Age, status, or participation? Rethinking eligibility logics in European Higher Education and youth policy

Abstract

This paper examines how the categories of youth, student, and young researcher are constructed across European and selected national governance frameworks. Although they frequently overlap in practice, they rely on partly incompatible eligibility logics: youth is primarily age-based, student status derives from institutional enrolment, and young-researcher status varies between explicit age limits and career-stage criteria. A conceptual comparative policy analysis examines how these definitions shape access to participation, mobility, representation, material support, and research opportunities. The analysis identifies a mismatch between age-bounded eligibility architectures and European agendas promoting lifelong learning, flexible educational trajectories, and non-linear research careers. It argues that age functions as a gatekeeping mechanism and that greater alignment is needed between strategic objectives and operational eligibility rules.