Organized in partnership with the Wallonia-Brussels Federation and UNamur, SETT is recognized as inter-network training days by the Institut interréseaux de la Formation Professionnelle Continue (IFPC). The aim of the event is to bring together all those involved in education to discuss the latest digital and pedagogical advances. According to Julie Henry, head of UNamur's Scientific Committee and an expert in digital education, "the SETT is a key space for the dissemination and impact of our research and a unique opportunity to share knowledge, confront our work with the reality in the field and influence educational practices on a large scale. Since its creation, the SETT has provided a forum for dialogue and strategic intelligence, enabling us to discuss the challenges and opportunities of digital technology in education, a central issue in the evolution of teaching practices". Julie Henry adds: "Today, digital technology is an essential skill for every citizen. It's not just a question of mastering tools, but of developing a digital culture that integrates critical thinking and an understanding of the societal, economic and environmental issues linked to technologies. That's why SETT, a space for collective reflection, is essential to anticipate the transformations to come and to support education players in these changes."

From basic to higher education, SETT offers a variety of workshops, talks and conferences. On the program for these two days, conferences around STE(A)M, Artificial Intelligence, video games, critical digital education... Three major themes in connection with teaching and new technologies were addressed by UNamur experts:

• digital at the service of learners/teachers
• digital media education
• STEM education

Focus on some testimonials from our researchers.

Can we use Black Mirror to educate about the digital? The series, known for its dark tales of technology and its impact on society, offers a basis for discussion of digital issues. In this conference, Benoît Vanderose and Anthony Simonofski, professors at the University of Namur, looked back at the usefulness of the podcast's effectiveness as a pedagogical tool, its possible use in the classroom, and the major themes that can be tackled via this channel.

For years, learning computer science has been based on a bottom-up approach: starting with the basics of programming, via simple exercises, towards more advanced concepts of teamwork, object-oriented, version management, testing and so on. Nevertheless, this approach may seem questionable in view of the mixed results, particularly in learning object-oriented best practices. This problem could be due to the fact that we are constantly putting off complexity until later, rather than welcoming it as an intrinsic element and learning to manage it as soon as possible.

In this café-causerie, Benoît Vanderose and Xavier Devroey, professors at UNamur, proposed to discuss a new approach to learning programming, based on the good development practices in place in industry, notably, thinking through test cases before programming. The aim being to think about the program in terms of its behaviors, rather than directly tackling the algorithmic way of solving the problem.

Initially scheduled to give a talk at SETT, UNamur professor Michaël Lobet was unfortunately unable to attend due to a health impediment. Nevertheless, he was keen to share his views on the importance of taking part in such a show. "We're talking about a 3rd (or even 4th) industrial revolution with the arrival of new information and communication technologies. Recent events such as covid or the advent of AI have had a big impact on our society and, de facto, on teaching. Although not new, the challenge of digital training remains paramount to avoid aggravating social fractures. Through my talk, my message would have been to take stock of the impact of generative AI/IA on teaching. I remain convinced of the need to train teachers in this new technology, to use it critically, responsibly and innovatively. Our institutions must be able to deliver clear messages to accompany user teachers in this challenge," explains Michaël Lobet.

Sign languages emerge naturally in deaf communities around the world. The ASBL Ecole et Surdité active within the Sainte Marie school in Namur is working to offer bilingual French / Langue des Signes Francophone de Belgique (LSFB) courses for primary and secondary schools. In cooperation with them that Laurence Meurant and her team at UNamur's Research Institute NaLTT have created a collaborative lexicon enabling the deaf community to consult and propose LSFB vocabulary autonomously. This presentation by Magaly Ghesquière and Jérôme Fink, both professors at UNamur, looked back at the sources of this collaboration and offered feedback on the tool developed and its future.

Through such interventions, Julie Henry affirms that "since the first edition, the University of Namur remains invested in the quality of the program via the chaire Educonum (Faculty of Computer Science) and its members. Participating - as a speaker, exhibitor or visitor - is a way of extending this commitment and actively contributing to the evolution of digital education. UNamur, notably through the Educonum Chair, thus reaffirms its commitment to research and innovation in digital education, in the service of more effective, inclusive teaching adapted to the challenges of today and tomorrow."

This article is taken from the "The day when" section of Omalius magazine for June 2024.

" How were four small numbers -2000- capable of putting the whole world in a state of ebullition, where every company, from the smallest to the largest, wondered whether its IT system would cope with the midnight switchover from the XX to the XX century? It may seem a bit far-fetched today, but back then, in the late 90s, it was on everyone's mind. The demand to adapt computer programs to this transition was enormous. And at the same time, the prospect of the changeover to the euro was also creating new needs in IT systems. Never before had the need for IT talent been so great," recalls Professor Jean-Marie Jacquet, who taught in the staggered timetable program from the very first year. Spontaneously, under the leadership of Professor Jean Fichefet, the Faculty of Computer Science, proactively applied for accreditation to organize a shift-timetable training program in computer science.

UNamur was then the first French-speaking Belgian university to express the wish to occupy this promising terrain. "Faced with these societal challenges, we were aware that many people had the desire either to enrich their short-form IT training or to reorient their careers towards IT. Offering a training program that could be reconciled with a professional and family life demonstrated its relevance," adds Jean-Marie Jacquet. As a result, the faculty was soon given the go-ahead to organize the course on a staggered timetable. A preparatory year and two years of bachelor's degrees made up the program, which was launched in September 1998. The first years are taught in premises in Charleroi, before returning to the Namur premises in 2010.

The reputation of the Namur faculty's computer science teaching in daytime training contributes to the immediate success of that in staggered hours. "As soon as the course was launched, we counted around 100 students enrolled," Jean-Marie Jacquet points out. Among the latter were people who already had a short course in computer science, but also students with a professional profile rather removed from computers, or programming software. "We welcomed, for example, people from healthcare, teachers, economists, etc.", says Jean-Marie Jacquet. From the outset, and still today, the HD program has set itself apart by offering an active pedagogy adapted to an adult audience. The teaching principles are based on a constant interaction between theoretical concepts and the practical application of theory. Numerous examples and exercises draw on students' professional experience.

Since its inception, the program has undergone constant evolution, most notably with the transition to the Bologna Decree in 2004, reorganizing higher education training. "It was then that we were able to offer a complete curriculum, comprising three years of baccalaureate and one year of master's degree. It should be noted that the valorization of prior learning, and in particular professional experience, enables the majority of students to substantially reduce these 4 years before obtaining a graduate degree ".

25 years after its creation, interest in training and its societal necessity, emanating from both students and the IT industry, have not diminished. Last May, surrounded by numerous former students, as well as major players in the IT industry (Agoria, Agence du numérique, etc.), the course joyfully celebrated its 25th anniversary, while already dreaming of its 50th birthday."The demand for computer scientists is not going to weaken. There are still many societal challenges in this field to be met: the deployment of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, the increasing digitization of our society to name but a few", concludes Jean-Marie Jacquet. "The field remains exciting, constantly evolving and at the heart of many concerns. We're re-signing for 25 years. At least!".

Noëlle Joris

While on this staggered schedule Master's course, I was really interested in the content of all the courses, probably thanks to the business experience I'd gained previously. Thanks to this staggered timetable training, I got the job I was aiming for some time after obtaining my Master's degree.

Something I had no inkling of at the start of these studies, they enabled me to gain a great deal of confidence in my abilities. After these studies, and even now, I have the feeling that if I decide to go into something, I'll succeed, whatever the field."

Durant la seconde semaine du pré-blocus, Florian Villeret, Martin et Virgile Devolder, Antoine Baetslé et Corentin Bouffioux, tous étudiants en informatique ont pu découvrir le monde de la technologie spatiale au cours de leur séjour à Belval au Luxembourg. En effet, ils ont eu l’occasion de visiter la Société européenne des Satellites et de suivre une présentation donnée par la Luxembourg Space Agency, une conférence par l’Asteroid Foundation ainsi qu’une présentation par PwC sur les innovations spatiales.  

Ensuite, un peu comme un Hackathon, ils avaient tout un weekend pour relever un défi en développant un concept novateur. Plusieurs thématiques étaient proposées lors du SpaceHack (infrastructure, énergie, extraction de ressources et opération).

Ils ont choisi de s’attaquer au défi en lien avec les infrastructures lunaires. Le postulat de départ était le suivant : construire une base lunaire destinée à accueillir une colonie humaine aura un coût d’installation (25 milliards d’euros) et d’entretien (4 milliards d’euros par an).

Le défi en question ? Construire une base lunaire destinée à accueillir une colonie humaine et prévoir les coûts de l’installation (25 millions d’euros) et de l’entretien (4 milliards d’euros par an) de celle-ci. Ils ont donc développé deux technologies : un logiciel de maintenance prédictive afin d’anticiper d’éventuels problèmes au moyen de différents capteurs connectés grâce à l’IoT ainsi qu’un « hardware » permettant d’ajouter à des « rovers » déjà existant des capteurs afin de renforcer le maillage en capteurs sur la base. L’objectif était de réduire de 10% les maintenances à effectuer pour faire une économie de 400 millions d’euros par an.

Même si le projet n’a pas remporté de prix, l’expérience a été très enrichissante pour ces étudiants.

Une belle occasion de mettre en avant l’UNamur au sein de l’alliance UniversEH, l’alliance « European Space University for Earth and Humanity » que l’UNamur a rejointe récemment !