The UPSaclay Faculty of Sciences opens its Scientific English course to the EUGLOH alliance
This year, the UPSaclay Faculty of Sciences opened its training programme in scientific English to the EUGLOH alliance. Invited speakers and group work with students from the universities of the alliance proved a great experience, to be renewed!
This year, the UPSaclay Faculty of Sciences opened its training programme in scientific English to the EUGLOH alliance. Undergraduate students in 2nd year Biology at Université Paris-Saclay must validate a teaching unit dedicated to science in English. Within the framework of this course, students learn how to write, present but also study in their area of specialisation (biological sciences) in English.
In the first instance, so as to offer UPSaclay students an international experience, Dr. Marianne Malartre, teacher-researcher at the Orsay Faculty of Sciences in Developmental Biology and Cell Signalling, invited 4 professors from partner universities of the EUGLOH alliance to hold lectures online. Over the course of 4 lectures, entirely offered in English, the students were able to familiarize themselves with the language of presentation in English through scientific seminars given by researchers from the University of Szeged and the University Ludwig Maximilians in Munich. They also acquired technical skills for the preparation of academic presentations and in dealing with scientific results, guided by two professors from the University of Porto. Entirely organised online, the lectures allowed for strong interactions between students and invited professors – en anglais, s’il vous plait! The UPSaclay pedagogical team also benefitted from this experience to develop its online teaching practices.
In the second instance, the tutorials were opened to students of the EUGLOH alliance, upon selection, enabling undergraduates from other areas of specialisation and other countries to interact. 21 students from the partner universities thus joined 100 UPSaclay students, mixed together and split into 7 half-groups. Several activities were carried out, some individually (e.g. writing a summary, participating to debates), and others as groups (present an article, prepare an oral presentation, a poster), with a focus on different topics (science and society).
Highly motivated, the students worked in close collaboration, “meeting” outside teaching hours. The ultimate aim of the programme, studying, working and communicating in English, thus took on its full meaning with an audience of students from different countries and areas of specialisation. Raquel Monteiro, a student from Porto University, particularly enjoyed “working within a group. Once we had overcome our initial shyness, it was really enriching to speak with students from different academic backgrounds. We created a group outside the course to get to know one another better. We could say that science brought us together, in spite of the distance. The course was both enriching, pedagogical and fun!”
Given the high demand for the course (145 registrations for 24 places), the teaching unit should be open to new students of the EUGLOH alliance over the next academic year.
And also – A zoom on 3 courses involving our EUGLOH academics towards furthering our students’ expertise and international experience.
Teachers of the EUGLOH alliance mentor students within Social Entrepreneurship 4 Health
Within the framework of this series one-week course, on how to develop your social business to improve global health, Master’s students of all academic backgrounds learned, in multicultural and multi-disciplinary groups of 3 to 6, how to create a business model around a common idea dedicated to social entrepreneurship (education, pollution, nutrition, medical professions or mental health). Each day started with input from specialists in entrepreneurship, followed by group work. This was where the mentors’ essential support came in: over 1 to 2 hours a day, the groups were able to consult with one mentor specialized in the area of health, and the other in entrepreneurship. This was the case for Véronique Tibayrenc, academic advisor in entrepreneurship and head of the GEII-1 department (Electrical Engineering and Industrial Informatics) of the Cachan Technical Institute. “It was a wonderful experience. I worked with a great group of motivated students, who really believed in their project. Their thought process was enriched by their different cultural and academic backgrounds. The course was clearly marked out thanks to the digital tools we used and the intermediary deliverables that had to be produced every day. My role was to orientate their research and sometimes guide them when I felt they were going off track or lost. I look forward to another session in the future as it was both enriching for the students and myself.”
Invited speaker from Lund University at the Faculty Jean Monnet
Dr. Valérie Nicolas-Hémar, from the UPSaclay Faculty of Law, Economics and Management (Jean Monnet), invited Dr. Sofia Ulver, from Lund University to give an online lecture to around 80 Master’s students on Marketing, movements of resistance to marketing, and political ideologies. This was the opportunity for students to interact with Dr. Ulver in English during the Q&A session. An experience to be renewed given students’ positive feedback!
Student and teacher discussions around crowdfunding for sport
Dr. Christopher Hautbois, from the UPSaclay Faculty of Sport Sciences, organised with Dr. Pedro Sarmento, postdoctoral student Alan Ferreira, and Vitor Maneul Reis Sobral, PhD student and journalist, from the University of Porto, a discussion group to enable UPSaclay and UPorto students and teachers to discuss issues around crowdfunding in sport. The chat session soon developed into a 4-hour long discussion… which will certainly be continued!
More to come!
Want to get involved? Contact your academic officer.
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