UniverlaCité brings the university to the neighborhoods
For the past 10 years, the UM has been visiting schools in priority neighborhoods. The goal? To introduce young people to scientific and academic disciplines and, perhaps, to inspire them to pursue higher education.
Friday, February 7, 2019, 2:00 p.m. On the second floor of Simone Bolivar Elementary School in the Mosson neighborhood, Olivier Abdank-Kossousky’s fifth-grade class is buzzing with excitement. Is it the anticipation of the upcoming weekend? Far from it! Just as they have done twice already since the start of the school year, students from the Faculty of Sciences have come to pay the class a little visit…
The Arctic and the Antarctic
“What is the coldest place on Earth?” “What distinguishes a walrus from a sea lion or a seal?” The questions Lara and Lucille asked the children upon entering the classroom were enough to restore silence. For their second visit as part of the UniverlaCité program at Bolivar School, the two third-year undergraduate students majoring in biology, environment, and earth sciences at the Faculty of Sciences chose to introduce the students to the northern and southern polar regions, better known by their generic names: the Arctic and the Antarctic. For nearly an hour, an engaging, well-paced, and illustrated educational presentation on the exploration of the poles—and more specifically the South Pole, its climate, and its endemic flora and fauna—unfolded seamlessly under the watchful and attentive eye of the teacher. The young students, captivated by the speakers’ words, remain attentive and actively participate in the session, while at the back of the room two microbiology and pharmacy students—who in a few weeks will themselves be speaking to students—take notes on Lara and Lucille’s well-honed techniques for “managing the class.”
A New Perspective
“We’re in a tough neighborhood where there’s still a real enthusiasm for school. However, almost none of my students speak French at home. What’s more, the vast majority of them come from modest backgrounds, and some even live in very precarious circumstances. “Every opportunity to spark their curiosity and broaden their general knowledge is therefore one worth seizing!” explains Olivier Abdank-Kossousky, who is delighted to occasionally hand over his classroom to young people passionate about science.“UniverlaCité gives students a concrete idea of what they can learn and become by studying at the university. This exposure to science opens up a previously unimagined possibility for these vulnerable, underprivileged children: pursuing higher education!” adds Catherine Dicky, the principal of the elementary school that has been hosting student volunteers involved in the program for nearly 10 years.
Areas and Priority Education
A testament to the social dimension of the University of Montreal, UniverlaCité was founded in 2009 with the goal of promoting the university in priority areas, particularly in schools within Montpellier’s priority education network. All volunteers with a deeply humanistic spirit, the UM students involved withUniverlaCité work primarily in schools in the Mosson and Petit Bard neighborhoods. Each initiative is supervised by Thierry Noëll, the program’s founder and coordinator. “The students propose a scientific topic to me, and together we define the necessary framework to adapt it (format, vocabulary) to the target audience, ” this animal biology technician recently explained to us on the way to an elementary school where, that day, a young girl passionate about ornithology was preparing to introduce a fourth-grade class to methods for identifying urban birds.
An ambassador for UM beyond its walls and a committed university activist, Thierry Noëll is now considering the expansion ofUniverlaCité to the towns surrounding Montpellier. To continue offering every child, regardless of their social background, the right to dream of becoming an astronaut, a zoologist, or—why not?—an explorer.