RUN-EU Ambassador Lab
Defining Roles, Creating Impact
The Short Advanced Programme (SAP) ‘RUN-EU Ambassador Lab: Defining Roles – Creating Impactʼ, is jointly coordinated by FHV - Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences (FHV) in Austria and Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) in Ireland.
The RUN-EU Ambassador Lab: From Purpose to Impact is a 2 ECTS Short Learning Opportunity for members of the RUN-EU Student and Staff Councils. The programme supports participants in moving from an abstract understanding of their ambassador role towards a clear sense of purpose and realistic pathways for impact within RUN-EU.
The lab provides a structured, facilitated space where students and staff jointly reflect on their roles, expectations, and influence within the alliance. Anchored in the RUN-EU Grant Agreement and current governance structures, participants explore where ambassadors can meaningfully contribute, where consultation is appropriate, and where decision-making lies elsewhere.
Using co-creative workshops, guided dialogue, and scenario-based exercises, the programme emphasises reflection, sense-making, and collective learning rather than traditional content delivery. By the end of the lab, participants leave with strengthened role clarity, shared purpose, and a grounded understanding of how to translate ambition into responsible and aligned action within RUN-EU.
The RUN-EU Ambassador Lab gives Student and Staff Council members the space, the tools, and the honest conversation needed to move from having a role to knowing what to do with it.
Over one online session, five days in Dornbirn, and a final online close, participants work through what their ambassador role actually means, where they can realistically make a difference, and what they will commit to doing next.
This lab is for those who are ready to move from understanding their ambassador role to living it.
12th of October 2026 to 5th of November 2026
English
To be defined by each home institution.
In general terms, most students will have this RUN-EU SAP certified in the Diploma Supplement, as a minimal condition upon approval from their study programmes.
4 participants per RUN-EU partner institution:
Ideally 2 members of the student council and 2 members of the staff council (preferably with chair & vice-chair functions).
This SAP has a compulsory mobility period from 19 to 23 October 2026. For information on funding please contact the RUN-EU Office or International Office of your home institution.
Programme at a glance
Introduction to SAP
• Guided online workshop to gather information for week in person
• What is the role of a RUN-EU ambassador?
• What do you wish to improve in your role?
• What area of the role do you wish to focus on
Light ideation using word clouds, paired breakouts, and dot-voting to gather the themes you'll work with throughout the week.
Morning session
• Registration participants
• Welcome icebreaker
• Why are we here? A short presentation on the week, ground rules and credits.
• Workshop 1: What does it mean to hold influence? Group work on two real-life scenarios
Afternoon Session
• Workshop 2: Perception vs reality. Groups sort frustrations into fixed, flexible and imagined limits.
• Keynote: what it means to have influence. A talk by Dr Angelika Simma-Wallinger, ORF Vorarlberg, with Q&A.
• Group discussion: why we become ambassadors, what sustains us and what burns us out.
Day 2 – Strategic thinking and a shared vision
Morning Session
• Presentation: influence, strategic thinking and what a vision is.
• Where do we stand? Part 1: students and staff in separate groups, looking at what works and what doesn't.
• Where do we stand? Part 2: everyone together, voting on the top positives and negatives.
Afternoon Session
• Anthony Johnston: how the board works with the councils, with Q&A.
• Shared vision: students and staff each write a vision, then share it together.
• The role moving forward: a group conversation on what would make the role work better.
• Reflection: quiet journal time.
Day 3 – Where can we make a difference?
Morning Session
• Presentation: EU projects, the Grant Agreement, and where the councils fit.
• Design sprint: mixed groups design a simple initiative across universities.
• Gallery walks and close: read each other's ideas and reflect together.
Afternoon Session
• Annual General Meeting (AGM) run by the Student and Staff Councils.
Day 4 – Who am I in all of this?
Morning Session
• Annual General Meeting (AGM) run by the Student and Staff Councils.
Afternoon Session
• Personal purpose: quiet, individual work on your own why using the Golden Circle.
• Pub quiz
Day 5 – What am I going to do next?
Morning Session till 13:00
• Welcome, a message from the EMB, and survey: a look back at the week, then the RUN-EU feedback survey.
• Commitment and next steps: a personal plan and pledge, the assessment, and Online Session 2.
Council sharing, honest reflection, and forward commitments:
• Closing the programme loop
• Refection of where they were to where they are – with solid direction, accepted and understood limitation and embraced responsibilities.
• Both councils share their impact commitments
• Impacts are fed directly to senior management groups.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this Short Advanced Programme, learners will be able to:
- Explain the purpose of the RUN-EU Ambassador role within the alliance framework.
- Identify realistic areas of influence and impact within RUN-EU governance structures.
- Reflect critically on expectations, responsibilities, and limitations linked to their role.
- Collaborate effectively across student and staff perspectives to address shared challenges.
- Translate shared purpose into feasible and aligned action ideas at institutional and alliance level.
Selection criteria
All members of student and staff council are welcome to apply, including those curious to join the councils in the near future. Priority will be given to students and staff council members with chair functions.
The selection team will also take steps to ensure diversity and equal representation of all partner institutions.
Involved organisations and persons
Austrian Student Union
Partner Organisation- Dominik Rogginer (Regional Stakeholder)
ORF Vorarlberg
- Angelika Simma-Wallinger (Regional Stakeholder)
Technological University of the Shannon
Partner Organisation- Tony Johnston (Instructor)
Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences
Lead Organisation- Bronwen Rolls (Lead Instructor)
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Grant Agreement Number: 101124674
