Speakers
Presentation
What can students create when they're trusted to lead their own initiatives to shape a democratic community starting from their first year at university?
The Rajk College for Advanced Studies in Budapest, Hungary, offers a clear answer. Built to foster student leadership, function through shared governance, and uphold long-standing traditions, Rajk is a residential hall that demonstrates how intentional student action supports resilience, wellbeing, and academic excellence despite, often times, rigid university structures.
This session explores how a self-directed community can help students develop leadership skills and practice democratic decision-making at the early stages of their studies. In a post-pandemic context where belonging and mental health are vital to student success, Rajk’s strong peer networks, mentoring practices, and collaborative culture demonstrate the power of student-led environments.
Rajk College creates initiatives that help students from disadvantaged backgrounds integrate, thrive, and become active members of society. The session aims to share the rich practices of this Hungarian model of residential halls and to inspire new approaches to supporting first-year and transitional students across Europe.
Csenge Ilyés is a student representative from Rajk College for Advanced Studies, Hungary, which is a student-led democratic community. She is passionate about empowering and mobilizing students, and has been a member of Rajk College’s Student Board and Alumni Coordination, proactively organising their society of over 900 members.
Csenge holds a degree in International Relations and she is currently pursuing one in Public Policy and Management. She lived in Bangkok, Thailand, but now she spends most of her time at her College in Budapest.