UNIAKTIV
UNIAKTIV is a project by the University of Duisburg-Essen whose goal is to promote community involvement among students and employees and to make this an integral part of university life.
UNIAKTIV was founded in 2005 by Prof. Wolfgang Stark, Head of the Organisational Development Laboratory at the University of Duisburg-Essen. The project addresses one of the university’s key concerns, which is that higher education should be doing more than just furnishing students with professional expertise; rather, it should be working hand in hand with the leaders of tomorrow to cultivate an awareness of the importance of social responsibility and working for the common good. Some universities, for example, have already begun promoting and granting credits for community involvement in addition to the development of new and traditional skills.
Under the UNIAKTIV umbrella, therefore, students in Essen and Duisburg have begun doing voluntary work for social, cultural and environmental organisations and projects and in doing so have acquired key skills such as leadership skills, teamwork and the ability to handle conflict situations, which they could not have acquired from their degree courses alone. Tutoring, care for the elderly, web-site design and development aid are now firm fixtures in the students’ timetable.
