Academic democracy

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The "Academic democracy" course unit explores student participation in European academic life by involving them in the process of designing and producing educational tools dealing with democracy at the university level.

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The "Academic Democracy" course module is open to undergraduate students, from all fields of study, without any pre-requisites.

The University of Bordeaux offers you the opportunity to enrol in a course unit dedicated to university democracy, right from the start of the 2022/2023 academic year.

Democratic commitment and participation have now become crucial in meeting the challenges of the environmental and societal transitions that our society and organisations must face.

University democracy offers the academic community the possibility of actively participating in university life but its processes are often poorly understood. Those processes also need to be extended and improved, taking into account our European partner universities' experiences, and the changes in the wider democratic framework.

That is why we encourage you to enrol in the "Academic democracy" course unit, right from the start of the 2022 academic year, in order to:

  • conduct a survey on the reasons that encourage or inhibit commitment, and in particular within the student community,
  • identify new ways of participating,
  • and co-develop educational tools dedicated to academic democracy.

Practical information

This course unit will take place in French and in person throughout the 2022-2023 academic year, 20 hours per semester. The teaching method is mainly made up of hands-on, practical work in the form of projects, and requires a substantial amount of individual and group work. 

This course unit (UE) is credited with 6 ECTS, which can be counted as a "Commitment" course unit or, in agreement with your director of studies, as a substitute for another unit aimed at opening up or personalising your curriculum.

Who can participate?

The "Academic democracy" course unit is open to undergraduate students, from all fields of study, without any pre-requisites.

Course syllabus and schedule

The course is divided into two phases:

  • In the 1st semester, using social science methods, you will participate in gathering and analysing organisational and regulatory information, as well as data related to student commitment and participation. By comparing it with the data from European partner universities, this assessment will allow students to identify avenues of improvement.
  • In the 2nd semester, you will participate in designing educational tools based on the material collected beforehand, and with the support of educational design engineers.

In the 1st semester, activity sessions will be held on the university's Victoire campus, every 2 weeks, on Thursdays from 4-7 pm, on the following dates: October 6th & 20th, November 10th & 24th; December 8th & 22nd. The 2nd semester calendar will be set at a later date.

Educational team

The educational activities will be led by a multidisciplinary team, including:

  • Sandrine Rui, university lecturer-researcher in sociology
  • Christophe Roiné, university lecturer-researcher in education sciences and teaching methods
  • Antoine de Daruvar, university lecturer-researcher in biology
  • Lorine Dardel, second year Master student in education sciences and teaching methods
  • Barbara Lavianne, educational design engineer at the "Support Mission for Education and Innovation" (Mission d’appui à la pédagogie et à l’innovation - MAPI)
  • Marie Seye, educational engineer at the "Support Mission for Education and Innovation" (Mission d’appui à la pédagogie et à l’innovation - MAPI)

Information and registration

For additional information or to register, contact Sandrine Rui, university lecturer-researcher in sociology at: sandrine.rui%40u-bordeaux.fr