Students4Cooperation - 3RD EDITION
Applications for the third edition of the Students4Cooperation competition are open from 9 September. The competition is aimed at upper secondary school students located within the Programme area. The initiative was conceived and implemented by IVY volunteers under the supervision of the Managing Authority staff and in cooperation with the European Commission's Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO).
First launched in 2024, the competition is part of the European Youth4Cooperation initiative, supported by the European Commission, and has received the patronage and funding of the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia.
OBJECTIVES OF THE COMPETITION
The competition aims to engage young people in cross-border cooperation. To this end, teams of students are invited to develop, write and present a short proposal for a cross-border cooperation project between Italy and Slovenia.
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?
The competition is open to students attending the fourth and fifth years (in Italy) and third and fourth years (in Slovenia) of upper secondary schools within the Programme Area. Participants must form reams of up to six (6) members. each team must be supervised and supported by a teacher.
THEMES
teams are invited to develop and write an idea for cross-border cooperation project between Italy and Slovenia addressing one of the following themes:
- Making cross-border territories more appealing to younger generations, particularly in terms of mobility, education, employment and civic participation.
- Strengthening links between education, vocational training and the labour market to create meaningful opportunities for the future.
- Fostering greater integration and interaction among young people across border regions.
- Strengthening dialogue between young people, institutions and local communities, creating the conditions and providing the tools for young people to have their voices heard.
PRIZE
This year again the winning team will be awarded with a study visit to Brussels. The students will have the opportunity to visit the main european institutions and get to know the presence of the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia in the belgian capital.
FORMAT AND PROCEDURE
Project ideas must be submitted in the form of a written proposal of at least 1,000 words in digital format (font: Times New Roman, size 11), written in Italian and English or Slovenian and English. To facilitate the drafting process, a Project Proposal Template is provided (Annex 2).
A jury composed of members of the Interreg Italy-Slovenia Programme staff, representatives of the European Commission, and representatives of other Interreg programmes and associations promoting youth activities will assess the proposals according to the criteria set out in the evaluation grid (Annex 3) and will establish a ranking of project ideas for the first evaluation phase.
Only the ten highest-scoring teams from the first evaluation phase will be invited to present their project ideas to the jury during an in-person event to be held on 19 March 2027.
TIMELINE
- 31/10/2026, 23:59 CET: deadline for team registration (Annex 1)
- 18/12/2026, 23:59 CET: deadline for submission of project ideas (Annex 2)
- 29/01/2027: publication of the results of the first evaluation phase
- 19/03/2027: project ideas presentation event
DOWNLOAD HERE THE GUIDELINES AND ANNEXES