On March 2025 there will be the elections of the representatives of the UNITA Student Assembly.
This fundamental step will allow each of the 250,000 UNITA’s students to stand as candidates and choose their own representatives, who will make the decisions necessary to transform our universities and intervene in many aspects of academic life for the next 2 years.
It is a chance and a right to participate in the decisions our Universities are making: participation is fundamental to build a better, more efficient, more inclusive university for all the students and the whole community.
Open the sections below to find out more information and discover the tools available:
The UNITA Governance
What is the student assembly?
Why are student representatives important?
Why are elections needed?
Who can candidate?
The reasons to candidate
Who can vote?
Why is it important to vote?
How are we going to vote?
Go Vote
The UNITA Governance
UNITA takes decisions with a participative governance led by the Governance Board, the strategic decisional body in charge of the overall steering of the project, strategic decision-making and budget decisions. Its resolutions are based on the reports and recommendations of the Student Assembly, the Advisory Council, the Quality and Evaluation Board, and the Management Committee.
What is the student assembly?
The Student Assembly, composed of 8 student representatives per each of the 12 Universities of the Alliance UNITA, is self-ruled by its members and gives proposals and recommendations on each single aspect of the Alliance. It also directly participates in decision-making processes, knowledge sharing, implementation of teaching activities as well as research and innovation: it is an inspiring environment for the personal and professional development of all actors, aiming to transform the academic experience of each student, PhD and alumni of the university.
The Student Assembly elects:
- 2 members for the GOVERNANCE BOARD
- 2 members for the QUALITY AND EVALUATION BOARD
- members in the Management Committee and in every Task Team of the Alliance, involved in each phase of the decisional processes
Why are student representatives important?
After getting organized in lists and being elected, the student representatives, 8 students per university, are ready to report your opinions and needs in front of the governance of UNITA.
They are the voice of the students at the decisional tables of the Alliance, as they sit alongside the rectors and the administrative staff to speak up for the students.
Internally, the Student Assembly discusses ideas and projects to create new opportunities for their peers.
The Student Assembly is a vital part of the Alliance dedicated to addressing the needs, proposals, and concerns of all students in the Alliance. It serves as a voice for the student body, ensuring that every issue, idea, and feedback is heard and acted upon. By fostering open communication and active participation, the Assembly plays a key role in creating a supportive and responsive educational environment. Additionally, it works collaboratively with each university and administration to implement solutions and improvements, enhancing the overall student experience.
Why are elections needed?
The student assembly plays a pivotal role in addressing any necessity, proposal or concern to each student of the Alliance. It has a key role in enhancing our campus life, ensuring our voices are heard by the university's administrations.
By candidating, expressing thoughts and voting, students are shaping the future, advocating for a better environment in and out of the university premises.
Students are the soul of our universities and it is essential to recognize each of their key roles within our universities.
Each of these roles underscores the importance of students’ participation in this democratic process:
- Students are stakeholders in our universities. Individuals might not seem impactful on their own but their involvement and input are crucial in shaping policies and decisions that impact our academic journey and overall campus life.
- Students are beneficiaries of the educational services provided by the universities. We must advocate for high standards in our education and prioritize quality education and adequate resources.
- Students are service users who rely on various campus utilities such as health care, counseling, academic services, and recreational facilities.
- Students are partners in the educational process. Our relationship with faculties, administrations, and fellow students is a partnership aimed at achieving mutual goals.
- Students are democratic participants. Voting is a fundamental aspect of our democratic engagement, allowing us to hold our representatives accountable and ensuring that our voices are heard. This democratic participation is crucial in promoting transparency, inclusivity, and responsiveness within the student assembly.
- Students are ambassadors for their own university and for UNITA.
Each vote contributes to a more accessible and inclusive university environment, where diverse needs and perspectives are acknowledged and addressed. Let’s exercise our right to vote and ensure that our assembly truly represents and works for all of us.
Who can candidate?
All students enrolled in a bachelor’s and master’s degree programme, a PhD program or any other course in one of the 12 universities in the academic year 2024-2025 can candidate for the elections.
Candidates are required to assemble their campaign materials into organized lists. Each list should include the following elements:
- List Name: A unique and identifiable name that represents the candidate or their campaign.
- Logo: A distinctive logo that visually represents the list and helps in building recognition among voters.
- Program Statement: A comprehensive document outlining the candidate’s intentions, policies, and the key issues they aim to address. This program should clearly convey the candidate’s vision, objectives, and the strategies they plan to implement to achieve their goals.
- Key Priorities: A focused summary of the top priorities and key initiatives that the candidate plans to address first if elected. This should highlight the most pressing issues and the candidate’s immediate action plan.
By providing a well-structured list with these components, candidates can effectively communicate their message to the electorate, making it easier for voters to understand their platform and the specific initiatives they support. This comprehensive approach ensures transparency, fosters engagement, and builds a strong connection between the candidates and the voters.
For each university, 7 people will be elected through the electoral process established in the electoral regulation and 1 will be nominated by the Student Council of each University to ensure continuity between the decisions taken at the Alliance level and the ones being taken inside each university. Therefore, each university will be represented by 8 students in total.
Members must be enrolled as students. They must resign from their position as soon as they leave their students’ status.
The reasons to candidate
It is important to be a part of this essential project deeply rooted in European values, to help shape the universities of tomorrow alongside professors, researchers and administrative staff. By being a student representative, you can be an active part of the decisional processes of the Alliance, helping it improve and increasing the opportunities offered to the students.
Voting is very important to legitimize the representatives that candidate themselves: the more people vote, the more voices of the elected representatives will be heard, giving them more strength so that they can bring forward students’ ideas and opinions.
The main reasons to candidate are:
- Direct impact on academic life
- Being the voice for the student community
- Networking opportunities
- Promoting positive change
- Experience of democracy
- Strengthen the sense of belonging and pride
- Gaining support and training
- Personal and professional development
Who can vote?
All the students that are enrolled during the current academic year at the time of voting will receive specific credentials to log into a specific platform and express their vote.
These elections will be held completely online across 12 universities, at the same time, using a dedicated platform. The voting window will be open for 3 days, and anyone can change their vote until the closing of the voting window. Each student will be able to express their vote for 1 candidate of their own university.
Why is it important to vote?
Voting is very important to legitimate the representatives that candidate themselves: the more people vote, the more the voices of the elected representatives will be heard.
A representative is only as strong as the people that voted for him/her, this is why it is fundamental to use our democratic right to vote to give strength to our representatives, so that they can bring forward our ideas and opinions.
The more people vote, the more the governance will understand that the students of the Alliance are involved in the project, encouraging them to invest even more for student-centered projects.
How are we going to vote?
The elections are held online through a secure third party platform and the students will be able to vote by receiving specific credentials to log into this platform.
The platform enhances:
- Secrecy - votes can only be read by voters
- Fairness - no one can read a partial result before the intended time
- Integrity - no one can alter the election data undetected
- Anonymity - no one can link a plaintext vote to a single voter
- Eligibility - only a predefined list of voters can cast a valid vote
- End-to-end verifiability - Votes are cast as intended, registered as cast, and counted as registered
Go Vote
In March 2025, GO VOTE for the first UNITA Student Assembly representatives’ elections and make your voice be heard!
Be an active part of this incredible revolution that will shape our universities forever!