1001 facets of student commitment

Whether it takes an academic, associative, entrepreneurial, folkloric, sporting or solidarity-based form, student involvement contributes to the dynamism of university life.

Every day, the many extra-academic activities organized on campus enrich the careers of those who get involved. These experiences also contribute to the development of cross-disciplinary skills - relational, organizational, analytical, creative, technical - that will be invaluable to students, both personally and professionally.

Focus on some of the forms of commitment that exist at UNamur.

Throughout their course, students can become actively involved in the academic life of the university.

By becoming course delegates, they represent their cohort and carry its voice to the authorities. As tutors, they accompany younger students in their transition to university and their learning and help them better understand academic expectations. Some also choose to become students ambassadors, to share their experience with future students and help them in their choice of orientation.

Students also have the opportunity to get involved in various collectives, whether kots-à-projet, cercles, régionales, the Student General Assembly or many others. This commitment enables them to become fully involved in university community life.

UNamur hosts 11 cercles facultaires, a gathering place for students from the same faculty. The circles offer events on campus, including "bunkers" (student parties at the "bunker" venue). These circles are brought together within the Assemblée des cercles (ADC), which oversees and represents the faculty circles on the Namur campus. "The real plus of UNamur is the wealth of animation there is on campus." informs us Killian Dubois, president of the ADC.

As for the regionales, they bring together students who come from the same geographical area. The Conseil inter-régionales (CIR) is the federating body for the régionales, bringing together the 10 regionales on campus and overseeing the bleusailles.

The kots-à-projet (KÀP) bring together students who, while sharing accommodation, get active around a project with an impact for the campus or society. UNamur supports around ten KÀPs, and each year students have the opportunity to create a new one with friends. "I've met a lot of friends and been able to share a lot of experiences with a lot of different people I'd never have met without the kots-à-projet. It also allows us to get involved in projects that are close to our hearts."Benjamin Lapierre, president of AKÀP, tells us. The Assemblée des kots-à-projet (AKÀP), is the umbrella body for all kots-à-projets in Namur. A dozen or so people are involved to better structure the activities of the KÀPs and to better (re)present them within the university.

The Assemblée générale des étudiants (AGE) is a student collective whose aim is to represent and animate. The "representation" side is handled by the Student Council, which dialogues with the university authorities to improve campus life, but also supports and informs students and offers them numerous services. The "animation" section, meanwhile, offers a wide range of inclusive activities on campus, and oversees major student events such as Saint-Nicolas and the Fête de l'Université. The AGE is also responsible for bridging the gap between students and staff members by proposing activities that bring them together, such as the Grand Quiz de l'UNamur or the Blind test in aid of Télévie. "Being part of the AGE means being able to create a great CV while having fun!"supports Margaux Homans, harm reduction delegate at the AGE.

These different ways of getting involved on campus are highly beneficial for students, as they enable them to develop their ability to work as a team, but also to acquire many skills that will be useful in their future professional lives. As Zora Gilet, assistant animator at AGE, explains: "I learned to know myself through my involvement, to understand how I work in a group to develop projects. It's also led me to meet a lot of new people who have enriched my career. I've also developed many organizational, logistical and technical skills."

By joining a junior entreprise, students get involved in concrete projects run by a student structure that acts like a real company.

This experience, rooted in real-life experience, is a first contact with the professional world and enables students to develop initiative and practical skills, while benefiting from collaborative learning.

On campus, two flagship initiatives illustrate this commitment:

• The JEN Consult, which offers marketing and strategy consultancy services for SMEs.
• The CSLabs, active in the IT field, which organizes events, training, conferences and develops concrete projects for companies, NPOs or individuals.

UNamur also supports student-entrepreneurs who wish to launch their own business while pursuing their studies.

Student engagement can also be achieved through Service-Learning, or service-learning. Adopted by UNamur, this pedagogical approach aims to integrate social engagement within conventional academic teaching.

The aim is to get students involved in a project or in an organization whose missions address societal issues such as social justice, migration or the environment.

Service-Learning is based on three pillars: Serve, Learn and Reflect. By getting involved with a specific community or taking part in a solidarity project, students give back to society. This experience enables them to open up to the world, take on responsibilities and better understand their social role. They are then encouraged to reflect critically and in a structured way on their experiences, fostering academic, civic and personal learning.

In the "Civic Engagement" course, students immerse themselves in an institution of their choice to get as close as possible to the publics concerned. This experience requires them to step back and analyze their commitment. Amélie Pierre explains: "The students get out of their comfort zone and discover other realities outside the academic framework, which makes them very enthusiastic." Natalie Rigaux adds: "It's an extremely enriching experience. We're talking about a real learning community here: students exchange ideas, put their experiences into perspective and question their course."

In the anthropology course, students are encouraged to make volunteering a learning opportunity. Their involvement in the field is part of the immersion method of data collection (or participant observation), very specific to anthropology. This research approach enables them to discover a theoretical field: reception and migration policies, disability or the anthropology of communication, depending on the focus of their study. Thus, on the basis of their involvement, they carry out a reflexive approach, construct an object and formulate a research question.

Service Learning has also been integrated into a course in the Faculty of Computer Science. Fanny Boraita, holder of the "Citizen Commitment" course and pedagogical coordinator of UNamur's Faculty of Informatics, explains: "The "Citizen Commitment" course in the Faculty of Informatics is offered as an option to third-baccalaureate students. We created this course specifically to integrate Service-Learning practice. It was important for us to make students aware of the beliefs surrounding the IT profession, and to demystify them while reflecting on the IT professional they want to become. Indeed, the image of the computer scientist working alone behind his or her computer is sometimes a little skewed. The aim of this course is also to enable students to step out of their comfort zone and immerse themselves in unfamiliar realities where IT can play a part, given its omnipresence in society. In this way, students are encouraged to put their skills to work in the field, to meet a societal need. Service-Learning provides this openness to other realities that students would probably never have encountered."

While some courses emphasize engagement in an academic setting, others place greater emphasis on immersion within an institution. In all cases, Service-Learning is a major asset for students' future careers. In fact, this approach was singled out in 2024 by the Uniservitate Network, which rewarded the EMCP Faculty with a Small Grant and an Award.

There are many more forms of student engagement at UNamur!

• Engagement folkloric: with student magazines...
• Engagement political: within the Student Council...
• Engagement solidarity: within FUCID, the university NGO
• Engagement sports: by getting involved with a university sports team