What is your story?
Help shape UCLL's strategic plan 2024-2030
An open university college?
A connecting university college?
Send us a photo with a very short story from a concrete moment and experience where you felt that the UCLL truly exhibits inclusivity, sustainability, openness and brings people together…
Go to the link and post your short story (1 or 2 paragraphs) and upload your picture.
Step 1:
When do you experience our university college as…
🤲 An open and welcoming university college?
🤝 A connected and connecting university college?
👊 A college with an impact on inclusive, sustainable as well as a just/fair society?
🤗 A university college that is engaged in the positive development of everyone?
- At what specific and concrete moment did you truly experience feeling connected to the UCLL? Or you felt its openness, commitment to sustainability or inclusion? What happened or what did you do or did someone else do to make you feel that way?
- What made you feel proud? When do you feel that we are behaving like a University that has an impact inside or outside of the Campus walls? In other words, that is committed to the positive development of everyone?
Step 2:
Take a picture and share your story!
We would like to ask you to send in pictures with a short text of specific moments and experiences which made you feel that UCLL is inclusive, sustainable, connecting or open.
Share your picture and story through the form
Pictures and stories are powerful tools to gather insights, perspectives and experiences which aren’t seen or heard widely.
- It’s about your personal story, and about all things beautiful which happen at your study or workplace. So type it out in the I-form (1st person singular).
It can range from big events, all the way to very little stories - It’s not about the quality or the beauty of the pictures!
- The pictures don’t have to be linked to your story exactly. It may be a metaphor or a drawing. Anything goes. It’s about your story and your experience from it.
- You may also submit multiple stories
- It is important that there no recognizable people in the picture!
Examples
In December, a student told me: “I’ve often felt bad in high school. When I came to UCLL I felt a totally different mindset. People don’t judge a lot or gossip about each other, nor by students, nor lecturers.” Our ‘open mind’ is what I’m proud of.
-- Bert Maes, Teacher Studies / Communications Service
‘I was absent for a time In the COVID-period, due to maternal leave. ’ When I got back to work I saw someone at campus ‘Gasthuisberg’ wandering around with a face mask, with a little window in it. I asked the campus manager of BLT (Biomedical Laboratory Technologies) about it. It turns out that there was a deaf or hard of hearing student studying BLT, for whom it was very important to see the mouth articulation. So it was very important for her, in order to understand what was being said. They had provided all lecturers with these masks with small windows who taught her. This way, the impediment of the face masks was mitigated. I find it to be a very small, but a very meaningful example of inclusion nonetheless.
-- Lien Frissen, Health Programme and Expertise Center for Inclusive Society
Step 3:
Come to the exhibition and the ‘dream and reflection day’ (not mandatory)
What will happen to the pictures and the stories?
On Thursday the 21st of March, we are organizing a dream and reflection day with an exhibition of the photos and accompanying stories, and also a workshop under the leadership of the researchers Katrien Mertens and Liesbeth Spanjers of ‘De Living’, part of the UCLL expertise center Inclusive Society for making strategic goals concrete.
We need your input, so the director’s board can further formulate the strategic plan in conjunction with what goes on inside of UCLL. Every vote counts. This is a way for you to take matters into your own hands. We work with 150 colleagues and students. Apply as a candidate to be there on the 21st of March. Transport fees for the public transportations will be reimbursed and there will be catering, free of charge.
Campus Corso, Diestsestraat 253, 3000 Leuven
Thursday 21st of March
Time: 13:00-17:00
Welcoming with sandwiches from 12:00