The 2025 EPPC brought students, scholars and practitioners to Brussels to discuss migration in and to the European Union.
On 28 and 29 March, 24 Hertie School students organised the 2025 European Public Policy Conference (EPPC) to explore the theme “Crossroads of Change: Migration Dynamics in the EU”. The two-day conference saw approximately 80 students from 13 universities delve into three interconnected subtopics that reflect the challenges and opportunities of migration today with 35 professionals from European organisations and institutions. The event, which took place at the Brussels School of Governance, featured keynote speeches, panel discussions and interactive workshops, providing students with valuable networking opportunities with EU policymakers, scholars, journalists and advocates.
Students and practitioners explore three topic areas surrounding migration
Alongside the practitioners, the students explored three interconnected topic areas that reflect the challenges and opportunities of migration today:
- Migration within the EU: Participants tackled the issue of voluntary and forced migration within the EU, focussing on skills-based migration, brain drain, and displacement due to natural disasters. They also examined the increasingly polarised political discourse around migration.
- Skills migration towards the EU: Participants explored skills-based mobility from outside the EU and examined gender gaps in migration and policy solutions to address challenges in bottleneck professions.
- Seeking protection in the EU: Participants discussed key migration challenges in the EU, including the situation of asylum seekers and undocumented migrants, exploring human rights, international law, integration, and LGBTQIA+ migration.
EPPC offers students unique experience to organise their own conference on a special topic area
According to Janine Sánchez-Gárate and Sofie Poggendorf, two first-year Master of International Affairs (MIA) students and members of the organising team, the EPPC offers students a unique opportunity to organise an event and delve into important topics of today.
“The EPPC is an incredible opportunity as it provides a platform to address impactful topics such as migration. In a rapidly changing world, it is crucial for students to engage in these discussions alongside experienced policymakers. This allows for new ideas that can benefit the EU region,” says Sánchez-Gárate.
“I joined the EPPC team to participate in a unique project and explore diverse topics and skills. Our team was quite large, with over 20 members, but thanks to the fantastic leadership team and organisation, the experience was incredibly insightful and rewarding,” says Poggendorf.
She adds: “The conference was the result of a long and dedicated process. Seeing the amazing outcome now makes all the hard work totally worth it!”
The European Public Policy Conference
Established in 2008, the European Public Policy Conference is held annually at institutions around Europe; in previous years, the event was held in cities such as Vienna and Madrid. The conference’s core mission is to empower students and future policy leaders to guide their own educational experience to the public policy issues that they consider to be the most pressing. The EPPC is sponsored by the IPLI Foundation.