Schools / Winter School 2029

YEAR 3 · 2028/2029 · WINTER SCHOOL

From Voice to Policy

European Citizenship and Governance

Translate knowledge of EU institutions, citizenship and participation into feasible civic-engagement plans for students and communities in Poland.

FINAL SYLLABUS · ACADEMIC YEAR 2028/2029

Your programme and reading guide

The final annual syllabus covers both the winter and summer schools. This school is on pages 1–9. The PDF includes the full learning-outcome tables, teaching responsibilities, assessment and reading lists.

Download Year 3 syllabus (PDF) Open this school in the PDF →

Languages and learning activities

Languages: English and Polish.

Learning activities: lectures, practical classes and student projects. Students explore the school’s themes through guided discussion, case analysis and collaborative project work.

Teaching hours: 20 lecture hours and 40 hours of supervised practical work, including project activities, as set out in the final syllabus.

2 weeks14 calendar days

60 hourscontact teaching

10 days6 contact hours per day

30planned participant places

Registration not yet open. Exact dates, daily times and venue or access arrangements will be announced before enrolment. Planned host: VIZJA University, Warsaw.

Programme Teachers Learning outcomes Preparation & materials Assessment Participation Registration Reading & resources

What you will explore

European Citizenship and Governance

The question we will explore: How can students turn a local concern into meaningful participation in European and public decision-making?

Core topics

EU citizenship rights and institutions — Citizenship and resident rights; EU institutions; competences; participation eligibility.
Inclusive participation and learning — Participation barriers; accessible consultation; stakeholder mapping and supervised plan design.
European identity evidence and communication — Identity and belonging; source verification; misinformation; public-facing campaign content.
Governance and policy dialogue — Participation channels; stakeholder session; consultation simulation; planning and monitoring.

FLAGSHIP POLAND CASE

Citizen-to-Policy Studio — From EU Rights to Local Participation in Poland

Work through a teaching simulation, compare stakeholder perspectives and develop an evidence-based response. Identify relevant EU values, check the scope of Charter rights and connect your decision to the EU governance context.

The school combines 20 lecture hours with 40 hours of seminars and supervised practical work. Each teaching day includes two lecture hours and four practical hours. Breaks and independent study are excluded from contact hours.

Week 1

EU values and citizenship. Diagnostic activity; define the local concern and intended policy audience.
Citizenship rights and eligibility. Compare citizen and resident participation routes using primary sources.
EU institutions and competences. Map responsible bodies and the relationship with national and local governance.
Participation mechanisms. Compare consultations, petitions and citizens’ initiatives for the case.
Stakeholders and representation. Map affected groups and plan inclusive outreach; formative case clinic.

Week 2

Evidence and misinformation. Verify a simulated claim and write an accessible source-based correction.
Stakeholder perspectives. Structured dialogue with public administration, civil society or media.
Policy dialogue simulation. Practise a consultation or hearing and respond to stakeholder objections.
Planning and communication. Complete the participation plan, indicators and campaign prototype.
Evaluation and transfer. Defend the chosen pathway; post-test and structured learning feedback.

This is the teaching sequence, not a dated timetable. Confirmed dates, session times and rooms will appear on the Schedule page.

Your teaching team

All four teachers deliver the school jointly. The blocks below show their thematic responsibilities; integration workshops and final assessment are shared.

Dr. Dawid Stadniczeńko

School of Social Sciences
VIZJA University

Block 1 · EU citizenship rights and institutions

Citizenship and resident rights; EU institutions; competences; participation eligibility.

Dr. Habil. Olena Pimenova

School of Business
VIZJA University

Block 2 · Inclusive participation and learning

Participation barriers; accessible consultation; stakeholder mapping and supervised plan design.

Prof. Dr. Habil. Yan Kapranov

School of Humanities and Fine Arts
VIZJA University

Block 3 · European identity evidence and communication

Identity and belonging; source verification; misinformation; public-facing campaign content.

Dr. Serhat Demir

School of Social Sciences
VIZJA University

Block 4 · Governance and policy dialogue

Participation channels; stakeholder session; consultation simulation; planning and monitoring.

Meet the Project Team →

What you will be able to do

The school develops knowledge, practical skills and social competence through a civic participation planning simulation. The overview below groups the learning outcomes in the final syllabus; the complete K1–K10, S1–S10 and SC1–SC10 tables and verification methods appear on pages 2–3 of the PDF.

Knowledge

Understand citizenship and participation

Explain EU citizenship and its relationship with national citizenship; distinguish EU citizens’ rights from rights or channels available to other residents.
Identify the main EU institutions and their responsibilities, EU competences, and the roles of national and local actors.
Describe consultations, petitions and citizens’ initiatives, and explain why participation eligibility must be verified.
Identify representation and access barriers; distinguish evidence-based claims, opinion and misinformation.
Describe the objectives, stakeholders, activities and indicators of a participation plan, and explain accountability and limits of representation.

Skills

Build a feasible participation plan

Locate primary sources on citizenship and participation; map a local concern to the competent institution or policy audience.
Verify eligibility for the selected route, compare at least two participation channels and justify a choice.
Map affected groups and representation barriers; formulate a feasible objective, action sequence and timetable.
Draft an evidence-based participation plan with three indicators; verify a simulated misleading claim and produce a source-based correction.
Create accessible public-facing campaign material, defend the plan in a policy-dialogue simulation and revise it.

Social competence

Work responsibly with others

Collaborate in an interdisciplinary team, document individual contributions and listen respectfully to different perspectives.
Justify a position with evidence, remain open to disagreement and recognise when specialist input is needed.
Handle sensitive information responsibly, represent affected groups fairly and avoid unsupported generalisations.
Address barriers to participation, give constructive peer feedback and revise work in response to valid criticism.
Credit sources and contributors, respect publication permissions and identify a feasible next step for applying your learning.

Open the final syllabus and full learning outcomes →

Your preparation guide

Use this guide to navigate the existing syllabus and reading list. It does not add assignments or compulsory reading beyond the approved programme.

1. Start with the foundations

Begin with R1: Article 2 TEU, R2: the Charter and the citizenship provisions in R3: the TFEU. Distinguish the rights and participation routes available to different groups.

2. Connect the sources to the case

Use R4: the European citizens’ initiative regulation to examine a specific participation route and its eligibility conditions. Consult R6: citizen participation guidelines for process design, R7: higher-education governance for institutional context and R8: digital citizenship for public communication.

3. Build and review your assessed work

Use the assignment and assessment criteria to review the governance map, verified eligibility checklist, stakeholder strategy, action timeline, three indicators and risk register. Prepare the public information sheet, simulated fact-check and individual justification of the chosen channel. Activities remain classroom simulations unless separately organised with participants.

Materials available now: the final syllabus and the linked reading list below. Visit HUBonEU for project resources; this page does not yet provide a separate school workbook or downloadable case pack.

Your practical output and assessment

A team participation plan of 1,200–1,500 words with a governance map, verified eligibility checklist, stakeholder strategy, action timeline, three indicators and risk register. Attach a one-page public information sheet and a short fact-check of one simulated misleading claim. Each student submits an individual 500–700-word justification of the selected participation channel. Activities remain classroom simulations unless separately organised with participants.

40%individual post-test

40%practical portfolio and oral defence

20%individual written analysis or reflection

The opening pre-test is diagnostic. Participant feedback helps improve teaching and is separate from the assessment of achievement.

Completion requirements in the current syllabus: at least 60/100 overall, at least 50/100 in each component, all required outputs submitted, and participation in at least 48 of the 60 contact hours. Missed assessed activities require an equivalent supervised task. One resubmission is available for a failed component after feedback. University-wide rules take precedence.

Plan for approximately 60 additional hours of independent study, including preparation, reading and written work. ECTS recognition is subject to a separate university decision.

How the practical work is assessed

These criteria apply within the practical assessment; they are separate from the overall 40% / 40% / 20% component weights above.

Practical assessment criteria from the final syllabus
Criterion	Weight
EU reasoning	25%
Evidence and sources	20%
Analysis of options	20%
Feasibility, inclusion and accessibility	20%
Clear presentation, cooperation and individual defence	15%

Plan your independent study · 60 hours

Preparation for classes — 20 hours.
Mandatory reading — 10 hours.
Individual written work outside class — 10 hours.
Other primary-source and case materials — 10 hours.
Revision for the final assessment — 10 hours.

These are the syllabus estimates for this school. Together with 60 contact hours, they amount to 120 hours of planned learning. Breaks are excluded from contact time; ECTS recognition requires a separate university decision.

Reading & online resources

The lists below reproduce the reading assigned to this school in the final syllabus. Read the indicated sections of the required texts within the allocated preparation and reading hours. Recommended reading supports deeper analysis; additional resources are optional. Some journal articles may require university-library access.

Required reading · 8 sources

Core texts for preparation, class discussion and assessment.

R1 European Union. (2016). Consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union. Article 2. Read source ↗
Read: Article 2 and the values used in the school case.
R2 European Union. (2016). Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Selected rights and Articles 51–52. Read source ↗
Read: Relevant rights and Articles 51–52 on scope and interpretation.
R3 European Union. (2016). Consolidated version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Selected provisions on citizenship, education, culture and the environment. Read source ↗
Read: Selected articles on citizenship, education, culture or the environment, as relevant to the school.
R4 European Parliament & Council. (2019). Regulation (EU) 2019/788 on the European citizens’ initiative. Read source ↗
Read: Conditions and procedures for the European citizens’ initiative.
R5 UNESCO. (2015). Global citizenship education: Topics and learning objectives. Read source ↗
Read: Learning objectives relevant to higher education and civic participation.
R6 OECD. (2022). OECD guidelines for citizen participation processes. OECD Publishing. Read source ↗
Read: Ten-step process and principles for inclusive participation.
R7 Dobbins, M., Knill, C., & Vögtle, E. M. (2011). An analytical framework for the cross-country comparison of higher education governance. Higher Education, 62, 665–683. Read source ↗
Read: Governance models and the analytical framework.
R8 Richardson, J., & Milovidov, E. (2022). Digital citizenship education handbook: Being online, well-being online, rights online (2022 edition). Council of Europe. Read source ↗
Read: Access and inclusion, media literacy and active participation.

Who can take part

Applications are welcome from VIZJA University students in any year of study in the following schools:

School of Business
School of Social Sciences
School of Humanities and Fine Arts

No specialist knowledge of the European Union is required. The school welcomes students interested in European citizenship, democratic participation and evidence-based public communication; core concepts are introduced during the opening sessions.

Participation commitments

Be ready to participate in practical classes, discussions, teamwork and a student project, and complete the individual assignments.
Plan to attend at least 48 of the 60 contact hours (80%), in line with the syllabus attendance requirement.
Allow time for preparation, reading and assessment, use sources responsibly and communicate respectfully with others.

Attendance is one of the requirements for completing the school. The full assessment and completion requirements are explained in the assessment section.

The project plan provides for 30 participant places. For questions about access or participation support, please contact the project team.

How registration will work

Registration is not yet open

The application form, deadline and practical arrangements will be published here when the call opens. No applications are being collected through this page yet.

Check the call. Review the school’s timetable, participation commitments and practical arrangements once announced.
Complete the official application form. Include a short answer of 2–3 sentences to the question: “Why would you like to participate in this school?”
Places are allocated in application order. Eligible applicants with complete applications will be offered places in the order their applications are received, up to the available capacity. Further eligible applicants will be placed on a reserve list in the same order. The short motivation statement introduces your interests and is not used to rank applicants.
Wait for confirmation. Submitting an application does not itself confirm a place. The project team will notify applicants about their place or reserve-list status.
Prepare for the school. Read the syllabus and check the preparation materials and access arrangements provided by the organisers.

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EUVIA4PL · Erasmus+ Jean Monnet Module · VIZJA University
Grant Agreement No. 101321623 · Funded by the European Union.