Extracurriculars transform university curricula

Translated by Nina Fink Publié le
Extracurriculars transform university curricula
A l'Isara, à Lyon, la halle technologique est mise à disposition des incubés. ©ISARA // © 
The place of extracurriculars is no longer outside the classroom. Universities are going beyond traditional class offerings to support students’ interests by giving them start-up support, online discussion platforms and credit for volunteer work. Students no longer need to leave their school’s campus to explore their outside interests.

Hatching tomorrow’s entrepreneurs

Many engineering schools are launching business incubators to give their students a shot at entrepreneurship. Could engineers have found an alternative to working corporate career jobs?

Do you dream of turning your innovative start-up idea into reality? Engineering schools may have the solution for you, especially now that business development has become a national priority in France.

Incubator selection committees assess the applicant’s concept and its technical feasibility but above all, they look for an entrepreneurial mindset. Charlotte Engrand, director of the École centrale Paris’ incubator, comments, “We look at how well the applicants listen and react. Often, engineers think their project needs to be finalized before it hits the market. In fact, they need to adapt their product and strategy over time.”

Selected businesses receive personalized coaching, office and lab space and administrative and grant-writing assistance. A dedicated team of experts helps them transform their idea into a viable economic reality. At Paris Tech’s Arts et Métiers center, projects range from electronic cigarettes to shoes with adjustable heels. The spirit of healthy competition generated by incubators is one of their greatest strengths. However, participation is generally not free. Just like start-ups, incubators need a sustainable model.

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Toulouse takes learning online

Will the education of tomorrow be virtual, collaborative and interdisciplinary? The University of Toulouse Jean-Jaurès thinks so and has a new social network to prove it. The site, called Bee Api, gives the university community a platform to discuss topics that come up both in and out of the classroom. User numbers are growing slowly but surely.

Éric Ferrante, a research engineer at the university, explains, “The idea is to create an open-ended, curriculum-free learning environment.” Mainly, Bee Api makes it easy to start discussion groups. The first ones to hit the network cover goings-on at the university library, Indian dance and resources in cognitive science and psychology but topics can range from news and blogs to novels.

The school’s online presence doesn’t end there however. Each professor has a dedicated Moodle page. For Fabrice Corrons, a foreign language professor and researcher at Toulouse, “The two platforms complement one another. Moodle links directly to classes whereas Bee Api takes an interdisciplinary approach and allows students to choose their own topics.” Toulouse encourages students to take full advantage of this freedom, instructing them to “share things you love or hate, hold passionate debates, sharpen your arguments and give free reign to your thoughts.”

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Helping non-profits for credit

Increasingly, French universities are encouraging students to do volunteer work. What’s more, the Minister for Higher Education is launching a student life initiative with a “national framework” to “promote volunteer work.”

Pierre Veinante, professor and advisor at the University of Strasbourg’s for-credit program, explains, “We need to promote volunteer work. Students are more than just consumers. They make time to give back to society.” According to Béatrice Descoins, professor and student life advisor at Paris-Sud University, volunteering “is essential to a university education. It helps students mature and transition to the workforce.” For Sandra Choisy, director of the University of Poitiers’ entrepreneurship center, “volunteering is a form of entrepreneurship that can help students launch their own projects. Also, it costs nothing and has everyone’s support.”

Not all programs have been equally successful however. The University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines’ for-credit program had to be canceled this year due to under-enrollment. Poitiers is facing the opposite problem. “We had to limit the number of spots to ensure that quality wouldn’t suffer. With 160 students, all our units are full this year,” noted Sandra Choisy. In 2011-2012, a total of 2,542 French students received university recognition for volunteer work.

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Translated by Nina Fink | Publié le