Students speaking to and for students!
In Tours, the winning team in the BDE election was Venom; in Orleans, the Saphir team won the elections which took place in February; in Paris, a team named Élite was elected back in October 2022. Last but not least, in La Rochelle, students have just elected the Regnum team to take over the Students Services Office for the 2023-2024 academic year!
“These young adults have a great sense of responsibility whilst maintaining a childlike spirit, focussing on fun, enjoyment and sharing!” Inspiring words from Valérie Léo, our Campus Life Coordinator who had the pleasure of overseeing the BDE election campaign season in La Rochelle… which was a ‘first’ for her! She went on to express her great admiration for the students’ tremendous investment in the entire process.
But, what exactly is the BDE?
As an association governed by the French Law of 1901, the Student Services Office, known in French as the BDE (Bureau des Étudiants), is a team of students elected by other students, whose role is to represent them both onsite and offsite, to manage and organise life on campus, and to create dynamism within the community by organising, for example, the integration week and weekend. As soon as students arrive at Excelia, the BDE is one of their first and essential ports of call.
Indeed, in a difficult economic and social context, and after the COVID years, “students expect something more from the clubs and associations than just big parties. They have to think about their rent and their food costs before going out. For some, spending €30 on a night out represents a week’s worth of food shopping”, explains Valérie Léo, who is pleased that all the participating teams hold values such as goodwill and the preservation of physical and mental well-being in such high regard, and are aware of the issues of prevention and safety.
“Taking an active role in one of the teams is in itself a business experience with six months of intense work: project management, team management, innovation, CSR, canvassing, communications, etc., and with rules and challenges being defined by the current BDE, which is responsible for organising services and events”, she adds.
What a wonderful opportunity to gain valuable first-hand experience!
Excelia’s Clubs and Associations
At Excelia, our clubs and associations are in full swing all year round. There are more than 50 to choose from, enabling students to grow on both a personal and a professional level. You can get involved in a project team within an association, in a sporting activity or even in the communications and marketing of Excelia itself, to name but a few examples! In fact, involvement in clubs and associations, known as SCAP (Sport, Communications, Associations and Promotion), has existed ever since the group was founded. It is the perfect opportunity to put into practice everything learned during the year and to develop valuable team management skills. This rewarding experience is highly valued by recruiters who are looking for graduates with strong values such as team spirit, solidarity, commitment, responsibility, honesty, integrity, respect, and tolerance. As such, the SCAP module is an integral part of all programmes, taking place on Thursday afternoons.
There are many ways to get involved in the activities offered by Excelia’s clubs and associations as they coordinate a wide variety of projects on different themes such as… communications and media, team and water sports, international affairs and solidarity, arts and culture, student life, networks and companies.
