The first master plan for improving student life at UTC a concrete and achievable action plan
The University of Technology Compiègne is home to some 4 500 students registered for engineering, bachelor’s or professional degrees, master’s degrees and doctorate courses. They now can refer to the very first Student Life Master Plan, entitled the “Student Life Improvement Master Plan». Its strength: a co-construction approach that puts students at the heart of the reflection and drafting of proposals.
proposals. The master plan for improving student life is the result of a genuine consultation between students, UTC staff and various local stakeholders. The actions programmed by this plan, covering a 5‑year period 2024–2028, are based on three main themes: feeling good in mind and body, living well and fulfilling oneself within one’s environment and having a transformative and transitional student experience looking ahead to their future professional lives.
«It took over a year to draw up this plan, based as it was on an inventory of the current situation and brainstorming workshops with, as “pilots”, students who were asked to think and dream big around five initial themes (being well in mind and body, living well together, living well at the UTC, being well supported and living well in one’s environment). This led to a series of ambitions and concrete actions, such as facilitating access to care by strengthening the medical presence via shifts for health professionals such as speech therapists, occupational therapists or neuropsychologists. Or setting up a one-stop shop, staffed by students, to provide personalised assistance with administrative formalities. But we also need to recognise student commitment by creating a new ‘asso-élite’ course for highly committed students, and include the existing ITC ‘elite’ courses (sport, music, asso, entrepreneurship) in the diploma supplement,» explains Véronique Hédou, a lecturer and research scientist in applied mathematics at UTC who has been in charge of student life for ten years.
. The ‘green’ thread of the plan: ecological transformation and social commitment
The ecological transition and societal commitment (TE&ES) is also a central concern for the UTC, its staff and its students. This is why TE&ES is a transversal strategic axis, an integral part of all of the institution’s missions, which are research, education, innovation, student life and campus life. «Our developments and choices are viewed through this major prism, so it is naturally present in a large number of actions in this Master Plan. We have chosen to make it a common thread, an integral part of all our actions». Monitoring and implementing the Plan will therefore require a great deal of work. Sometimes via their associations, sometimes via their elected representatives, the students will have to work alongside the UTC departments to make the Plan a reality. It is a toolbox of ideas that should ensure that all those involved in student life who want to take action will not be bored for at least the next four years.
3 questions for Romain Marchal, aged 21,in his 2nd year of the utc engineering cycle — major in urban engineering
How did you become involved in the drafting of this Plan?
In May 2022, I was invited by the UTC Student Life Office to take part in the steering committee for the implementation of the SDVE Master Plan as an elected student member of Academic Board of Directors. We worked with the student union (BDE), the elected members of the CEVU, the preventive medicine service, the disability advisor and the training and teaching department. This wide-ranging panel enabled us to take stock of the situation and identify the strategic areas around which student life at UTC is structured. It was during these working meetings that we came up with the idea of consulting students directly through lunchtime workshops. We wanted to give priority to qualitative work in 5 areas in order to come up with concrete proposals that would meet students’ needs.
What specific points did you focus on?
I had the pleasure of co-chairing one of the working groups on the theme of «Living well in the city». For a week in April 2023, we met every lunchtime with a dozen or so students chosen at random, volunteering to discuss mobility, housing, culture, sport… and all matters that affect life in Compiègne and its surrounding area. UTC staff such as the SD/RS project manager and the quality project manager joined us during the week. Arielle François, Compiègne’s Townhall cultural counsellor also came to talk to us. After a quick review of the existing situation, we started to work on proposals for improvements. At the end of the week, we submitted a list of suggested improvements, ranked in order of importance, to the Student Life Office, which then did a fantastic job of summarising them to produce the final version of the SDVE Master Plan.
Why is such a plan useful?
This Master Plan provides a strategic vision of student life for the UTC in the medium term. I think its strength lies in the consultation process. The plan was drawn up with all the parties involved in student life, placing students at the heart of the process. Participating in this scheme enabled me to realise just how wide-ranging student life is, and that many things are already in place for the well-being of students at UTC. This plan is part of a continuous improvement approach and is all the more effective that it was unanimously approved by UTC’s governing bodies. Indicators are associated with the objectives; they will make it possible to monitor the evolution of student life and the usefulness of the actions put in place.
