We are proud to share the experiences of our Master’s students, Elisavet Kapetanou (Biomedical Engineering) and Dimitra Tsantiraki (Political Science), who were selected among 80 students from across Europe to participate in the prestigious EIB Summer School 2025. Their inspiring testimonies highlight how international opportunities connect academic learning with real-world impact.
🌟 Testimonial – Elisavet Kapetanou
As a Master’s student in Biomedical Engineering and a researcher with a strong interest in innovation and impact-driven science, I was honored to be selected among 80 students from across Europe to participate in the European Investment Bank (EIB) Summer School: a two-week program combining online and on-site components, hosted at the EIB headquarters in Luxembourg.
The Summer School brought together a diverse group of students from over 20 countries to explore the EIB’s role in shaping Europe’s future through finance, sustainability, and innovation. The program offered a deep dive into the Bank’s operations, its approach to development finance and climate action, and its alignment with the broader EU policy landscape. We had the opportunity to engage directly with EIB professionals and experts through interactive lectures, case studies, and workshops covering a range of topics, including energy transition, digital transformation, competitiveness, cohesion, and sustainable development and portfolio management. A particularly enriching aspect was the opportunity to collaborate in groups on real-world case studies that simulated internal EIB workflows, offering us firsthand insight into institutional processes and project evaluation frameworks. I joined the Governance and Policy track, which provided a deeper understanding of decision-making at the European level — from setting strategic priorities to balancing diverse stakeholder interests. Through seminars and workshops, I gained perspective on how EU institutions interact with each other and with Brussels to coordinate funding, regulation, and long-term development goals.
One of the highlights for me was being invited as a panelist for the Youth Talk session on Innovation, where I had the opportunity to represent the opinions of young people on the factors that drive innovation, the need for interdisciplinary collaboration from a researcher perspective, and how institutions like the EIB can better support the next generation of changemakers. Being part of that conversation was an inspiring exchange that reinforced the importance of intergenerational dialogue in institutional settings.
I am sincerely grateful to the EIB Institute team—especially Shiva Dustdar, Silja Bellinger, Ana Maria Stanescu, and Anna Canato—for their dedication to the program and hospitality. I also want to thank the brilliant fellow participants who made this experience so enriching, both academically and personally. I’m deeply grateful to the University of Crete for supporting student participation in international opportunities like this one, which connect academic learning with real-world impact. This Summer School reminded me that the future is shaped not only by policy and finance, but by the values, voices, and visions of those who dare to dream and work hard for a better future.
Elisavet Kapetanou
Dimitra Tsantiraki
🌟 Testimonial – Dimitra Tsantiraki
The EIB Summer School 2025 began with the Online Week, where participants were introduced to the mission and philosophy of the Bank before traveling to Luxembourg for the on-site sessions. Through lectures and Q&A sessions, we explored EIB’s financing tools, its unique role compared to commercial banks, and its mechanisms for assessing the social and environmental impact of projects.
Once in Luxembourg, the program included seminars, case studies, and group simulations. I joined the Development & Social Growth track, where I had the opportunity to study how the Bank aligns financing with social policies and evaluates projects based on their social impact. A highlight was the hands-on group project, where we simulated the evaluation of a housing investment in France, preparing technical assessments and presenting our findings to an EIB Board simulation. This process reflected the real institutional practices of the Bank and deepened our understanding of decision-making, governance, and strategic evaluation.
Equally enriching were the networking opportunities with EIB experts and students from across Europe, as well as visits to European institutions such as the European Stability Mechanism and the European Court of Auditors. The experience offered me a comprehensive understanding of how the EIB operates within the broader EU policy framework and how its financing contributes to sustainability, cohesion, and innovation.
Participating in the EIB Summer School was a unique opportunity to broaden my knowledge of European development policy and finance, while also building valuable professional and academic networks. I am deeply thankful to the EIB Institute team for their dedication and to the University of Crete for encouraging student engagement in international learning opportunities of such impact.
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