panelists will discuss their experiences, challenges, and proposals to the universities’ governance on how internationalization can be further supported. The round table will occur on the 10th of October, 2023, at 10:00 CET on the Zoom platform.
The presentations and discussions will last 60 minutes. Our panelists will be:
  1. Georgios Psaltakis – ESN ATHENA President
  2. Iason Kartalos, Undergraduate Student of Athens University of Economics and Business, Greece
  3. Rita Dias. President ESN International
  4. Katerina Antonakou – President ESN Greece
  5. Tanguy Guibert – Vice-president ESU (European Student Union)
  6. Nassim Talbi, member of the YUFE alliance
Moderator: Ms. Karolina Sokolińska from the UMCS, Poland
Georgios Psaltakis - ESN ATHENA President

Georgios is 23 from the Hellenic Mediterranean University. He studies Electrical and Computer Engineering and he has served as President of the ATHENA Student Board for two terms. With the collaborations of ESN international and ICE he created the first federation of ESN sections aimed at the European Universities initiative which received endorsement from the European Commision as well as an Outstanding Performance award and Best practices award. He has done his erasmus in Finland at Aalto University. He currently holds the position of president at ESN HMU and ESN ATHENA. His priorities are fair exchange experiences , internationalization of higher education and fair student representation at European Universities.

Iason Kartalos, Undergraduate Student of Athens University of Economics and Business, Greece

Iason Kartalos

Athens University of Economics and Business, Greece

kartalos.iason@gmail.com

Connection with Erasmus+:
Undergraduate Student of Athens University of Economics and Business, department of Business Administration. Went to Erasmus+ program in Croatia, Zagreb in the spring semester of 2022-2023, in the Faculty of Economics and Business. 
Rita Dias. President ESN International
Rita is 27 and comes from the coast of Portugal. She has a bachelor’s in Political Science and International Relations and a Master’s in Public Policy. Rita did her Erasmus in Leuven, Belgium, and worked at the United States Embassy in Lisbon in 2018 and in the Political Observatory in the Association for Political Studies and Scientifical Research in 2020. She joined ESN in 2018 when she moved to Lisbon to start her master’s. She held several positions in the network, such as President of Portugal and Liaison Officer for Inclusive Mobility. As president, she is responsible for the general coordination of the organisation, external relations, policy, and advocacy. Her main priorities include increasing participation in learning mobility and fostering civic engagement and participation of young people through Erasmus.
Katerina Antonakou - President ESN Greece
Kat is a 23-year-old education and youth work enthusiast. She studies Animal Science and Aquaculture at the Agricultural University of Athens while she is now participating in HR classes.
Kat has been an ESN volunteer for approximately 4.5 years and currently holds the position of the President of ESN Greece. All these years of volunteering, she has been focusing on advocacy, the promotion of Erasmus+ and mobility.
Kat did her Erasmus+ internship in Krakow, Poland and one year later, participated in a European Solidarity Corp group volunteering in Poland.
Tanguy Guibert - Vice-president ESU (European Student Union)
Tanguy joined the student movement in France seven years ago while attending nursing school. He advocated primarily for improving life and studying conditions at the local and national levels.
He now serves as Vice-president of ESU, working on European Education Area, Internationalisation and Mobility, Youth, Sustainability and Communication. Among others, he represents the European Students in SDG4 Youth and Students Network from UNESCO.
Tanguy studies international political science at the Institute of Political Science in University Paris Est Créteil.
Nassim Talbi, member of the YUFE alliance

Nassim Talbi, member of the YUFE alliance