Huit étudiants du programme Master of AIRE, financé par EURIP, ont participé à l’UCL Ideas Sprint, un hackathon social qui s’est tenu le 10 juin, organisé par la formidable association étudiante de l’University College London (UCL).

Lors de l’« Ideas Sprint » de l’UCL, les étudiants ont eu l’occasion d’avoir un impact concret en intervenant en tant que « solutionneurs » aux côtés d’associations locales à but non lucratif qui leur ont présenté des défis rencontrés dans la vie réelle. Nos étudiants ont contribué à deux projets inspirants :

• ReachOut2All : une entreprise sociale qui permet aux jeunes âgés de 13 à 30 ans d’acquérir des compétences en matière de développement personnel à travers un programme de mentorat animé par des jeunes, des ateliers pratiques et des visites pédagogiques au sein de grandes organisations, afin de les aider à faire entendre leur voix et à évoluer dans leurs études et leur carrière.
• Displaced : une organisation qui assure un accompagnement précoce en matière de santé mentale et propose des formations sur l’égalité raciale, conçues en collaboration avec les communautés de migrants et les communautés racialisées. Elle travaille avec les collectivités locales, les écoles et les associations de jeunesse à travers Londres.

Tout au long de la semaine, les étudiants ont également pris part à diverses activités qui leur ont permis de découvrir Londres sous un autre regard. Ils ont fait du bénévolat auprès de l’East London Canal Access Network, explorant les voies navigables de la ville à bord de kayaks tandem et de planches de paddleboard sous une pluie battante, dans le but de ramasser les déchets présents dans le canal.

Ils ont également participé à une visite guidée du campus de Bloomsbury de l’UCL en compagnie d’étudiants leaders de l’UCL. Les étudiants de Paris et de Londres avaient été mis en relation par correspondance avant l’événement et avaient déjà commencé à tisser des liens, qu’ils ont renforcés au cours de la semaine et qu’ils entretiennent depuis lors.

En septembre, EURIP accueillera les étudiants de l’UCL au Learning Planet Institute pour un programme intensif au MakerLab (FabLab) axé sur l’accessibilité, la biodiversité et les liens sociaux. Le programme inclura également des activités de découverte de Paris.

L’équipe du programme du Master of AIRE et ses étudiants tiennent à remercier Molly McCabe, Alisha Shah, Cherish Watton-Colbrook et tous les membres du syndicat étudiant de l’UCL pour avoir permis cette collaboration inspirante !

Témoignages d’étudiants du programme Master of AIRE (en anglais) :

Both UCL and LPI share the same threads of interdisciplinarity and community-centric work, and it is refreshing to learn how we put these foci in practice differently. It was both a fun and meaningful challenge to sit in the shoes of the local organisations to reinvent ways of engagement for ReachOut2All; I hope we were able to plant seeds of change that will help them through the session! London is a vibrant city, and with the company of our UCL peers we were able to experience the rhythm of a city that keeps moving, rich in culture, nature, and people.

As we return to LPI, we are rejuvenated with ways to connect better between campus and community for knowledge creation as well as active changemaking and advocacy. 

Jodie Loi, M1 AIRE

This exchange was one of the highlights of my last semester at LPI. It was a great opportunity to collaborate with students from UCL while working on a real challenge presented by Displaced CIC, a London-based community organisation supporting migrant and racialised young people. We spent time learning from their work and then brainstormed ways to reimagine, reframe, and reconstruct their card game designed to encourage storytelling and support wellbeing, with the aim of making it even more engaging, accessible, and supportive for the young people who use it.

Beyond the project work, the exchange gave us the chance to connect with UCL students, exchange perspectives, and experience its community-focused approach to learning and research. We share the same vision and way of working through co-designing the future of learning with the youth, which is at the heart of the Learning Planet Institute.

Riu Rodriguez, M2 AIRE

Volunteering with the East London Canal Access Network was an unforgettable experience for me. When we started the canal-cleaning activity, I honestly didn’t notice much trash at first, and I wondered whether this was really meaningful work or just a fun add-on to the program. But as I spent more time actually looking, even getting a little competitive about finding more than my teammates, I realized there was far more trash in the canal and waterways than I had imagined. I simply hadn’t been looking closely enough.

That experience taught me something important, we often overlook the state of our environment simply because we don’t take the time to really see it. I felt grateful for the chance to take part in this kind of cleaning work, because I know it’s not something I would have done on my own initiative.

On top of all the activities, it was wonderful to make new friends and have a fun time in London! Learning by doing, and by having fun, is always more meaningful and enriching.

Jimin Cheon, M1 AIRE

The Ideas Sprint was a fantastic way to connect with the needs of the local community. The opportunity to work with ReachOut2All was truly a special one, as this exchange embodied the best of what it means to be a citizen of change in the most practical way. The ways in which we were given the freedom to ideate and present our ideas to the head of the charity was a highlight for me. This showed that our work would not just remain an idea, but could amount to useful and practical implementation for the foundation. 

Beyond the work, having the opportunity to be in and around UCL was a great experience as it is one of the best research institutions in Europe. This inspiring realization brought us back to LPI with great enthusiasm to continue to pursue our research with great rigor. 

Zoe Zulu, M2 AIRE

We worked on real problems: helping ReachOut2All reach more young people, and helping make the waterways of East London cleaner. It was inspiring and meaningful to meet these organisations and contribute, however modestly, to their work.

It reinforced my conviction that knowledge should not simply be passed to students in classrooms, but can be actively created through collaboration, reflection, and iteration – and we can have lots of laughs in the process! It also highlighted the powerful role universities can play in serving the flourishing and well-being of their local communities.

Volha Vitavets, M1 AIRE