Campus life [2024-10-18]

Become a Civic Star

— Editors

Want to refresh, diversify and boost your student's experience? Looking for a project that will let you develop your skills, work on your attitude, expand your knowledge, meet new people, gain a sense of belonging, find joy in helping others and… give you a star?

The YUFE Alliance offers numerous opportunities for civic engagement, providing a pathway for personal growth and the chance to earn the prestigious international YUFE Civic Star certificate.

The YUFE Civic Star recognizes students' active social involvement and their development of key transversal skills, such as teamwork, problem-solving, critical thinking, active listening, and more.

In the 2024/2025 academic year, the YUFE Civic Star distinction can be earned by participating in the following activities:

YUFE Student Help Desks at NCU

The Help Desks serve as a network of support centres for the local community. Guided by academic staff, students apply their university knowledge and experience to answer residents' questions, offering free advice and expert assistance. The Nicolaus Copernicus University (NCU) network consists of 11 clinics that provide support in a wide range of areas, including law, health, psychology, website creation and auditing, mural design, intellectual property and standardisation law, information verification and cyber-pathology prevention.

Recruitment for student teams is open until 15 November 2024:

• The Counselling for Equality #Inclusive: https://virtualcampus.yufe.eu/p/course/Pj3jpHypuhPc0cqd
• University Legal Help Desk: https://virtualcampus.yufe.eu/p/course/U5IUyDuuswwJEbtJ
• Mural Design Help Desk: https://virtualcampus.yufe.eu/p/course/4yzfZ71UyLlXJGMS
• Water Management Help Desk: https://virtualcampus.yufe.eu/p/course/qCmxysF5yWVeqGOy
• Website Creation and Audit Help Desk: https://virtualcampus.yufe.eu/p/course/5TtyRFZZwfD4EZqK
• Intellectual Property and Standardisation Law Help Desk: https://virtualcampus.yufe.eu/p/course/rCDLxYOTRWbAWEXd
• Information Verification and Cyber-Pathology Prevention Help Desk: https://virtualcampus.yufe.eu/p/course/8XwC48tGhJvIYQjY
• SYNERGY University Family Assistance Help Desk: https://virtualcampus.yufe.eu/p/course/3TWj2AfKxvTIz95T
• Healthcare Help Desk: https://virtualcampus.yufe.eu/p/course/051eqpWAsm9VGPaR
• The Help Desk of Education and Methodology of Teaching Assisted by New Technologies: https://virtualcampus.yufe.eu/p/course/e4bDem5OD1nuwKXJ
• Archive Services: https://virtualcampus.yufe.eu/p/course/gWUgUtUV39nRrpPv

YUFE Volunteering Programmes

Volunteering opportunities are available to students eager to contribute to the local community. The responsibilities vary depending on the placement and may include assisting in the organization of cultural events (festivals, concerts, artist meet-and-greets), business events (conferences, meetings with entrepreneurs), social gatherings (fairs, integration events), educational programmess (intercultural workshops), and environmental initiatives (such as those in the Copernican Integration Centre Community Garden).

In Toruń, students interested in YUFE volunteering can choose from the following options:

• Volunteering at Regional Centre for Cultural Animation: https://virtualcampus.yufe.eu/p/course/WFczT2mB6pwynHwg
• Volunteering at the Business Support Center: https://virtualcampus.yufe.eu/p/course/jna03pvJlb2WWRqc
• Volunteering at the Amicus Foundation and the Copernican Integration Centre in Toruń: https://virtualcampus.yufe.eu/p/course/mifgupyZQKSCSqZ6
• Volunteering at the Artus Court Cultural Centre: https://virtualcampus.yufe.eu/p/course/MVI4FJNNcJ1SEM00
• Volunteering at the Court Watch Poland Foundation (Polish B2 required): https://virtualcampus.yufe.eu/p/course/XBGncjoboHzoNXnn

All activities require on-site participation.

For those interested in online volunteering roles, YUFE partner universities offer a range of programmes. The latest opportunities are available on the YUFE Virtual Campus website (https://virtualcampus.yufe.eu/p/courses/category/civic-engagement-activities (Subcategory: Community Volunteering).

How to obtain the international YUFE Civic Star certificate?

The total workload required to obtain the YUFE Civic Star is 50 hours and includes:

1. Participation in the online “YUFE Civic Engagement Activities Intro Training for Students," which lasts 1.5 hours and introduces the YUFE Civic Star programme. Participants will learn:

• what the YUFE Civic Star is,
• why universities are interested in social engagement,
• how to recognize and highlight various competencies gained through participation in community activities,
• the rules and practical aspects of obtaining the Civic Star.

Upcoming YUFE Civic Engagement Activities Intro Training sessions:

• 25 October 2024, 10:00 - 11:30 CET

Registration: https://virtualcampus.yufe.eu/p/course/d91mobSGOn3hM5Zm

• 29 November 2024, 10:00 - 11:30 CET

Registration: https://virtualcampus.yufe.eu/p/course/eanXyhevs2KYE02e

• 13 December 2024, 14:00 – 15:30 CET

Registration: https://virtualcampus.yufe.eu/p/course/ldMh4XFg7aMul7ot

2. Completing a volunteering activity (YUFE Help Desk/Community Volunteering Programme),
3. Filling in two online questionnaires (Civic Star Reflection Reports) - one before and one after completing the civic activity.

More YUFE civic engagement opportunities: https://virtualcampus.yufe.eu/p/courses/category/civic-engagement-activities

More about YUFE: https://www.umk.pl/yufe/

Any questions? Write to civic-yufe@umk.pl