Meet our new INGENIUM Student Board President, Cristian Tarpescu
At INGENIUM, students actively participate in building the European University and have a say in decision-making of the Alliance through the Student Board. Recently, in December 2024 Cristian Tarpescu, studying Civil Engineering in English language, at TUIASI, was elected the new President of the INGENIUM Student Board (ISB), a role handed over by Miika Hämäläinen, former 2024 President.
In the context of plans for increased levels of involvement and participation of the INGENIUM Student Board (ISB) in the activities of the Alliance for 2025, Cristian sat down with us to discuss his perspective on the future of INGENIUM European University, the role of students in shaping the European Campus and the impact the Alliance has on its student community.
In your opinion, what role do the students play in the Alliance?
Cristian: “Students have an important role to play in INGENIUM as they are the main beneficiaries of the Alliance and overall of the educational system. Therefore, our perspective is crucial in the decision making process. The governing structures of INGENIUM have the best intentions in providing students the optimal conditions and opportunities, but it’s very important that its initiatives are made taking into account students interests and opinions.
That is why students are present and active at the level of the governing bodies of INGENIUM, where we have permanent seats and voting rights in the INGENIUM Steering Committee (ISC) and the INGENIUM Alliance Council (IAC). We are also represented in the Academic Committee which stands as the highest academic authority within the INGENIUM Alliance.
Besides these roles we also have the possibility to initiate projects and events by ourselves, especially with new upcoming opportunities like the Seed Funding for Students Initiative which is currently “work in progress”, but will probably be in place soon. We hope that these types of activities will foster even more collaboration between INGENIUM students, will develop their competence and will also contribute to INGENIUM’s overarching goal of building a true European inter-university Campus.”
How did you hear of INGENIUM and how did you first get involved in the ISB?
Cristian: “I was one of the lucky students to participate in the first INGENIUM Junior Summer School in May 2023, that took place in Karlsruhe.
For me, all international experiences are the best we can have during our study years, because you truly get a larger and richer cultural perspective. But this one I enjoyed so much that you could say I couldn’t get enough of it. So, I applied to become the student representative of TUIASI in the ISB, which I achieved. After that, I volunteered to become one of the two student representatives in the INGENIUM Steering Committee and INGENIUM Alliance Council alongside my colleague Jesús Vera Berdasco, from UNIOVI, roles that we still fulfill to this day.“
In the context of taking up this new responsibility as President, what are the ISB’s plans for this year?
Cristian: “2025 has to be a year of deeper integration of our student representatives in the INGENIUM bodies and some organizational improvements for the ISB to be more effective as a group. In the first year, this was something new for all of us, with a lot of different responsibilities that we managed to learn about as we went. It was pretty difficult to get used to it, but now I think we are in a different place and we’re ready to tackle the big objectives.
I know that this might sound boring for some, but we want to improve our internal regulations, so that we can better act upon our objectives with concrete actions. We also want to foster better communication channels with our student communities, in order to get a better perspective about what the student’s opinions are on the direction the Alliance is taking. To this end, the physical meeting of the ISB, in Oviedo, in February, will be a very good opportunity and turning point and I’m excited for it.“
Where do you see yourself after finishing your studies?
Cristian: “I am now in my 4th year of study, finishing my bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering. I want to continue my studies and enroll in a Master’s programme at TUIASI, so I will be around for at least 2 more years. After that, my plans are more fluid, I would like to acquire some professional experience in working in the private sector as a Civil Engineer, but I’m also taking into consideration the possibility of a career as an educator, maybe actually at the university that I’m currently studying because I’ve become quite fond of the TUIASI Community and what it has to offer. So this could be an opportunity to also offer something back.“
What advice would you give to a student from an INGENIUM university?
Cristian: “Try to get involved in as many activities as possible, other than studying. Keeping a good balance between studies and other extracurricular activities is, from my point of view, a very rewarding decision. Some of the best places to do this are Student leagues and of course international mediums like INGENIUM. I know it can be difficult for us to communicate and collaborate with people from different countries, with different cultures and perspectives, but diversity doesn’t have to stop us, quite the opposite. After you get past these initial obstacles, you can find a lot of new friends and your life can change and expand in an extraordinary way, as we unite in diversity.
So, watch out for future INGENIUM opportunities like Summer Schools, Blended Intensive Programmes, Hackathons or online workshops. You can do that by following the social media platforms of the Alliance or your university but also subscribe to the newsletter. When the Seed Funding Mechanism will be launched, take a look there. It should seem like a great idea to participate.
Get as much of the international experience as you can. You won’t regret it!“
