ENGAGED RESEARCH, URBAN INNOVATION AND PARTICIPATORY LEARNING UNIC’s partner universities aim to position themselves as players in the social, technological and economic transition. The universities are working hand in hand with their city’s institutions to ensure that urban and public interest issues feed into teaching and research, and offer students the means to co-create the university with the city’s staff and stakeholders. In line with this desire to strengthen the City-civil society-University link, a partnership agreement was signed in June 2023 between ULiège and the City of Liège. UNIC is also rethinking the role of students within the university, enabling them to step out of their academic bubble and into the everyday life of the city, by becoming agents of change for the future. This gives them the opportunity to play an active part in transforming society by developing an understanding of local urban environments. INCLUSIVE TEACHING UNIC also aims to promote inclusive societies. For example, in 2022-2023, as part of the Wiki Women and Science project, actions to promote access to higher education in secondary schools were carried out and mentoring activities were promoted. As part of the peer review of inclusion practices, meetings, reports and publications were produced on the experience of international students. In April 2023, the Superdiversity School seminar was held, addressing the issues and challenges of diversity in higher education. GREEN AND INCLUSIVE EUROPEAN MOBILITY The consortium aims to make mobility accessible to all members of the university community, regardless of their socio-economic background, disability or any other potential barrier. The project promotes social, economic and cultural diversity by facilitating access to mobility programmes, offering scholarships and providing tailored support to students during their stay abroad, such as support services and adjustments for people with disabilities. UNIC also encourages green mobility in order to reduce its ecological footprint as much as possible. Through its Train Instead Plane (TIP) programme, it offers around 15 grants a year to students who commit to travelling by train when they start their studies abroad as part of an exchange with one of UNIC’s universities. Part of the UNIC team from Liège travelled without a plane from Liège to Bilbao for the UNIC CityLabs Festival Bilbao (April 2023). In September 2023, a summer school on the theme of «Ageing well» was organised in Liège. The event saw the introduction of the Institution’s first BIP (Blended Intensive Programme), which consists of a hybrid course format, with this virtual component designed to enable students to travel less. 55 | ACTIVITY REPORT SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AT ULIÈGE | 2022 – 2023
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