Summer Universities

What is a Summer University?

Is it a summer school? A cultural exchange? A trip? Holidays? It’s all of this, and at the same time something completely different. A Summer University (SU, for short) is a summer event that lasts around two weeks and takes places in cities all over Europe. Each SU is a unique experience that brings together young people from all around the continent to discover together the region where the SU takes place, and take part in thematic activities of all kinds.

SUs have a limited amount of places, with an average of around 25 (plus the organizers, which are usually quite a few too). But it depends on each SU; the biggest ones can have as many as 50 places! They can take place in the beach, in the city or countriside, in big capital cities, or in smaller towns that you would not be able to pin on a map.

In an SU you will:
  • Get to know the country and the culture of the place from the hand of the locals: the organizers of the event are from there, so they are the perfect choice as guides to show you around and have an authentic experience of every country. Forget about eating paella in front of Sagrada Familia and feeling like a tourist.
  • Make friends: you will get to know people from the most varied places and will make friends to last a lifetime. Guaranteed.
  • Improve your English (and the local language): in every SU English is the standard language, so don’t worry if you want to go to Turkey but don’t know anything about Turkish. You will be able to practice your English during all the SU and will also learn a bit about the local language. There are also SUs that are targeted to improving in another foreign language, such as German or Russian; so look for them if that is what you are into!
  • Have an awesome time: live the summer of your life with some weeks full of activities during the day and parties at night. During the day you will learn and visit all kinds of places, but during the night you will not want to rest with everything that is in store.
  • Want to go to another SU: you will feel like crying when you have to say goodbye to all the friends you will have made, but will be eager to go on an SU the following summer or see your newly made friends in other international AEGEE events. Be warned that this is addictive!

Price

The maximum price that an SU can have is defined to be 14€ per day. Of course, the total price will vary depending on the number of days that it lasts, but it is usually between 100 and 200 euros. It also varies a lot between countries and the type of activities and accommodation that each SU provides.

What is included in the price
  • 🏡 Accommodation during all the event: in a hostel, university residence, camping or a gym. This depends on each SU.
  • 🥐 Breakfast and a hot meal every day. You will be responsible for the other meal and will be able to go to restaurants, but with the advice of the locals 🙂. If you have any dietary requirements (vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, lactose-free, etc.) don’t worry! The organizers are experts in these topics and can provide for your needs.
  • 🚋 Transportation during the event.
  • 🎫 Entry tickets to monuments, activities, museums and anything else included in the program of the SU.
  • 💃🏼 Social program, because you will also go out at night!
What is not included
  • Transportation before and after the event. You are in charge of getting there at the beginning, and back home when the SU finishes. Read carefully the place (and time) of the start and end of the SU, because they might be different places! You can always contact the organizers for advice and help on getting there if you need it.
  • Activities not included in the program. Some SUs offer a few optional activities with an extra price not included in the main fee. You can pay for them, but it is not mandatory, and in case you decide not to, the organizers will have other alternatives that have no added cost.
  • Money that you can spend during the social program (like parties, where entry tickets will be usually included but drinks will not) or for souvenirs and others.
  • Some SUs will offer one or two extra activities (like a day trip to some place, a day in a theme park, etc.) that are optional. They are usually very fun and participants usually choose to go, but if you prefer not to, the organizers will offer some alternative plan for you. This is usually very clearly specified in the description of the SU, listing the price of every extra activity alongside the main price.

Duration

Between 8 and 24 days. The average duration is around 15 days.

What do I have to bring to an SU?

This depends on the SU; in the description you will see a section called Special equipment specifying this. For instance, if you will be sleeping in a gym, you might be required to bring a sleeping bag and a floor mat or inflatable matress, if you go to the beach will will need to bring a swimsuit, in the mountain warm clothes may be needed, etc.

Don’t forget to bring some spare money in cash to go out at night or buy things like souvenirs, not included in the fee for the SU. Also keep in mind that every country has a different cost of living; in some countries you will be able to afford a lot of stuff with very little spare money, in others not so much.

European Night

Additionally to the required equipment, in all SUs there is the tradition of organizing a so-called European Night (EN) one of the evenings, in which participants will bring typical food and drinks from their country. In some SUs you will be able to cook there, in others you will be asked to only bring food that does not need cooking or a freezer.

Typically the Spanish table (where all the Spanish participants of the SU will put their food and drinks together) has some sangria for everyone and some other snacks (cheese, ham, etc.). We usually bring the food from home, since it doesn’t take much space, then buy the ingredients for the sangria there and prepare it in-place.

But feel free to experiment with other food and drinks. Typically all the participants from the same country will talk before the SU (you will probably have a Whatsapp group together and introduce yourselves some weeks before) so they can organize what everyone is bringing to the table for EN. If you are still unsure what to bring, you can also ask for the advice of our more experienced members, who have done plenty of European Nights in their time in AEGEE!

I’ve made up my mind. What now?

These are the steps you need to follow:

  1. Become a member of AEGEE-Barcelona. You can only apply to an SU as a member of an AEGEE Antenna.

  2. Choose an SU, depending on the dates, destination, activities, or any other criteria. If you are not sure, you can ask for some advice from our more experienced members! Note: the application period for SUs is typically during the spring. If you check this website before you might see an empty list. We will notify all our members when the application period opens.

  3. Prepare the application. This includes a motivation letter or answering a few questions. Try to look funny and interesting, since some SUs (especially the cooler ones) have more applications than spots available, so they will have to choose based on that. Again, our more experienced members can give you any advice you need on this!

  4. Wait to be accepted and pack your suitcase for the best summer of your life!