Home>Focus on the Start of the Academic Year at the Undergraduate College
27.01.2022
Focus on the Start of the Academic Year at the Undergraduate College
On Monday, January 17, the Undergraduate College’s spring semester was launched in Reims. In a hybrid format, this unique session gathered Mathias Vicherat, Sciences Po's President, Stéphanie Balme, Dean of the Undergraduate College, campus directors, the Reims campus teams, and of course, students from Sciences Po’s seven campuses. Here are some highlights.
Students as "Top Priority"
For his very first exchanges with the Undergraduate College's entire student body, Mathias Vicherat, speaking in the Reims campus' largest lecture hall, evoked the new beginning that this spring 2022 semester represents. Addressing the College's 6,000 students, physically present in Reims or connected online, he reminded them "Sciences Po works because of you, through you and for you!" He insisted on Sciences Po's unique character which, in his view, lies in the skillful blend of transdisciplinarity and professionalisation, and called upon them to adopt genuine debate ethics.
As for the College's "highlights" at the beginning of this semester, there is, of course, the choice of a civic commitment for first-year students with the desire to "develop opportunities related to the ecological transition". For second-year students, the time has come to choose from Sciences Po's 476 partner universities around the globe for their third year abroad. Finally, to seniors in the Bachelor programme, who must now choose the Master's degree with which they will continue their studies at Sciences Po, Mathias Vicherat shared an alumni's advice: focus on openness and curiosity.
Symbols of cultural pluralism, exchange students were finally honored as an asset for students on campus. "Otherness, other perspectives, constitute a real opportunity to think in a non-circular way”, explained Sciences Po's new director.
(An interview of Mathias Vicherat by Capucine Bourbier and Yoanna Baldjiyski, from the Reims Campus Broadcasting (RCB).
2022: A Turning Point for Sciences Po
Mathias Vicherat then spoke about the main milestones for Sciences Po in the coming year:
- the opening of the new campus at 1 Saint-Thomas, "a haven for teaching, research and an improved welcome of the public", evidence of strong ambition at Sciences Po;
- the 150th anniversary of our institution and the celebration of the anniversary of many campuses;
- the large-scale institutional projects to be launched: discrimination issues, academic freedom, digital and environmental transitions, reinforcement of measures to counter sexist and sexual violence, ethics...
This year, students will be expected to be analytical and critical faced with events that will impact Sciences Po at the national and international levels. This includes the current French presidency of the Council of the European Union, the French presidential election, and the mid-term elections in the United States in November...
Recalling the recent imprisonment of researcher Fariba Adelkhah in Iran, Mathias Vicherat emphasised the support of Sciences Po and called for her immediate release.
Finally, because student success is at the heart of our responsibility, the launch of the "Digital College" was announced. It will be a methodological toolbox to support students in their studies on topics as varied as developing a line of questioning, analyzing an image, using statistics, writing essays or dissertations... and the implementation of mentoring for students who are experiencing difficulties.
The Sciences Po editorial team
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