Diversity and inclusiveness
As explained in The New Utrecht School, we want to offer a diverse and inclusive learning environment. In 2021 we developed a number of specific activities for this purpose.
Student welfare
We are very much aware of the fact that our students’ welfare is under great pressure. This was already a matter of concern before the coronavirus pandemic, and with the arrival of COVID-19 and remote teaching, it only became bigger. Together with staff and students of Utrecht University, and via the student welfare task force , we are working actively on our student welfare policy We also developed a tutor program in 2021 for students in the master’s phase, in addition to the tutor program for Bachelor students that was already underway, as well as a buddy system for students among themselves. We further organized an introduction weekend for first-year students who were not able to follow any introduction program at the start of their studies. We also prepared the Speak-up campaign , which will enable us to work on an open and stimulating learning environment. This campaign starts in 2022.
Summer bridging program
In September 2021 we had the first edition of our two-day summer bridging program K.I.C.K. Start : A Good Start means Half the Work is done. For any student, embarking on their studies can be stressful, especially if nobody else in their family has had higher education, if they are new to Utrecht, or if they feel a bit different from most other students. With the summer bridging program we offer support to all first-year students in Medicine and Biomedical Sciences who feel the need for it, in the transition phase towards their new studies, and to give them a good start to their study years. The summer bridging program was very well received, and we are going to expand it in 2022.
About 1,000 primary school children from the Utrecht region for instance had a guest lesson from our researchers, called our ‘Smart Guests’
Outreach activities
To be accessible to everyone, we also paid a lot of attention to outreach activities in 2021. About 1,000 primary school children from the Utrecht region for instance had a guest lesson from our researchers, called our ‘Smart Guests’. With Smart Guests , organized from Utrecht University, we bridge the gap between researchers and school children and make an effort to make science accessible for everyone. Over 30 professors from UMC Utrecht Digital also visited primary schools in Utrecht during the fifth edition of Meet the Professor. Some 2,500 pupils from group 7 and 8 had the chance to meet the professors in science and research, and to ask all their questions.