EUTOPIA Innovation Challenge for Students

Universitat Pompeu Fabra (May 2025)

‘Our group’s user research showed that people generally don’t think AI or deepfakes could affect them, so we designed an interactive booth to demonstrate how easily your image can be manipulated and provided users with a digital toolkit to recognise and be safe against deepfakes. This was a real-life application of what I study, and the organisation that set the challenge were really impressed by our pitch. The whole event was so good – UPF have set the bar very high! There were ten universities represented, everyone had such diverse points of view and experiences, and the way they approached these topics was so different from us. It was very exciting to experience a different culture and see how students live in Barcelona.’ (Shaina Sharma, Behavioural and Economic Science)

‘I would never have thought I was a person who could have this kind of experience, but now I’m thinking about studying and working abroad in the future. I made so many friends from other countries. Watching their presentations, I kept thinking, “These ideas could really be implemented, I hope someone develops this!” We weren’t just exploring questions, we were trying to do something that would have a real-world impact.’ (Fiyinfolu Thomas, Philosophy & Psychology)

‘I went into this event having never worked in an intercultural team, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. But I enjoyed it so much, it was genuinely so much fun, and our team was amazing. There were STEM students and Social Science students mixing together, coming up with different ideas. I really saw the benefits of working in different cultural contexts, and would be interested in exploring that direction in terms of future employment. I made so many friends in Barcelona - it was an incredible experience, and I still can’t get over it!’ (Serena Cai, Sociology)

‘It’s great that Warwick is part of this programme! It was so much fun to think about something that isn’t directly related to my degree: I’m always so focused on my discipline and the career I want to pursue, but it was really inspiring and provoking to explore something different. It made me realise there are so many other topics I’m passionate about. I felt very grateful for the support we received from Warwick, and Charles Turner did a great job of looking after us while we were in Barcelona.’ (Katrin Hirtenlehner, Health & Medical Sciences)

‘I loved the format of the competition: having to create an idea in such a short time meant we had to work well with our team-mates, do research and learn on the spot, think about real-world applications… It teaches you the importance of a design mindset. I’ve always wanted to work in Europe, and that intention has intensified thanks to this event: cross-cultural collaboration really is everything it’s cracked up to be. The month after the Innovation Challenge, I participated in the Council of Europe's Hackathon, Democracy's Firewall, with EUTOPIA students I met in Barcelona (see Ca' Foscari's interview with two of these students). I wouldn't have been able to attend this event without the EUTOPIA Innovation Challenge.’ (Alasdair Emmett, History)

‘This was a very well organised event. The overall challenge was well defined and broken down into more concrete problems that the students took on with alacrity. In so doing they showed enthusiasm, good humour, and, in their final presentations, no little skill. They also took every opportunity to meet people from different countries and learn something about a major European city.' (Charles Turner, Reader in Sociology)

CY Cergy Paris Université (November 2024)

‘My experience in the EUTOPIA Innovation Challenge in Paris allowed me to apply the skills and knowledge from my course in a real-world example enhancing my product, deepening my understanding of the field. The experience not only allowed me to collaborate closely with others from different countries and universities but also gave me a glimpse of what it would be like to live and work abroad, broadening my perspective on both professional and cultural levels.’ (Kayla René Pascal, Education Studies)

‘The EUTOPIA Innovation Challenge was a great opportunity to connect both personally and academically with students from different European universities, including my own. What made it stand out for me was its interdisciplinarity. As a student, these kinds of experiences are usually limited to your own field or department, but this challenge brought together people from all sorts of disciplines which was incredibly enriching. For example, I, coming from a social science background, was teamed up with a brilliant architecture student from Slovenia. Her distinct perspective, shaped by her field, was completely new to me and even months later, I try to approach projects with a more mathematical mindset, much like she did.’ (María Bobo Alonso, Politics & International Studies)

‘I enjoyed team-building activities with youth from a multitude of European universities – in particular, our memorable visit to Auvers-sur-Oise where we learned about the life of an often-misunderstood figure, Vincent van Gogh. My team and I presented a go-to-market strategy for opening a coffee shop in central Paris, selling a healthier and more sustainable French take on coffee. Overall, the EUTOPIA Innovation Challenge was a wonderful experience that developed my transferable skills across consulting and tangential industries. The closing presentations at ESSEC Business School were a great culmination to this EUTOPIA adventure.’ (Vivek Venkatram, PPE)

Babeș-Bolyai University (April 2024)

‘The EUTOPIA Innovation Challenge at Babeș-Bolyai was incredibly rewarding. Travelling to Romania, exploring a new culture, and meeting new lifelong friends, while also developing professional skills, was the best possible opportunity for my personal development and I would easily recommend it as one of the best opportunities at Warwick.’ (Arshia Tabatabaee, Politics)