As the semester winds down, I want to share a professional highlight from this past spring: I advised and accompanied Indiana State University’s first Model EU team to the Midwestern Model EU simulation at IU Bloomington, Indiana. I pitched it the team as part of my interview over a year ago, and I am appreciative of the administration, the department, and – most importantly – my students who supported and joined this adventure. All students were “recruited” from a concurrent Politics of the EU class I taught in Spring 2026, and I believe – biased as I am – that they did a fantastic job in terms of preparation and professional conduct at the event. Model EU is definitely a high-impact practice that requires students to think on their feet and immerse themselves in an environment that is largely unfamiliar to them (especially those who do it for the first time). In terms of experiential learning, this was certainly one of the most intense experiences I have administered for a student group so far. In true pedagogical fashion, I debriefed with the team in the aftermath (with apple pie), and I am excited to improve and build a new team for next year’s iteration.
Image: Indiana State University’s first model EU team, representing Slovakia, at MMEU 2026 (Credit: JO)
Below I am sharing something perhaps different for ALPS: One of my students, Princes Habal (sophomore, Political Science) reflected on her experience, being part of her team. She shares in the post below challenges and success she experienced in participating.
At the Midwest Model EU 2026
by Princes Habal, Indiana State University
Learning by doing has and continues to play a crucial part in my education. Participating in the Midwest Model European Union at Indiana University, Bloomington provided me and my five fellow peers with the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the roles of ministers where we, and many other students from universities all over, represented EU member states in a three-day simulation to propose, negotiate, debate, and vote on legislation based on key issues in the EU.
Our delegation represented Slovakia, and I took on the role of the Minister of Justice and Home Affairs (JAHA). Through weekly team meetings, countless hours of individual research, and creating policy proposal drafts for the first time, Model EU challenged me to grow my critical thinking, teamwork, and public speaking skills in ways that I would not have been able to in a purely lecture-based classroom. Every week for about a month, our delegation met as a team where we first brainstormed issues we believed were relevant in the EU. Eventually, we were tasked with researching and drafting policy proposals based on what we chose as our topic in correspondence to our individual councils. Spending time researching potential policy proposal topics proved extremely beneficial for my understanding of the EU, because it allowed me the space to learn more about various issues in the Justice and Home Affairs Council such as migration, organized crime, and internal and external security.
However, creating policy proposals was daunting and honestly difficult at first because none of us had ever written something like this before, but we persevered through a joint team effort, peer reviewing each other’s work and giving feedback where it was needed. My policy proposal in JAHA centered around requesting funding for increased human trafficking victim support and compensation in the EU. While drafting, I had to think critically about how to balance both Slovakia’s national perspective with the priorities of the EU, which was challenging because Slovakia is an interesting member state, often known as an outlier country that has increasingly been experiencing democratic backsliding, contrasting with the EU’s overarching values. I also had to take into consideration how different EU member states might respond to such policies. Writing this proposal forced me to step out of my personal viewpoints and think more analytically. At the even itself, my proposal unfortunately never left the EU Parliament, meaning that JAHA was never able to discuss it. Luckily, other EU Members States in our committee also created proposals centering around border security and human trafficking , which strengthened my adaptability skills because it allowed me to connect and negotiate with other ministers to include some aspects of my proposal in theirs.
During the simulation, I was put in a new environment where I was able to apply the skills I developed through preparation in a larger collaborative environment. Each minister in our delegation had separate roles and responsibilities, and therefore I was the sole representative of Slovakia in JAHA. I actively engaged in negotiations and debate on the proposals that were brought forward. These included increasing funding for immigration detention facilities, protecting children from AI deep-fakes, and strengthening EU member-state cooperation on border tensions. Through our fruitful debates, I learned so much about each member state’s national priorities, and it gave me a new perspective on how the EU functions, even if not in the exact manner.
An integral part of this simulation being a success was becoming an active participant. Since it was my first time, I pushed myself to engage with others so I could learn more about the EU and all its complex issues and get the most out of my experience there. My fellow ISU delegates felt this way too; we all developed a deeper understanding of the EU while also improving our skills in communication and adaptability, and so much more. These effectively translated to a better understanding and more efficient learning experience in our Politics of EU classroom. As we continued through the semester, I realized that I was understanding the material better and digesting it in a manner more efficiently than how I was prior, especially through our discussions about Frontex and border security, since I actually only learned about Frontex from our Model EU simulation, and prior to that I had no idea it even existed. Communicating with different member states during Model EU gave me a better idea of what their national interests were, and the engagement and real-world conversations taught me more than I have ever read about them in the past.
Being a part of the first ISU Model EU delegation is a true honor because it reinforced the value of hands-on learning in education and made me grow both academically and personally. By actively participating in the roles of key ministers in the EU, especially while representing a “controversial” member state such as Slovakia, I developed a deeper understanding of the complexities of the European Union and the many challenges and crisis that come with it. All this knowledge would not have been adequately gained if I were to only read and learn about them on a screen or listen to a podcast or video about it. This simulation experience not only enhanced crucial skills needed in the professional and academic setting but also allowed me to meet and connect with so many bright individuals from all over the country who share a common appreciation for the EU and hands-on learning, which I will forever be grateful for.