An extracurricular programme
Focus-LEA is an extracurricular activity programme created and managed by the LEA (Applied Foreign Languages) department of Strasbourg.
The idea came from an observation. With 9 languages, 16 major combinations and a series of courses made up of two degrees and two academic careers, Strasbourg’s LEA programme has what it takes to mislead its students. This is all the more obvious as it includes a large number of mobility partnerships, and a wide range of academic and professional opportunities.
Therefore, through a range of cultural projects, the Focus-LEA programme invites the students to find their own path by becoming fully involved in their own education.
The educational objectives of Focus-LEA are ambitious:
- facilitate exchanges between students, in particular between promotions
- give the opportunity to explore new cultural fields
- encourage the students to express their passions and talents
- enrich their education with authentic experiences
- ease their professionnalisation
- entrust them with the management of a project from A to Z
- get them to organize themselves and work together as a group
- help everyone to think about their professional career path
- ensure a more empowering educational relationship
- boost the partnership between the Amicale association and the department
- strengthen the feeling of belonging in the educational community
- be supportive of student success
Educational projects
About fifteen projects have been launched at the start of the 2018 school year. They cover a range of activities related to the professional sectors opened by the LEA degree and the dual LEA-Ecogestion degree of Strasbourg. It includes linguistic mediation, journalism, culture, but also trade, negotiation, communication and marketing, management, events and humanitarian work. During this first year, about a hundred students volunteered to carry out one project of their choice, and thus live an extracurricular educational experience.
Project management at the heart of student commitment
The volunteer students are organised in semi-autonomous groups. They experience project managing in group and take charge of the project as their own. At the beginning of the experience, they define themselves the terms, objectives, design and procedure, in a bill of specifications validated by their client – the LEA department. Over time, they learn to share their individual knowledge and skills and apply the ones learned in class (translation, argumentation, professional writing, eloquence, marketing or computer graphics creation). They are responsible for meeting the commitments made in their specifications. They also develop organisational and communication skills that are highly valued in the professional world. In short, Focus-LEA provides them with the experience and a better understanding of the professional world that were missing from their resume or usefully complete it. The University of Strasbourg also offers those who wish the opportunity to recognize their commitment under the “Missions Professionnelles” (professional engagement) plan.
Students’ personal development
Commitment, enthusiasm, collegiality, autonomy, initiative and creativity are the key words of Focus-LEA. The LEA department in Strasbourg enables its students to be at the heart of their university life.
After a successful launch, the next edition will further expand the range of training opportunities. Indeed, the students themselves will propose new projects in September 2019 to a jury composed of representatives of our educational community.
As you might have noticed,
- beyond the acronym “FOrmation – Culture – Université de Strasbourg”,
- beyond the rhyming wink to three partner student associations from our programme ARTUS, EVUS et OUS,
- beyond the reference to the Latin “focus”, to the home, to the warmth of conviviality and to the light of intellectual exchange,
Focus-LEA wears the colours of a department that aims to offer each of its students all the necessary tools for their personal and professional development.