European identity, however, remains vague at best. “In times of crisis like these when we have a common enemy, national differences fade into the background and there’s more cohesion.” Yet we shouldn’t have to rely solely on a negative definition of European identity. Rubinić offers a more constructive approach. “It provides the technical groundwork that gives the individual more freedom and thus more possibilities to flourish.”

This proposition will convince the self-interested individual conducting a rational cost benefit analysis – but it won’t survive the stress test of economic hardship, sacrifice and solidarity. Rubinić’s own contribution is a lecture entitled ‘The great lockdown and the sustainability of the European socioeconomic project.’ He will analyse how the uncoordinated pandemic responses showed governments revert to national interests and laid bare a lack of common identity and solidarity.

As an economist studying inequalities, Rubinić is certainly no uncritical cheerleader. “The economic structure of Europe is failing to deliver – but that’s a technical failure easy to remedy. The corrective mechanism should be based on European values – a framework or motivation to improve the economic structures. But those values – because discussion around them has been neglected – are still not strong enough to overcome the lacking foundations.”

This is where Rubinić thinks YUFE could make a difference. “YUFE can be a small step towards transcending the prevalent national understanding in favour of a European one.” YUFE is also a concrete manifestation of the European project’s benefits. All students of the ten partner universities can pick and choose from each other’s courses, online or offline, can partake in exchanges to learn the language, do projects or better understand the local culture and society.

UM, the European University

“For YUFE, the connection between students and the citizens of the regions which our partner universities serve is very important,” explains Veronique Eurlings, head of the YUFE Student Journey. YUFE also organises citizens’ helpdesks staffed by students and many other ways for them integrate and contribute. “This academy is one of the ways in which we reach out to non-academics, so it is also accessible to all of those citizens, also in terms of the language that is used. The threshold to entry is also really low – basically just registration.”

The Working on Europe Academy is UM’s contribution to the YUFE Academy Lectures, which are organised by all its member universities. Eurlings sees clear and obvious synergies between SEM and YUFE: “YUFE is kind of operationalising a lot of the things that SEM are researching. We’re trying to put the European project into practice in our own little way.” She is very confident about the content of the lectures and true to YUFE’s dedication to inclusion, hopes that they can reach a wide audience – not only with this academy but also with YUFE opportunities in general. “It’s a great offer and we would encourage everyone to take it up.”