Institutional project

Initial situation

The goal is to radically change the typical role of a Bachelor’s student (passive recipient of information) by giving him/her a more active role as a collaborator in different projects. The institutional project is a platform that encourages and promotes collaborative projects between students and faculty with the primary objective of improving the institution.

Project implementation

The Institutional Project is an optional program based on the principle of co-creation. It provides a framework in which students can work in close cooperation with faculty members on projects in the following three areas: event organization, faculty or university development, research projects or mentoring. 

If a faculty member has an idea concerning one of these three areas, he/she contacts the academic leader of the institutional project with whom he/she proceeds to write the project description. One of the most important parts of the project syllabus is the specification of student learning outcomes. The projects should be an opportunity for practical application of the topics learned during the academic program or for the development of skills based on the knowledge acquired in the Bachelor program. 

The proposal is then sent to the eligible student population (students in the second part of their Bachelor’s program). Students apply for the project and are selected by the organizing members. After the students are selected, the project begins and the students work with their teachers or supervisors. At the end of the project, in addition to getting credits, students can receive a participation certificate.

Thoughts and advice

It is important to assign a teacher to lead the project, dedicated to managing project proposals and ensuring their quality in terms of student learning outcomes. The perseverance and patience of the project leader in presenting this pedagogical innovation to his or her colleagues are essential. Some colleagues will only discover the interest of this project through practice.

Student feedback

*“The institutional project I participated in is, in my experience, a unique academic experience as one has the opportunity to participate in a more hands-on way in the management of an event, to increase one’s organizational and interpersonal skills, to delve into logistical and budgetary management issues, and to be confronted with real-life problems and tasks that would otherwise remain impractical.” *

*“It appealed to me right away. I didn’t do it for credit, but to put my theory into practice. I wanted to do something concrete and useful that would leave a mark.” *

*“Unlike ex cathedra lessons, we were three students facing one teacher, it is a very privileged relationship. We discovered research from the inside, by doing it. It’s a stimulating way to learn. *

“The institutional project I participated in was related to the Sustainable Futures course at Geneva’s Summer School. As such, our supervisors were two of the professors teaching the two-week course. Unfortunately, due to their limited availability, we had very little contact with them and most of the work was done with the international affairs office. I would have liked to have had the chance to interact more with the creators of this very interesting course, as both were very inspiring and could have taught us a lot by assisting them given the topics taught throughout the summer sessions.”