A Group of professionals working with students in the field of Career Guidance and Counselling (CGC) at universities, members of our alliance, created a small joint virtual programme for their community members to foster knowledge exchange and collaboration among career professionals across our alliance.
Online sessions for sharing best practices
Online sessions started in December 2025. Five Career Centres and university team representatives participated and presented their work in short presentations on 10 December 2025: University of Belgrade, Aarhus University, University of Pisa, University of Oslo and UCLouvain. This introductory session was attended by 14 people, and a small annual calendar and key topics for the future online session have been agreed upon, based on the top interests of the group and the availability of members to participate and actively contribute.
On 25 February 2026, the group gathered again to focus on one of the top priorities: Engaging students in career services. After introductory words of Community Coordinator, Marija Jovanović (University of Belgrade), community members had the opportunity to hear experiences and best practices presented by Gisle Hellsen, Senior advisor from the University of Oslo, Elisabeth H. Seland, Research advisor at Faculty of Mathematics of the University of Oslo and Antonella Magliocchi, Head of Career Service of the University of Pisa. They all spoke about the challenges and how they are addressing them through design and re-design of career courses, career fairs, physical group counselling, showcasing alumni success stories, and creation of collaboration schemes with faculties and academic staff to embed career development into curriculum. Participants had many questions and fruitful discussions followed their presentations. Some of the conclusions were that key strategies to engage students in career services include personalised, data-driven communications, peer-to-peer mentoring, creation of “pop-up" locations on campus to meet students where they are, and interactive, unique programming aiming to offer high-value, engaging events.
During the next two online sessions planned until the end of the year, the community will focus on sharing best practices on Collaboration with Academic staff/teachers on how they can incorporate career perspectives into their teaching (22. April) and on Digital Transition in Career Guidance (11. June).
A shared space for the CoP members to share documents, presentations and co-create a library with shared resources has been provided by the University of Oslo, and most of the members already joined and started to make use of this safe space to grow, collaborate and exchange.
Interested in joining the CGC CoP?
The community was joined by a (current) total of 27 people working at Aarhus University (12), University of Oslo (6), UCLouvain (2), University of Pisa (3) and University of Belgrade (4) - where the Community Coordinator is seated within the team of the Centre for Career Development and Student Counselling that took initiative to coordinate the programme.
Additional colleagues are welcome to join the CoP by filling in the survey or through the existing members.
What do the members say?
A lot can be developed through sharing
"I joined because I would like to learn more about what others do and how they do it. My experience suggests that we are all working with relatively limited resources and therefore have to work smart. Getting input and ideas from others is educational and, not least, an opportunity to do more for students. I hope the group is willing to share, exchange, and preferably collaborate. I would like to explore the different formats the alliance uses to reach out. It is completely impossible to have 1‑to‑1 conversations with everyone. Good ideas on how to reach everyone are something I am always curious about."
The value of networking, sharing of best practices, and constructive meetings can be great. I have learned a lot from listening to how others work. I believe the most important thing is that we establish a culture of sharing and preferably also open for meeting in person so that we can get to know each other better. A lot can be developed through sharing
Gisle Hellsten, University of Oslo
We can inspire one another
"My expectations for the collaboration within Circle U.’s Community of Practice on career development are that we can inspire one another across countries and learn from each other’s initiatives. I hope that this exchange of knowledge will help us develop new approaches and perspectives that strengthen our work with student career guidance. There is always great value in learning from other universities about how they handle similar tasks and challenges. This includes areas such as targeted communication to students, low attendance at events, recruiting companies for a high number of on-campus activities, and addressing the limited time students have. Understanding how others approach these issues helps us develop more effective solutions and improve the quality of our services" - Dorte Føns Sørensen, Aarhus University.
We value having a shared forum for dialogue and exchange
"We chose to participate because we see clear benefits in discussing both practical initiatives and broader reflections across our universities. Many of the challenges we face are similar, and while our approaches may sometimes overlap, they also differ in ways that can inspire new ideas. We look forward to contributing to – and learning from – an open and constructive discussion on topics central to our work, as well as engaging in the simple but important exchange of good ideas. It is both motivating and reassuring to experience that we share many of the same challenges across Europe, while our approaches may vary in ways that enrich our collective understanding. Sharing experiences makes great sense – it gives us the opportunity to learn from one another and to strengthen our practice through ongoing dialogue. Our COP has already inspired us at Aarhus BSS to reach out to a partner university regarding a project presented during one of our meetings. Their work has directly influenced how we plan to approach an upcoming skills development initiative in our own organisation," - Marianne Skade, Aarhus BSS Career at Aarhus University.
Why Career Guidance matters and how career advisors help students?
"Guidance is important for many reasons. Students often wonder about things that there are already answers to, and that we can help with. In addition, many students want confirmation that what they are doing is correct. We can reassure students and support them in knowing they are on the right track. Equally important is communicating that employers look for more than just subject choices and grades. Talking about the importance of skills, experience, and results often opens many people’s eyes." – Gisle Helsen, Oslo University
"Career guidance during a student’s degree is highly relevant, as we aim to help more students transition quickly and successfully into employment after graduation. Many students tend to think about jobs and career paths only towards the end of their studies, but internships, student jobs, Danish language courses (for international students), company meetings, and networking activities are all important steps toward securing their first job. It is also essential to open their eyes to alternative career possibilities so that not everyone focuses solely on the ten largest employers within their field." – Dorte Føns Sørensen, Aarhus University
"Students seek and benefit from career guidance for many reasons. Among the most common are reducing uncertainty about their future in the labour market, receiving support in making informed educational and career decisions, and discovering new or alternative options they may not have considered. Career counselling therefore plays a key role in promoting students’ well-being and, in some cases, supporting their retention in their chosen programmes. And, of course, students rely on us for the fundamental guidance they need to navigate the job search, make use of professional networks, and understand employer expectations." - Marianne Skade, Aarhus BSS Career at Aarhus University
