Jun 19, 2026
IHI Students Present Young Perspectives on the Three-Country Region at the YVA Congress
Fifteen students from IHI Zittau presented young perspectives on the region in the Germany-Poland-Czech Republic border triangle as part of the Youth Vision Action Congress 2026 at Telux Weißwasser. The students from Germany, the Czech Republic, Armenia, Hungary, and Mongolia conducted interviews with students in the border triangle as part of the “Intercultural Competencies” project seminar in the International Management master’s program and compiled the results into three posters on the topics of “Perspectives,” "Visions," and "Best Practices."
While the respondents described the region’s extraordinary scenic beauty and its international character as strengths, they criticized the lack of public transportation access, language barriers, and technological backwardness—particularly in the Upper Lusatia part of the region (e.g., the fact that card payments are not yet possible in many stores)—were cited as shortcomings. Bureaucratic inflexibility was also mentioned as an obstacle when asked whether respondents could imagine staying in the region long-term.
Saxon Parliament member Franziska Schubert (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) also engaged in a lively discussion with the students and encouraged them to articulate and advocate for their interests with regional political leaders.
The Youth Vision Action Congress 2026 brought together over 180 high school and college students from Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic and was part of the “Youth Moves the Region” project, in which the IHI Chair of Production Economy and Information Technology plays a key role.
