With one hundred people in the WhatsApp group, GIDS never fails to find enthusiastic students for the social projects that are developed with local stakeholders. This may sound like an employment agency, and while it shares some of those characteristics, GIDS is much more than that.
GIDS is a student initiative run by students with support from the EMC. They are open to collaborate with any stakeholders who have a project in the health domain and are in need of student volunteers. The stakeholders coordinate the organisation and logistics of the projects, while GIDS ensures that enthusiastic and knowledgeable students are available to provide training, for example. In addition, GIDS also works with students who have an idea for a project by providing people who can help to realise that project.
Volunteers
The projects are for short periods of time and broadly related to health, making them accessible to any interested student. As students have a lot on their plate already with their study, work and private life, many are happy to volunteer occasionally but cannot commit for a longer period. By working on short-term projects, GIDS provides health-related educational experiences outside the university, without needing a big commitment.
'We have a very broad range of projects, such as classes on first aid or teaching people how to ride a bike. All of them are fun to do and sometimes provide a good personal challenge like how can you provide this information? How can you bring it in a way that the participants understand what you mean, even if there is, for example, a language barrier.'
Creating a bridge between society and the students
GIDS started in 2019 with the vision of Prof. Charles Boucher, coordinator of the honours college, who, together with some honours students, started to connect medical students to projects of medical stakeholders in Rotterdam. GIDS grew to become a central point of contact for stakeholders in Rotterdam who wanted help from students to realise their projects.
Easily accessible information at the market
One of the first projects took students to the market in Delfshaven during the COVID-19 pandemic. Together with GPs, they provided medical information on COVID-19 to give people easy access to reliable information. During the project, students had time to talk to people who felt uncertain about how to assess the information they received from friends, (social) media and the government. Students acted as information points; they were not there to change people's minds, but to provide reliable information.
For the students, this project was very satisfying because they received a lot of gratitude from people who appreciated them taking the time to answer their questions. At the same time, students learned a lot by being out in society and getting to know different views and cultures. Meeting people who are new to the Netherlands or come from a different socio-economic class can bring new perspectives and challenges for students.
'People learn more about different cultures, views and problems in different strata of society. This is very important.'
Triangle of city, student, and university
Through GIDS, a triangle is created between social stakeholders, the university and students. First, social stakeholders can communicate more easily with the university and its students. Secondly, through GIDS, students can influence the curriculum by providing research questions or community projects for courses. Finally, the university can target positive societal impact in its education through student input.
Stakeholders include MANO, the Corona Vraagbaak, GGD Rotterdam Rijnmond and the honours students who set up their own projects, such as health classes for primary and secondary schools. All organisations are welcome, but GIDS selects projects based on whether they are health-related and feasible for the students.
GIDS strives to be a community for students and therefore organises events for them to get to know each other. This can motivate students to take on projects with their friends and it helps them work together. Still, GIDS is not a classic student union and therefore it wants students to have the freedom to be as involved as they want to be. An annual networking event is organised for stakeholders to give a positive boost to their relationships.
Practical and accessible
It sometimes can be hard to navigate through a big organisation like the EMC as an outsider. GIDS provides an easy and accessible way in for stakeholders in the city. Their practical approach makes it possible to realise a project within a short time period. The students add something special to stakeholders’ projects because they are willing and have the time to work with small groups or give classes to a small number of people. This makes health care in general more accessible. As students for example will organise tours through the EMC to explain how the health care system works to people who migrated to the Netherlands. Students in return learn valuable skills regarding communication that will help them in their future careers.
'People are learning more about different cultures, different views, different problems in different layers of society. This is very important to broaden one’s horizon and look further than just the people around you.'
'It is important to find ways to collaborate with the city.'
Engagement through collaborating with the city
One lesson we learned from this project is that it is important to look for ways to collaborate with the city. Within education students have to do projects, papers, and theses. It would be great if there was a way to include the input and needs of the city in these projects. There are many questions that students could help with or have innovative solutions for. Bringing these questions to the students and allowing them to do something back for the city they are part of would be a great opportunity for both the student and the city.
Grow nationally
The ambitions of GIDS do not stop at the Schie. Besides growing bigger in Rotterdam, they hope to expand or inspire other cities to start a similar interaction between students and the city. Currently, GIDS is the only one of its kind in the Netherlands and beyond, which, when looking at the impacts of this form of engagement on students and the city, is unfortunate. This case study shows that both the EUR and other universities can learn from GIDS and their practical project-oriented approach to engagement.
- More information
Read more about GIDS on their website.