2023 ICA-Edu Enhancing Student Engagement in the Life Sciences Webinar No 2

Pre-Workshop Webinar No 2:
Engaging students in extra-curricular activities

Was held on Thursday 23 February 2023 from 13.00 to 14.00 CET

Webinar Overview

This webinar will address some challenges associated with engaging students in extra-curricular activities and recognising that engagement. 

The presenters:
Frederik De Decker, Head of Ghent University’s International Relations Office.
See his powerpoint presentation here

Isa Stucki soon to graduate Food Economics and Consumption Master student from the University of Helsinki.
See her powerpoint presentation here

The Presentations Abstracts

A The university as a school of life
Frederik De Decker is the Head of Ghent University’s international relations office and has followed up on the university’s pilot project on ‘Badges’ to reward student engagement and other types of university-based volunteering work. By awarding badges for such experiences, the university wants to endorse that also different kinds of life experiences equip students with important generic skills and competences. In his presentation, Frederik will not only present the concept and the online badge system used but also share the first experiences and dwell on the challenges that such a system brings along.

B Universities supporting students’ own innovativeness
Isa Stucki has been working with the Viikki Food Design Factory (VfDf)p re-pre Incubator program (Pre-Germinator), which is designed from students’ point of view. In the Pre-Germinator interdisciplinary teams grow their own ideas into innovations. The VfDf vision is to nourish and nurture students' innovativeness in their academic fields and grow them to become future entrepreneurs and innovative leaders, see https://www.helsinki.fi/en/viikki-food-design-factory In her presentation Isa will tell what has been done and what to consider when working with innovative students.

Short bios:

DeckerFrederik De Decker is currently the Head of the International Relations Office at his alma mater Ghent University (Belgium). He also started his professional career in internationalisation there, almost 30 years ago, triggered by his own study abroad experiences in The Netherlands and Poland. Previously he had different responsibilities related to internationalisation and educational policy in various Belgian higher education institutions. The last jobs he held before returning to Ghent University were head of the Office for educational development and internationalisation at Artevelde University Of Applied Sciences (2000-2006) and senior education advisor (advising the board in various educational policy matters) at the umbrella organisation Ghent University Association (2006-2014).

He participates regularly as an expert in international projects, mainly dealing with internationalisation, educational development, qualifications frameworks and quality assurance. Topics he frequently addresses as an (invited) speaker at conferences and publishes regularly about. He also chairs and participates in various advisory boards re. these themes at the Flemish level, e.g. the Working Groups on internationalisation of the Flemish Education Council (Council for Higher Education) and the Flemish Interuniversity Council. His special interests are the concept of (international/intercultural) learning outcomes/competences; microcredentials; inclusive mobility and sustainable internationalisation.

 

StuckiIsa Stucki is a soon to graduate food economics and consumption Master's student from the University of Helsinki. She is also an education coordinator and a teaching assistant for the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry’s Viikki Food Design Factory. https://www.helsinki.fi/en/viikki-food-design-factory

She got the position in VfDf, in Finland’s first food ecosystem, by being active and expressing her interest before the Design Factory was just an idea. Isa is eager in finding new innovations, especially in the field of food. That is why she is also participating in the Pre-Germinator program herself. The double-role is also helping her to understand how education needs to be organized in the best way.