NELS Home
Next Level Skills for Student Leaders (NELS) is a dynamic virtual training course designed to elevate the capabilities of student leaders across Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa.
What is NELS?
Whether you're representing your student union, leading a campus initiative, or simply passionate about making a difference, NELS empowers you to lead with confidence, creativity, and compassion.
NELS brings together student leaders from Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa for virtual training sessions that foster leadership, critical thinking, and intercultural exchange. Participants gain practical tools to drive positive change within and with student movements, organisations and initiatives, and build lasting international networks.
The NELS course offers one online welcome session and five training sessions per semester, all delivered online. Each session is offered at two different times to help interested participants to fit it to their schedule. A digital badge is offered for participation in a single session and a micro credential of 3 ECTS for those who participate in all 6 sessions in a semester.
Training sessions are led by experienced facilitators and student organisation representatives from across Africa and Europe.
March 2026- April 2026
How to Register
The Registration deadline is one day before the session. After completing it, wait for confirmation via email with details on how to join the Moodle platform.
| Cycle 3 | First Offer | Second Offer | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Welcome Session | 2nd March 2026 | 14:00-CEST - Austria, Slovenia, Germany, Belgium, Denmark | 13:00-GMT - Ghana, Gambia | EAT-16:00 - Kenya | 13th April 2026 | 14:00-CET - Austria, Slovenia, Germany, Belgium, Denmark | 13:00-GMT - Ghana, Gambia | EAT-16:00 - Kenya |
| Sustainability and SDG's | 4th March 2026 | 14:00-CEST - Austria, Slovenia, Germany, Belgium, Denmark | 13:00-GMT - Ghana, Gambia | EAT-16:00 - Kenya | 15th April 2026 | 14:00-CET - Austria, Slovenia, Germany, Belgium, Denmark | 13:00-GMT - Ghana, Gambia | EAT-16:00 - Kenya |
| Dealing with resistance in the student movement | 6th March 2026 | 14:00-CEST - Austria, Slovenia, Germany, Belgium, Denmark | 13:00-GMT - Ghana, Gambia | EAT-16:00 - Kenya | 17th April 2026 | 14:00-CET - Austria, Slovenia, Germany, Belgium, Denmark | 13:00-GMT - Ghana, Gambia | EAT-16:00 - Kenya |
| Communication with decision maker | 9th March 2026 | 14:00-CEST - Austria, Slovenia, Germany, Belgium, Denmark | 13:00-GMT - Ghana, Gambia | EAT-16:00 - Kenya | 20th April 2026 | 14:00-CET - Austria, Slovenia, Germany, Belgium, Denmark | 13:00-GMT - Ghana, Gambia | EAT-16:00 - Kenya |
| Cross cultural communication with stakeholders | 11th March 2026 | 14:00-CET - Austria, Slovenia, Germany, Belgium, Denmark | 13:00-GMT - Ghana, Gambia | EAT-16:00 - Kenya | 22nd April 2026 | 14:00-CET - Austria, Slovenia, Germany, Belgium, Denmark | 13:00-GMT - Ghana, Gambia | EAT-16:00 - Kenya |
| New Ways of Student Organizing 2 | 13th March 2026 | 14:00-CET - Austria, Slovenia, Germany, Belgium, Denmark | 13:00-GMT - Ghana, Gambia | EAT-16:00 - Kenya | 24th April 2026 | 14:00-CET - Austria, Slovenia, Germany, Belgium, Denmark | 13:00-GMT - Ghana, Gambia | EAT-16:00 - Kenya |
Modes of Participation & Recognition
Students can choose to:
- Attend selected individual sessions: a digital badge is offered for participation in a single session.
- Participate in the full course (1 Welcome session + 5 sessions): those who complete the full course are eligible to receive 3 micro-credentials (European-standard ECTS credits) issued by FH OOE.
Technical Information & Support
Platform: All sessions will be hosted on Moodle and conducted via Teams
Support: AASU, GSF, and ESU teams are available for technical and administrative guidance
Tools Used: Breakout rooms, collaborative whiteboards (Padlet, Miro), and gamified learning methods
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