Solidarity with Ukraine

Community & Civic Engagement

Civic Engagement Activities

Want to refresh and diversify your studies through community engagement? YUFE's Civic Engagement Activities offer is for you. It's a pathway that will allow you to develop your skills, expand your knowledge, meet new people, gain a sense of belonging and find joy in helping others.

Choose the activity that suits you best and get started!

Want to help people by solving problems related to your field of study? - Join one of the NCU YUFE Service Learning Help Desks, where, under the supervision of the academic staff, you will share the knowledge and experience you have gained at the university by answering citizens’ questions in:

 

Read more>>>

Sign up for Help Desk in the YUFE Virtual Campus (Subcategory: Help Desk, Host university: NCU)

Want to try something different from your studies? Take part in one of YUFE's community volunteering programmes - it is the perfect offer for those who want to do something for the local community and get to know Toruń and its people better at the same time.

BSC supports economic activity in Toruń and provides comprehensive assistance to entrepreneurs. The tasks of a person who chooses to volunteer in this institution will include support in the organisation of conferences and business meetings.

As a volunteer you will co-create and co-produce multicultural artistic events in Toruń and the Kuyavian-Pomeranian region.

The programme consists of three activities to choose:

1) Running intercultural workshops for kindergartens and schools

2) Preparation of events for the NCU community & citizens

3) Gardening and community-building in the NCU Edible Garden based in the Copernican Integration Centre

If you prefer to volunteer online, you can teach YUFE students your mother tongue or another language you speak at native level. Check out your options:

  • Volunteering in the YUFE Language Cafés

Check out the volunteering offerings of other YUFE universities in the YUFE Virtual Campus (Subcategory: Community Volunteering)

To help you follow the YUFE's Civic Engagement path, we offer you:

1) Civic Engagement Activities Intro Training for Students, where you will learn, among other things, why universities and YUFE are interested in civic engagement and how you can use the competences and skills gained through civic engagement. The training in English lasts 90 minutes and is organised several times during the academic year. You can find information about upcoming trainings on the YUFE Virtual Campus https://virtualcampus.yufe.eu/p/home (Explore YUFE Courses à Civic Engagement Activities à Civic Engagement Activities Intro Training for Students).

2) Two short online forms (Civic Star Reflection Report - Step 1 & Step 2) to set your expectations and goals and track your progress towards them. Both forms will appear in your YUFE Virtual Campus account as soon as you apply for either a Help Desk or YUFE Volunteering Programme, or when you sign up for the Civic Engagement Activities Intro Training for Students.

Need a guide to the YUFE Virtual Campus? Have a look here >>>

What do you gain from community engagement with YUFE?

You acquire and develop competencies that can help you to become a more informed and responsible citizen and a person better prepared for future professional challenges.

You receive the YUFE Civic Star, a certificate of your community engagement and acquisition or development of the above competencies, which you can present to your future employer or attach to your application for scholarships or awards.

Students interested in receiving this certificate should:

  1. complete the Community Engagement Activities Intro Training for Students;
  2. complete at least 50 hours of community service in a Help Desk or as a volunteer and submit a timesheet;
  3. complete both parts of the Civic Star Reflection Report - the first part before the activity and the second part as a summary of the activity.
 

 

Have less time but still want to get involved? Check out our additional activities:

International Cafés - meetings between international students and residents of YUFE cities where they share their cultural experiences.

Want to tell us about your country, your city, your culture, your customs, your cuisine? Write to us: civic-yufe@umk.pl

YUFE Friend Programme - a programme in which residents of YUFE cities and regions act as friends to foreign students and staff, helping them to feel better in a new place. The programme is under development; a pilot project is planned for the academic year 2024/2025.

Need more information? Download the YUFE Civic Star factsheet.

Have a question? Write to: civic-yufe@umk.pl