Ksenia Lupanova from AEGEE-Moskva is one of this year’s candidatures for the Summer University Coordination Team. She applied for Publication Responsible and confessed that she always dreamed to work for the project, but only now feels she’s ready to take this challenge. The AEGEEan interviewed Ksenia and talked about her brightest ideas, best and worst experiences as organizer and participant and much more to introduce her candidature to the Network!
The AEGEEan: What is a Summer University to you? Why would you like to work on this project? Why did you apply exactly for SUCT and the particular position?
Ksenia: Summer Universities are the perfect holiday to me, going back to childhood, it still reminds me of child camp somehow. I was trying this project in every possible way: I was an exhausted, but experienced, organizer, I was a happy and careless participant, I was a helper for another antenna, I was sensitive with details or worried about the global SU’s meaning for the Network. I want to work on this project, as I see SUCT as one of the most creative bodies in AEGEE, bringing bright emotions. And isn’t it a pleasant thing, to spend a whole year waiting and working for a happy SUmmer?
You mentioned you worked as organizer, but what is your role in your local and what do you do apart from AEGEE?
I am an AEGEE member for 2 years and 8 months, and I have been working actively for my local, AEGEE-Moskva, as PR responsible and main coordinator of Transsiberian DREAM Travelling Summer University. Moreover, I am currently the Speaker of Public Relations Committee (PRC) and I’m trying to invest in several projects in the fields of graphic design and photoshoots as I also want a more specific direction for my work and creativity. Apart from AEGEE, I am now having a gap year from Moscow Architecture University and I work as creative administrator in a new time-cafe/coworking space in Moscow. So I have plenty of time to dedicate to the Summer University Project!
Each board of the Summer University Coordination Team tries to improve the project in many different ways to make it better. Do you already have any ideas or things you would like to change or implement?
After being the main coordinator, with deep immersion to the whole process, from submitting the application for the website untill the evaluation process, I can see some technical details that could be improved. Personally, I would like to keep working with my future colleagues on the selection process. In the position of Publications Responsible I would definitely continue with the amazing track developed by Gerardo García Díaz (current Publication Responsible) with SUCT merchandising like maps and pillows/towels, although I’m thinking about some slight changes and additions. I would like to concentrate not only on the Summer University project’s visual identity, but try to lead the whole Network to a common denominator. Since Summer Universities are a big part of the work of locals, every year we see t-shirts, covers and logos different from each other. I believe we can shape it with the VIM (Visual Identity Manual) as well. Also, one of my ideas is to collect SU t-shirts from 2014 and 2015 and create some kind of museum/album, as I know how important it is to have inspiration and a bit of competitive spirit. And next year it will help to turn them all to a more common AEGEE identity.
And now, after reading about all your experience, I am curious to know what was your best SU experience as a participant and organizer?
As a participant I won’t be original and name my first Summer University, organized by AEGEE-Peiraias in 2012. Amazing and unrepeatable magic, the first one will always warm my memories. As organizer I want to mention two TSU’s: being main coordinator of Transsiberian DREAM 2014, my personal win and longest project in my life, and participating as a helper in TSU Big Kyïv Theory by AEGEE-Kyïv in 2013 as it gave me a great chance to see how neighbors with alike mentality and reality are working and I learned a lot.
And let me ask you: what was your worst Summer University experience as a participant and organizer? And how did you solve the problem?
Talking about worst experiences… Travelling Summer University 2013 by AEGEE-Porto and AEGEE-A Coruña. I can’t definitely label it the worst as actually it was just different. I already mentioned magic which you can’t repeat again after the first SU is finished, so it was just my problem, since the program, participants, organizers and locations were great. But I haven’t got this sort of pink glasses, I was already an experienced organizer and I had expectations, so I saw details, I was analyzing… and I realized that I should stop and enjoy! The worst experience being organizer was just before this Travelling Summer University – I was the coordinator of one part of Transsiberian DREAM 2013, five days in Moscow. All the participants and organizers went on and I stayed at the platform, without opportunities to be influential or to be part of this summer “family”. But the following year, I joined the whole trip so everything was great in the end!
Sounds like you have a lot of experience and ideas. Will you be able to come to Agora Cagliari to represent your candidature?
Unfortunately I can’t present my candidature in Cagliari and I won’t attend Agora due to financial reasons, but I will definitely “present” myself in a creative way with an amazing speaker! So see you in Cagliari!
Written by Anna Smailikova, AEGEE-Kyïv