CIVIS micro-programme Civic Engagement

You complete unit one by attending the joint course “Civic Engagement in Europe: A Transdisciplinary Approach”.

It is expected to be offered every summer term by the University of Bucharest, the University of Tübingen, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.

In this course students and lecturers discuss, based on scientific literature, questions such as: What are the different types of civic engagement? Are there any similarities and differences between the various forms of civic engagement across European countries? What motivates people to volunteer? How can universities empower students to contribute to social justice? How can students participate in activities that promote civic engagement within their subjects? What is the role of civic engagement in modern economies, for example, in the tourism industry?

“This course helped me understand more about our current society and the ways in which we can work to make Europe, and perhaps the whole world, a better place. I got the chance to communicate and network with people from different parts of Europe, learn more about their culture and region, and experienced some great moments during the course.”

(Daniel-Vasile Rădulescu, UB, Romania)

In Unit 2, students learn to apply their academic knowledge to concrete societal challenges and define sustainable solutions by promoting their creative and actionable ideas and deliver real progress to societies and planet, according to SDGs. With this goal in mind, students can select and attend seminars that follow either the service-learning or the challenge-based approach.

Service-Learning courses combine academic learning with civic engagement. They always involve partners from the local community, non-governmental or non-profit organizations. Students and lecturers work together with the partner entities and addresses real social problems and needs by applying academic theory and methods into praxis in a community context. Examples of courses are: “Tübingen Erbe Charity Run: Instagram and TikTok Communication”, “Engaging marginalized Communities” and “University-based projects for local sustainable development in European UNESCO global parks”.

Challenge-based courses actively involve students and lecturers in real and relevant problem situation, which implies the definition of a challenge and the implementation of a solution. Therefore, in these courses, academic knowledge is not only acquired but also applied to real and current challenges we face as a society. Examples of courses are: “Data Collection, Analysis and Strategy Planning”, Smart Health: Digital Transformation of Healthcare Systems” and “Eco-friendly technologies”.

Within this third unit, you will need to get involved in an individual internship or civic engagement activity of your choosing at a non-profit or a non-governmental organization. The placement of internships is heavily influenced by your personal interests. For example, you could volunteer as a trainer in a local sport club or become an active member of an association that promotes social justice issues or issues related to environmental topics. You can freely allocate your volunteer time to multiple short-term or a single long-term activity.

Through volunteering…

“(...) one acquires - while following one's interests and having fun - competences that cannot be acquired so early in any other place of learning. These competences can contribute to the development of one's own person and bring advantages later, for example in professional life." 

Kim Bayer, University of Tübingen

To complete Unit 3, please note that:

• Only volunteering completed during the study phase is eligible for credit.
• You are required to have completed a min. of 140 hours of volunteer service.
• We strongly recommend to participate in the EngagemenTransfer-Workshop. Here, you will get the opportunity to reflect on your volunteering experiences, or if you are a newcomer, to get inspiration for volunteering activities.

On the one hand, the difference from the regular "Civic Engagement" certificate is that in the context of "Civic Engagement" you raise your experience to an international level - either through your civic engagement abroad, a Service-Learning course in Bucharest or Madrid, or through participation in the joint online course of the third unit. Finally, this international dimension will also become clear in the official CIVIS (non-degree) certificate you receive.
On the other hand, you will reflect on your experiences not only in the Tübingen reflection workshop (3 ECTS credit points) as part of EngagemenTransfer, but also together with your fellow European students (3 ECTS credit points). This will give you a multi-facetted insight and a more differentiated understanding of civic engagement in a European context.
This also means that with 6 ECTS credit points from the 2nd unit you do not have to complete an additional thematically-relevant course in the Transdisciplinary Course Program Bachelor (formerly “Studium Professionale”) of 3 ECTS credit points in order to fulfil the 15 ECTS credit point requirement for receiving the certificate "Civic Engagement".