4.3.4 – Does your university as a body undertake educational outreach activities (e.g. tailored lectures or demonstrations) beyond campus, e.g. in local schools, in the community, including voluntary student-run schemes?
Student-Run Educational Outreach
The university effectively supports and facilitates educational outreach initiatives, primarily through voluntary student-run schemes. These activities successfully extend the university’s influence to promote social responsibility, specialized health awareness, and community engagement, reaching both internal and external stakeholders.
Social Responsibility and Respect
An initiative focused on promoting respect for university support staff. The Basmat Amal Student Club organized a recognition and appreciation campaign on June 6, 2024, honoring security agents and sanitation workers.
The core function of this activity was social education and outreach. The student club delivered a powerful message emphasizing the vital roles of these personnel and calling upon all students to show respect and appreciation for their efforts in maintaining the safety and cleanliness of the university. This action translates academic values into tangible social responsibility, directly addressing ethical and societal awareness within the student body. Key university officials, including the Head of Security, participated, demonstrating institutional endorsement of this essential social outreach effort aimed at fostering a culture of mutual respect necessary for building a “safer and cleaner society.”
Health Education and Specialized Community Focus
This activity confirms a substantial health and nutrition educational activity held on April 30, 2024, titled “Your Medicine is in Your Food.” This event was organized by the Basmat Amal Club for People of High Determination, in coordination with the Faculty of Natural and Life Sciences (Medical Annex) and the Celiac Patients Association.
This initiative constitutes direct educational outreach and was executed under a directive from the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research concerning the prevention and combatting of obesity. The activity was highly impactful and specialized:
- Educational Content: The program featured multiple lectures and interventions from professors, doctors, and specialists, covering medical, biological sciences, and healthy nutrition. Crucially, the content was adapted to address the specific needs of individuals with special needs (e.g., mobility challenges) and those with specific dietary requirements (celiac disease).
- Community and Institutional Reach: The event was held as part of an international forum and involved high-level participation, including the University Director (Rector), various Deans, and the President of the Celiac Patients Association, alongside guests from neighboring countries.
- Dissemination: The activity included an open exhibition showcasing consumer products for celiac patients and concluded with the distribution of informational brochures, further extending its educational impact beyond the main presentations.
This highly collaborative event successfully fulfilled the university’s outreach mandate by delivering tailored, expert-led educational content on a critical public health topic to both the academic community and a specific, vulnerable segment of the wider community.
The evidence clearly demonstrates that the university actively engages in educational outreach activities via student-run schemes. These efforts are not isolated incidents but structured, endorsed events that cover both social responsibility (respect for staff) and specialized educational and health outreach (nutrition for special needs and celiac patients).