Student unions, the pulse of the university life
The student university life, with restrictions due to the pandemic regarding face-to-face academic activities -the engine of the university experience-, is under a delicate situation. However, the university life is not only about the study and exams to get a degree. The social life of the students is also known among everyone. This is another reason to find an interest in the many student unions of our University. There are about thirty unions, which cover a wide range of activities and interests.
The student university life, with restrictions due to the pandemic regarding face-to-face academic activities -the engine of the university experience-, is under a delicate situation. However, the university life is not only about the study and exams to get a degree. The social life of the students is also known among everyone. This is another reason to find an interest in the many student unions of our University. There are about thirty unions, which cover a wide range of activities and interests.
In order to promote the activity of these unions, the Vice-rectorʼs Office for Students and Language Policy has announced a grant for projects with student participation of the students unions.
In Associacions dʼestudiants, one can see the range of objectives and work carried out by these entities. We can divide these into two groups: culture, sports, leisure and charity, and those with political nature, which, among other functions, give voice to the students in different governing bodies of the Universities and theStudent Council.
The first group features the European Studentsʼ Forum (AEGEE),present in forty countries and two-hundred cities, and it gathers more than 13,000 students in Europe. There is the Debate Association of the University of Barcelona (ADUB),dedicated to control and spread the values and knowledge linked to rhetoric and public speaking, which takes part in several debate tournaments. The Erasmus Student Network (ESN) promotes the social and personal integration of exchange students of the UB with activities related to culture and leisure.
Other entities gather students of a bachelorʼs degree to promote the study and research on this discipline, such as the Association of University Dieticians and Nutritionists of Barcelona (ADINU), the Student Association of Health Sciences (AECS), the Student Assembly of the National Education Institute (INEFC-Barcelona),and University of Barcelona: Students of Medicine Campus Clínic (UBEMc).
However, there are unions that respond to a ludic entity by promoting social life with activities that are not related to studies, such as Bioteatre,a theatre workshop to learn techniques regarding games, orientation, interaction, relaxation, improvisation, breathing and memory. The human-tower members of Arreplegats de la Zona Universitària gathers students from the UB and UPC. The club Ludo UB promotes role games and board games. Swingtropia is about dancing. And also, there are student musical groups, present at the UB with Tuna Empresarials and Tuna Ciències.
Moreover, there is the association Hacking Lliure, dedicated to raise awareness on the importance of computer safety and its role in society, and promote the use and creation of a free and open-code software, as well as the group Sinver, dedicated to the integration of people with non-normative sexualities and identities in the university community.
All these unions are open to the participation of the student community of the UB and offer opportunities to take part in the university life. The University offers the students the option to create new ones as well.